AHIMA and The Sequoia Project Partner to Grow Data Usability

As one of healthcare’s leading data expert organizations, AHIMA acts when it sees a need to be at the forefront of the next big data movement. Therefore, the organization is proud to partner with the experts on data exchange at the Sequoia Project to create “Data Usability Taking Root,” a multi-organizational effort to move data usability from concept to implementation.

After nearly two decades of focused effort, the United States has made tremendous strides in taking a once disconnected health system from infancy to full-blown interoperability. Congressional action, federal programs, and healthcare continuum-led efforts have improved the types of technology being used in healthcare, the data standards used to capture data, and the processes around the collection and exchange of that data. Now, the healthcare system is taking the next step from focusing on enabling data exchange to ensuring the data being exchanged is complete and useful. This is where Data Usability Taking Root begins.

Three years in the making, with two years of public input, Data Usability Taking Root is finally ready to grow the seeds of data. The effort takes the work guidance developed by The Sequoia Project’s Data Usability Workgroup and fosters a data usability community of practice by collaborating with AHIMA and others to implement a system where complete data is used to improve outcomes, clinician burden is reduced, consistency is promoted across technologies, and common challenges across all healthcare actors are more easily addressed.

Beyond being the right thing to do, creating useful data implementation guidance provides value to all segments of the health system including public health, providers, consumers, health information exchanges/networks (HIEs/HINs), and technology developers. Useful data promotes provenance and improves the traceability of changes to that data, the effective use of codes and data integrity, and creates a better environment for data tagging and searchability. Perhaps most importantly, data usability guidance leverages existing standards to address pain points from end users on the frontlines of healthcare to ensure they have what they need when they need it.

Interested entities are able to join the Data Usability Taking Root project now and become an early supporter of this initiative’s success. In 2023, early supporters will participate in roundtable discussions with other like-minded data usability evangelists, and provide and receive technical assistance, Implementation supporters will also work to support version 1.0 of the implementation guidance on clinical content for information exchange.

The Sequoia Project and AHIMA will host a Data Usability Taking Root Summit on September 6 in Washington, DC. This event will highlight the work being done to improve data usability and feature discussions on the tough issues facing health data usability today.

The best part of all is that AHIMA and The Sequoia Project are at the beginning of this journey. Just as both organizations led the charge to improve interoperability, now they are doing the same with data usability implementation. AHIMA remains even more committed to a patient-focused mission and, with the help of the supporters of Data Usability Taking Root, will work with The Sequoia Project to form the tip of the spear for taking the health IT world to its next destination.

Andrew Tomlinson is director of regulatory affairs for AHIMA.