Midweek update

David Ermer–Uncategorized–

The FEHBlog ran across two articles on successful healthcare quality improvement efforts —

  • Health Payer Intelligence discusses a Geisinger data analytics effort focused on getting five Medicare Stars, and 
  • Employee Benefits News features an Pacific Business Group on Health CEO’s article on a primary care focused initiative to improve quality for large employers in California.
Healthcare Dive reports that 

The Office of the National Coordinator is in talks with Congress and the White House on how to regulate secondary uses of healthcare data. ONC doesn’t have statutory authority to vet third-party apps and what they do with consumer data, agency chief Don Rucker told Healthcare Dive, but the agency is looking into a variety of solutions including legislative language on privacy and security provisions or voluntary attestation standards for the apps themselves.  ‘

Experts are concerned privacy and security have been an afterthought for the agency as it continues to push interoperability into the healthcare industry. But “there’s a number of people interested on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Hill” in addressing the issue, according to Rucker.

The FEHBlog has noted that he has enrolled in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us program.  Fortune Magazine reports that

NIH has an official genetic counseling partner for its ambitious, million-person All of Us research program: Color, a DNA testing and genomic counseling specialist. 

The NIH announced Wednesday that Color will receive a $4.6 million grant (part of $25 million over multiple years) in order to provide what Color describes as the “technological backbone” for the All of Us project. The company is also the sole grantee selected to set up and deliver genetic counseling for Americans participating in the program. 

All of Us is an NIH initiative that was announced under former President Barack Obama. It aims to ultimately collect health and biometric data – including DNA and blood samples, lifestyle information, and environmental data – from one million Americans. The goal is to use this vast dataset in order to better understand what affects health for people of different races, genders, and geographic locations – and, in the process, help spur the development of personalized medicine.