Civitas Networks for Health in Partnership with Gravity Project® Announces Four New Pilot Sites to Further Implementation of SDOH Data Standards
Civitas Networks for Health in Partnership with Gravity Project® Announces Four New Pilot Sites to Further Implementation of SDOH Data Standards
Civitas Networks for Health in Partnership with Gravity Project® Announces Four New Pilot Sites to Further Implementation of SDOH Data Standards
Early stage highly collaborative pilots work to further SDOH data exchange for advancement of public health priorities and health equity.
Washington, DC – April 11, 2023 – Civitas Networks for Health, in partnership with Gravity Project, and with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, announced the selection of four new early-stage pilot projects addressing public health and/or health equity use cases. This is a critical milestone in expanding SDOH data standards use in communities, which is a necessary step in building health equity infrastructure.
The purpose of this initiative is to improve accessibility, knowledge, and capabilities for exchange of Gravity terminology standards with a focus on public health and health equity use cases; strengthen capacity for viable, cross-sector data sharing partnerships; and increase communication and collaboration for coordinating health and social care services among integral parties such as health care payers, providers, patients, community members, vendors, public health, health information exchanges, and community-based health and social services.
“There is tremendous need to support communities with the adoption and use of data standards so that we can more seamlessly address both patients’ and communities’ unmet social needs toward the goal of health equity. Our next phase of pilots will find us working in and with communities and their diverse stakeholders in order to support collection and exchange of community-led and community-governed standardized social care data.” Notes Dr. Sarah DeSilvey, Terminology Director for the Gravity Project.
The following four cross-sector teams will begin piloting Gravity Project SDOH standards this April:
Pima County/Southwest Tribe: Pima County and a Southwest Tribe aim to initiate data exchange between the county and tribe within the State communicable disease surveillance system in order to support the tribe in obtaining data to inform procedures and policies that promote the health of the tribal community.
MyHealth Access Network: MyHealth aims to offer standardized screening and referral for social needs at every site of care in Oklahoma using Gravity-vetted terminology. By evaluating and planning for additional needs based on standardized data, MyHealth and its multisectoral partners can dramatically improve the health equity and utilization of the screening across sectors.
University of Colorado Hospital: University of Colorado Hospital and its partners aim to improve the capture of social risk data, develop an equitable approach to resource referral delivery to address patients’ unmet needs, and optimize the capacity of limited care management staff while expanding access to resources for patients. This data will also be used to inform the UCH community needs assessment to identify patient catchment areas with high social needs.
Bronx RHIO: The six NYS certified Health Information Exchanges (also known as Qualified Entities) and the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) are working together to implement statewide standards for the ingestion and handling of social risk data. During this process, the group, also known as the Statewide Health Information Network for NY (SHIN-NY) is planning to use Gravity Project terminology and coding standards to ensure consistent handling of social risk data across the state.
The four new pilot teams will receive one-to-one technical assistance and also participate in a learning community that allows for shared learning across the sites. The Gravity Project team and their extensive community of practice will be accessible to pilot teams as subject matter experts in Gravity deliverables, social care data standards and social care interoperability. Civitas has expertise in building and supporting multi-site learning communities, increasing capacity for technical assistance, furthering implementation efforts, and bi-directional exchange of communication between regional and national partners.
Learn more about The Gravity Project Pilots Affinity Group on confluence
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About Civitas Networks for Health
Civitas Networks for Health is a national collaborative comprised of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data, and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health. Civitas was previously known as the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, and today represents more than 160 member organizations and business partners moving and using data to improve health outcomes across the U.S. Civitas educates, promotes, and influences both the private sector and federal and state policymakers on matters of interoperability, quality, coordination, health equity, and cost-effectiveness of health care. Working with healthcare and public health innovators at the state and local levels, Civitas facilitates the exchange of valuable resources, tools, and ideas—and offers a national perspective on upcoming standards and regulations, emerging technologies, and best practices.
For more information, visit https://www.civitasforhealth.org.
About Gravity Project
The Gravity Project is a multi-stakeholder public collaborative from across the health and human services ecosystem focused on developing, testing, and validating standardized data to address the social determinants of health for use in patient care, care coordination between health and human services sectors, population health management, public health, value-based payment, and clinical research. The Gravity Project has grown into a leading multidisciplinary community of 2,500+ participants that has successfully introduced a nationally recognized set of open data standards-based terminologies to support care across 17 social risk domains and a complete closed loop referral HL7 FHIR-based Implementation Guide. Gravity continues to advance its mission by leveraging its core standards to address national healthcare interoperability priorities related to social care delivery and quality reporting.
Learn more about The Gravity Project on confluence and on thegravityproject.net.
Civitas Networks for Health and Maryland Health Care Commission Release their Health Data Utility Framework
Civitas Networks for Health and Maryland Health Care Commission Release their Health Data Utility Framework
Civitas Networks for Health and Maryland Health Care Commission Release their Health Data Utility Framework
Action-oriented, research-based, and expert-informed framework developed to define and support stakeholders in the implementation of Health Data Utilities
Washington, DC – March 27, 2023 – Civitas Networks for Health, a national collaborative comprised of more than 160 member organizations working to use health information exchange (HIE), health data, and multistakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health, today released their Health Data Utility (HDU) Framework, developed in collaboration with the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC).
The HDU Framework is intended to guide states, regions, HIEs, and community partners in the design and implementation of an HDU that provides deeper integration of health-related data to support public health and care delivery.
“There is tremendous promise with HDU models to further interoperability efforts, advance health equity, and more effectively support whole-person care delivery by providing key stakeholders with the most comprehensive health data they need to make informed and proactive decisions,” said Lisa Bari, CEO of Civitas Networks for Health.
HDUs represent a new paradigm to support multi-stakeholder, cross-sector needs by serving as a data resource for use cases beyond clinical care delivery through multi-directional exchange. Information on this evolving landscape and drivers for emerging HDUs is included in Civitas and MHCC’s Advancing Implementation of Health Data Utility Models Issue Brief which was released in late 2022.
HDUs are models with cooperative leadership, designated authority, and advanced technical capabilities to combine, enhance, and exchange electronic health data across care and service settings for treatment, care coordination, quality improvement, and community and public health purposes. They leverage existing infrastructure through collaboration with state and regional HIEs.
“Health Data Utilities not only bring forward richer health data sets, but they ensure the most complete data privacy and security protections are upheld in the process. This is the result of utilizing existing infrastructure, trusted relationships, and deep knowledge of local regulations,” stated Craig Behm, CEO of the Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients (CRISP) in Maryland and National Advisor of the Health Data Utility Framework.
Civitas is committed to continuing to advance the health information exchange and health improvement industry and sees the publication of the HDU Framework as a critical milestone. The interactive Framework can be found on the Civitas website, and there is also a downloadable pdf available. The goal is for the Framework to assist collaborators and entities within states in assessing their current readiness level, identifying next steps, and actioning or furthering implementation.
Earlier this month, Civitas officially opened registration for the Civitas Networks for Health 2023 Annual Conference, in Partnership with Chesapeake Bay Region Members. The conference will take place from August 20 through 23, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. The theme for the conference is Public-Private Partnerships that Inspire Health Transformation. Civitas will continue to explore HDU models at the event as we dive deeper into the program tracks aligned with the theme.
Three industry thought leaders were announced as keynote speakers for the event. CEO of the CDC Foundation, Judith Monroe, MD, CEO of the deBeaumont Foundation, Brian Castrucci, DrPH, MA, and Chief Medical Officer of the Alaska Department of Health and President of ASTHO, Anne Zink, MD, will all join the conference as in-person keynote speakers. Additional keynote speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Early bird registration rates are offered through May 31, and the call for proposal for the conference is currently open through the month of March. For more information about the annual conference, visit civitasforhealth.org/2023-annual-conference.
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About Civitas Networks for Health
Civitas Networks for Health is a national collaborative comprised of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data, and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health. Civitas was previously known as the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, and today represents more than 160 member organizations and business partners moving and using data to improve health outcomes across the U.S. Civitas educates, promotes, and influences both the private sector and federal and state policymakers on matters of interoperability, quality, coordination, health equity, and cost-effectiveness of health care. Working with healthcare and public health innovators at the state and local levels, Civitas facilitates the exchange of valuable resources, tools, and ideas—and offers a national perspective on upcoming standards and regulations, emerging technologies, and best practices.
For more information, visit https://www.civitasforhealth.org/
About the Maryland Health Care Commission
The Maryland Health Care Commission is an independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs, promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability, cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers and the public. The Commission’s vision for Maryland is to ensure that informed consumers hold the health care system accountable and have access to affordable and appropriate health care services through programs that serve as models for the nation.
For more information, visit https://mhcc.maryland.gov/.
Lisa Bari Selected to eHealth Exchange Board of Directors
Lisa Bari Selected to eHealth Exchange Board of Directors
eHealth Exchange, one of the nation’s oldest and largest health information networks, is beginning the new year with the addition of Lisa Bari, Civitas Networks for Health CEO, to the eHealth Exchange board of directors. Bari complements the board as an accomplished leader who shares eHealth Exchange’s passion and commitment to transform health information data exchange for the benefit of patient care.
As the head of the largest non-profit association of health information exchanges (HIEs) and regional health improvement collaboratives (RHICs), Bari has a long history promoting interoperability and data sharing at the state and regional levels to support improved health. Her knowledge and expertise will be an asset in achieving eHealth Exchange’s strategic goals.
Event Recording | Gravity Project Information Session
Event Recording | Gravity Project Information Session
Thank you to all who were able to join Civitas Networks for Health on Thursday, Feb. 2, for an information session highlighting the work of our partners from the Gravity Project.
Sarah DeSilvey, Terminology Director for the Gravity Project, provided an overview of Gravity, highlighting recent accomplishments across the terminology, technical and pilot workstreams. Jessica Little, Senior Director of Business Development and Programs for Civitas, introduced Gravity’s collaboration with Civitas on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported initiative to further the dissemination and implementation of Gravity standards with a focus on public health and health equity.
Sarah and Jessica announced exciting upcoming opportunities to participate in this work including co-design of Gravity implementation-focused resources, the ongoing Gravity Pilots Affinity Group, and the opportunity for 3 teams with early-stage pilot projects to receive specialized training and technical assistance. The RFP for pilot sites was released during the information session and can be accessed below as can the recording and slides from the session. All links shared during the session can be found in the RFP and presentation slides.
In case you missed the event – or would like to revisit the conversation, a recording and presentation slides are now available!
Event Recording | Collaboratives in Action - Collaboratives in Action: Health Data Partnerships for Public Health Improvement
Event Recording | Collaboratives in Action: Health Data Partnerships for Public Health Improvement
Thank you to all who joined us on Monday, Dec. 5, for the final public webinar of our 2022 Collaboratives in Action series!
This event, hosted by Civitas Networks for Health, featured from Colorado Community Managed Care Network (CCMCN), Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM), the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), who discussed their work on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Immunization Data Exchange, Advancement and Sharing (IDEAS) program.
Attendees learned about Immunization Information System functionality, how health data collaboratives can bolster immunization program efforts through data, technical services, and community support, and how partnerships between HIEs, health data collaboratives, and public health can be facilitated and strengthened.
In case you missed the event – or would like to revisit the conversation, a recording and presentation slides are now available!
Member Roundtable: Navigating Exchange, Management, and Use of Sensitive Reproductive Health Data
Civitas Networks for Health Member Roundtable: Navigating Exchange, Management, and Use of Sensitive Reproductive Health Data
Thank you to all who were able to join us on Tuesday, Nov. 29, for a follow-on discussion from the “Unconference” session at the Civitas Networks for Health 2022 Annual Conference, which focused on sensitive sexual and reproductive health data.
Moderated by Nichole Sweeney, General Counsel, CRISP, and Deven McGraw, Lead, Data Stewardship & Data Sharing, Invitae, this Civitas Member Roundtable drew on key considerations from Carol Robinson, CEO, CedarBridge Group; Kathy Miller, Chief Operating Officer, Bronx RHIO; Steven Lane, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Health Gorilla; and Matt Becker, Vice President of Interoperability, Kno2.
Civitas members across the country are navigating reproductive health privacy protections, management, and exchange of sensitive health data in a post-Dobbs era. Critical considerations need to be made regarding policies, workflows, technology, regulations, education, engagement, risks, mitigations, and care delivery. During this session, we discussed the need for alignment of what is working, where there are opportunities to make impact, and how we can support one another during this uncertain time.
This Roundtable was one of a multipart series which is intended to be engaging, a place to bring questions, and an opportunity to uncover important actions.
In case you missed this event, or want to revisit the discussion, materials are now available!
Civitas Networks for Health Selects Velatura Public Benefit Corporation as a Technology Solution Partner for the Patient Centered Data Home® Initiative
Civitas Networks for Health Selects Velatura Public Benefit Corporation as a Technology Solution Partner for the Patient Centered Data Home® Initiative
Civitas Networks for Health Selects Velatura Public Benefit Corporation as a Technology Solution Partner for the Patient Centered Data Home® Initiative
Newly formed partnership elevates the role of HIEs in interstate data exchange, creates new opportunities for national exchange
SAN ANTONIO, Texas— At its annual conference, Civitas Networks for Health (Civitas) and the Patient Centered Data Home® (PCDH) Governance Council today announced that they have identified Velatura Public Benefit Corporation (Velatura) as the national technology Solution Partner to support a consolidated national PCDH initiative, after a robust evaluation process in the first half of this year. PCDH is a major collaboration of 45+ health information exchanges delivering critical alerts to providers for millions of clinical encounters each month. The continued growth of PCDH will further advance important regional and nationwide interoperability progress. Building on the initiative’s success to date, the Civitas and PCDH Governance Council engagement with Velatura will further PCDH goals to ensure that the robust data exchange among Civitas members continues to close the loop on care when a patient is seen outside their normal care area.
“Civitas and the PCDH Governance Council are committed to collaboration and to positioning all Civitas members for future success,” said Lisa Bari, CEO of Civitas. “After careful consideration, we have identified Velatura to deploy a new centralized technology platform for the national PCDH network. Velatura brings longstanding commitment to PCDH and the HIE space alongside technology and boots-on-the-ground experience. We believe their cloud-native technology platform will enable us to transition current functionality swiftly while positioning ourselves for emerging market opportunities, all while honoring the critical role HIEs play in linking existing communities of trust and preserving local governance.”
Velatura anticipates that this relationship will provide a national opportunity for all Civitas member HIEs, regional health improvement collaboratives, community information exchanges, and aspiring health data utilities to solidify the integral role that these entities play in interstate health data exchange and health improvement activities.
“The national PCDH network opportunity with Velatura builds on the early success and vision of the PCDH members and is a critical step toward leveraging HIE-powered interstate data exchange at national scale to further interoperability, impact national public health efforts, and harness the true scalability of the cloud,” says Tim Pletcher, CEO of Velatura. “Velatura believes there is enormous potential in using ADT data at a national level to advance national interoperability, inform critical public health efforts, support emergency response efforts, and more.”
“What began as a vision to make sure that a care team could get ADT notifications and other key clinical data for a patient who is seen while traveling across state lines or between regions can now evolve to solve a myriad of local and national health challenges,” said Keith Kelley, COO of Indiana Health Information Exchange and the Chair of the PCDH Governance Council. The PCDH Governance Council, Civitas, and Velatura are diligently working on the details of the consolidated national PCDH network structure, including legal, compliance, and technology, and additional details are forthcoming. More information about PCDH can be found here.
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About Civitas Networks for Health
Civitas Networks for Health is a national collaborative comprised of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data, and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health. Civitas was previously known as the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative and the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement, and today represents more than 170 local health innovators from across the US, moving data to improve health outcomes for more than 95% of the U.S. population. Civitas educates, promotes, and influences both the private sector and policy makers on matters of interoperability, quality, coordination, health equity, and cost-effectiveness of health care. Working with health innovators at state and local levels, Civitas facilitate the exchange of valuable resources, tools, and ideas—and offer a national perspective on upcoming standards and regulations, emerging technologies, and best practices. For more information, visit https://www.civitasforhealth.org/
About the Patient Centered Data Home ®
The Patient Centered Data Home® (PCDH) is an initiative that puts into practice the vision that clinical data should be available whenever and wherever care occurs and centered around the patient to improve patient care. In this model, all clinical data becomes part of the comprehensive longitudinal patient record in the HIE where the patient resides, called the Patient Centered Data Home. Patient Centered Data Home® is a registered trademark of Civitas Networks for Health Association. Used with permission.
About Velatura Public Benefit Corporation
Velatura Public Benefit Corporation creatively connects and aligns people, organizations, technology, ideas, and information in both the public and private sectors to improve healthcare, reduce costs and to increase satisfaction of stakeholders in the health IT value chain. Through its operating units of Velatura Services, Velatura HIE Corp and USQHIN, Velatura Public Benefit Corporation looks to service the landscape of needs across the country for sustainable interoperability. USQHIN is leading VPBC’s effort to create a National ADT Hub asset to support national public health needs. For more information, visit https://velatura.org/
Event Recording | Collaboratives in Action - Learning from an Equitable, Data-Informed Response to COVID-19: Translating Knowledge into Future Action and Preparation,
Event Recording | Collaboratives in Action - Learning from an Equitable, Data-Informed Response to COVID-19: Translating Knowledge into Future Action and Preparation
Thank you to all who joined our July Collaboratives in Action webinar, Learning from an Equitable, Data-Informed Response to COVID-19: Translating Knowledge into Future Action and Preparation, featuring Institute for Health Improvement (IHI), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and Civitas member organization, The Health Collaborative.
During the event, we heard from the partners about their collaborative COVID-19 Vaccine Initiative, a two-phased applied research initiative to identify, develop and pilot tools and resources that will support equitable community response, shared leadership and collective decision-making.
The work the partners outlined was designed in the context the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is intended to support both ongoing and future pandemic response. Webinar attendees gained important insight into lessons learned, as well as research tactics, tools and a path forward in addressing similar situations in the future.
If you missed the webinar, or would like to revisit the conversation, materials are now available!
Civitas Networks for Health Welcomes Tiger Institute Health Alliance
Civitas Networks for Health Welcomes Tiger Institute Health Alliance
Civitas Networks for Health, a national collaborative of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health, is proud to welcome its newest member, Tiger Institute Health Alliance.
A division of the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation at the University of Missouri, the Tiger Institute Health Alliance is a coalition of organizations dedicated to improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare while positively impacting the health and care of individuals, communities and beyond.
Read the full press release announcement from Tiger Institute for Health Innovation.
July Network News
July Network News
Thank you to all who gathered virtually for our monthly all-member forum, Network News! During this month’s information-packed agenda, we introduced new members, heard member and council updates and learned more about next week’s Collaboratives in Action webinar, hosted alongside Civitas member organization The Health Collaborative and featuring the work of IHI and their partners in addressing COVID-19 distribution and informing future emergency preparedness and response. If you have not already, click here to register and join us on Wednesday, July 27, at 3 p.m.
Additionally, we discussed details surrounding the upcoming 2022 annual conference, including an important approaching deadline: our discounted hotel room block at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter closes at the end of the day on Monday, July 25!
In-person conference attendees – reserve your room today if you have not already by clicking here.
Finally, we heard from HEALTHeLINK about their recent press release, announcing their intent to affiliate with Population Health Collaborative to drive higher quality care, control costs and improve the health and wellness of the people in Western New York.
