The HL7 FHIR Accelerator Program seeks to identify coded data elements and associated value sets to represent SDOH data
NewWave Telecom & Technologies, Inc. has joined the growing collaborative of health care, digital health, community-based, government, and consumer advocacy groups leading national efforts to accelerate social determinants of health (SDOH) data interoperability through The Gravity Project.
NewWave has led the engineering effort of the Blue Button 2.0 API (BB2.0), part of the federal MyHealthEData Initiative. BB2.0 is a Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards-based API that enables Medicare beneficiaries to connect their claims data to the applications, services and research programs they trust. BB2.0 is a working model of facilitating patient-controlled health data, necessary for the meaningful, contextual integration of an individual’s social determinants of health. NewWave is also the prime technology firm building the infrastructure for the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), where innovative models of health care clinical and payment intervention – including accounting for the social determinants of health – look to revolutionize health care delivery in America.
“Our work with CMS has positioned us at the center of the transition away from Fee-for-Service care to a system of value-based care,” observes Aaron Seib, NewWave’s Sr. Vice President of Informatics.
“In our work at CMMI and in our FHIR-based product offering, SAFHIR, we look to facilitate genuine interoperability that focuses on the patient and improving outcomes. Given that interventions which ameliorate SDOH are material to both, championing the work of the Gravity project aligns with both NewWave’s strategic aims and our mission to ‘solve for the greater good.’”
The Gravity Project seeks to identify coded data elements and associated value sets to represent SDOH data documented in electronic health records (EHRs) across four clinical activities: screening, diagnosis, goal setting, and interventions. The Project currently focuses on three specific social risk domains: food insecurity, housing instability and quality, and transportation access.
The Gravity Project, initiated by the Social Interventions Research and Evaluation Network (SIREN), is facilitated by EMI Advisors LLC (EMI), a technology and innovation consulting firm that provides advisory services across the health, human services, and information technology sectors. EMI, in conjunction with HL7 through the FHIR Accelerator Program, uses a framework that enables consensus-based identification and validation of health IT standards. To date, over 800 participants have engaged in the Project’s public meetings.
The coded SDOH data elements defined by The Gravity community are fueling the creation of an HL7 FHIR Implementation Guide (IG). The SDOH IG addresses the standards-based collection of SDOH information in the clinical care setting, creation and tracking of referrals to community- based organizations for SDOH interventions, and enabling secondary use of SDOH information for quality, research, and population health.
“NewWave’s commitment to The Gravity Project reinforces the Project’s stability and longevity,” says Evelyn Gallego, CEO of EMI Advisors LLC.“We need a broad coalition of members willing to get involved, provide input, and continue to move us toward the finish line through real-world implementation.”
HL7 is a non-profit standard developing organization established in 1987. It is the global authority for health care information interoperability and standards with affiliates in more than 30 countries. HL7 collaborates with other standards developers and provider, payer, philanthropic and government agencies at the highest levels to ensure the development of comprehensive and reliable standards and successful interoperability efforts.
The HL7 FHIR Accelerator Program is designed to assist implementers across the healthcare spectrum to create HL7 FHIR implementation guides and other products that can facilitate FHIR acceleration and adoption activities. Other projects within the Accelerator Program include Argonaut, Da Vinci, CARIN Alliance, and CodeX.
“HL7 FHIR Accelerators are key enablers of modern interoperability. It’s exciting to see The Gravity Project gaining such momentum in the important area of social determinants of health,” said Micky Tripathi, HL7 FHIR Accelerator Program project manager, and Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative president and CEO.
The Gravity Project facilitates the integration of capabilities necessary to make real health data interoperability happen. The community of FHIR developers, technology and engineering firms, and the policy and advocacy community are forged together in common purpose by Gravity.
About NewWave Telecom and Technologies, Inc.
Newwave Telecom and Technologies, Inc. is a Healthcare IT Solutions Firm headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland with locations across the U.S. We merge innovation, creativity and compassion, empowering our clients to use technology in new ways as they solve problems for the greater good. For more information, please visit https://newwave.io/About EMI Advisors LLC
EMI Advisors LLC is a technology and innovation consulting firm that provides advisory services across the health, human services, and information technology sectors. Our team specializes in assisting our public and private clients bridge the gap between health and human services policies, technology innovation, and business requirements.
For more information, please visit: https://www.emiadvisors.net/
