Industry Insight

AHIMA and Moxe Announce AHIMA dHealth

AHIMA announces the creation of AHIMA dHealth (AHIMAdHealth.org), a solution where providers and other health care stakeholders can discover digital health products, including ones that have passed an AHIMA assessment showing they secure and protect patient data.

AHIMA is working with Moxe, a clinical data clearinghouse focusing on interoperability solutions, to develop AHIMA dHealth. Through the AHIMA dHealth Assessment, providers now have a reputable resource they can turn to for critical information about a digital health product’s privacy and data security practices and policies. All AHIMA dHealth Approved digital health products will be listed in an online directory providers can use to verify the product has earned the designation.

The AHIMA dHealth Assessment is especially relevant in light of recent regulatory changes in the United States that give patients more access and power over their health information. Last year, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology finalized the Cures Act Final Rule, which requires hospitals and providers to adopt standardized application programming interfaces that allow individuals to access and use electronic health information without special effort on the part of the patient. This means patients now have the power to direct providers to share their health records with third-party digital health products, including consumer health apps.

To become AHIMA dHealth Approved, digital health companies must complete a self-reported assessment based upon AHIMA standards and best practices for privacy and data security. The assessment is particularly relevant for digital health products that are not regulated by HIPAA.

AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, says the program will make it easier and simpler for providers to grant patient information requests. AHIMA has long advocated for the rights of patients to access their health information and released a policy statement last year saying, “AHIMA supports the right of individuals to access their accurate and complete health information in a timely manner.”

“Through AHIMA dHealth, we’re assessing digital health products so providers can spend more time focused on patient care and discern risk more quickly,” Harris says. “Providers will have to place fewer requests in their ‘need to review’ funnel, as they can use the AHIMA dHealth directory to easily see which digital health products are AHIMA dHealth Approved. I believe this program will make it easier for providers to comply with the Cures Act Final Rule.”

Moxe CEO Dan Wilson says the AHIMA dHealth Assessment will help digital health companies avoid delays in receiving patient health information from providers, while buttressing their reputation as an industry leader that secures and protects patient health information.

“Earning AHIMA dHealth Approval shows that your product takes privacy and data security seriously,” Wilson says. “Having this designation allows developers to build trust with providers and patients, which has the potential to earn and positively impact more users.”

— Source: AHIMA

Detroit Health System, Tech Companies to Tackle Health Inequities

Henry Ford Innovations, in partnership with Google Cloud and Miracle Software Systems, announces an international competition hosted in Detroit, inviting entrepreneurs to propose their top ideas for reducing health inequities through the use of digital technology. Henry Ford Innovations is the innovations arm of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System.

“Through cross-industry partnerships, our ability to adopt technologies designed to end the disparities in health outcomes due to race, ethnicity, or gender increases exponentially,” says Carladenise Edwards, PhD, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Henry Ford Health System. “We have achieved amazing advances in digital enablement in health care, especially over the last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic challenged us to think and act differently on behalf of our communities. But if the populations experiencing the worse health outcomes aren’t benefiting from those achievements, then our journey is far from over.”

The Digital Inclusion Challenge, which runs through the summer, will kick off May 19, 2021, with a virtual conversation moderated by Edwards about the need for culturally sensitive and unbiased patient-centric solutions to be developed that bridge the gap between health care and technology.

The winner will receive $75,000 in cash and in-kind support toward developing their digital solution at Henry Ford Health System.

“That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of this challenge,” says Martina Caldwell, MD, medical director of diversity and inclusion at Henry Ford Medical Group. “Not only will diverse thinkers and innovators who are truly committed to our shared health equity mission benefit from this challenge, our patients and the communities we serve will see a tangible benefit from the winning idea.”

All entries that address digital inclusion will be considered, with the focus on identifying those concepts that address the biggest pain points for digitally excluded patients. Among them are the following:

• how to make health care more affordable and accessible for digitally excluded patients;
• how to make it easier for these patients to learn about their health and health care services; and
• how to empower care teams to deliver better services to these patients.

“Technology can be a powerful driver for improving access and equity in health,” says Esteban López, MD, market lead of health care and life sciences at Google Cloud. “It’s important for us all to come together to empower innovation and shape the future of health.”

Entries are due by June 24, 2021. Entrepreneurs, clinicians, engineers, designers, and other innovators are invited to participate. The challenge team also plans to partner with international and Detroit-based organizations to actively recruit women and minority applicants. Twenty finalists will be announced in July 2021. That list will be narrowed in late summer to five, who will then participate in a live pitch competition.

“Providing pathways for innovative entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, or others to present their original ideas is critical to ensuring health care models keep pace with changing patient and health industry needs,” says Prasad Lokam, CEO of Miracle Software Systems. “Being a tech-savvy company, we encourage the pioneering spirit of those who have a desire to make health care more equitable.”

— Source: Henry Ford Health System