The American Diabetes Association (ADA), and HealthShare Exchange (HSX), an industry leader in making electronic patient-care information available to the public, unveiled a new quality improvement framework using HSX’s data sharing and analysis capabilities to support mid-Atlantic healthcare systems including HSX members Penn Medicine, Temple Health and Jefferson Health, as well as Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey and the Johns Hopkins Health System in Maryland to advance the quality of clinical care provided to 1,910,000 million people with diabetes in the region.
This collaboration will initially focus on improving care for people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease as part of a national initiative led by the ADA and the American Heart Association called Know Diabetes by Heart™. Know Diabetes by Heart™ seeks to comprehensively combat the national public health impact of these diseases, which disproportionately affect minorities and are more prevalent in Philadelphia compared to all but three large U.S. cities. It will serve as a great benefit to people with diabetes who will have a more consistent experience in the healthcare setting and more adherence to ADA Standards of Care by their healthcare provider.
“Accurate, secure and real-time population health data can be difficult to obtain but is a crucial first step in improving clinical care quality for people with diabetes,” said Greg Liptak, ADA’s Vice President of Quality Improvement Services. “We feel that HSX, with its robust membership of more than 400 healthcare organizations, a data repository with clinical information on over 12 million patients and a strong focus on patient privacy and security, is uniquely positioned to measure and monitor diabetes management against the ADA Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes to facilitate continuous improvements in our healthcare systems.”
“People with diabetes are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and data sharing is critical in slowing the spread of this disease. This partnership doubles down on making electronic patient-care information accessible and secure,” said Martin Lupinetti, President and Chief Executive Officer at HealthShare Exchange. “We’re proud to be working with the ADA and applying our expertise in data analysis to improve the quality of care management for people with diabetes.”
The ADA and HSX are also supporting the Philadelphia Diabetes Prevention Collaborative, led by the Jefferson College of Population Health and the American Medical Association, as well as a Novo Nordisk–led global initiative called Cities Changing Diabetes (http://www.citieschangingdiabetes.com/), where more than 100 health, faith, business and community leaders from across Philadelphia are working together to develop new ways to try to change the trajectory of diabetes.
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About the American Diabetes Association
Every day more than 4,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes in America. More than 122 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes and are striving to manage their lives while living with the disease. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 80 years the ADA has been driving discovery and research to treat, manage and prevent diabetes, while working relentlessly for a cure. We help people with diabetes thrive by fighting for their rights and developing programs, advocacy and education designed to improve their quality of life. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
About HealthShare Exchange
HealthShare Exchange (HSX) is a nonprofit community-directed organization that gathers and makes electronic patient health information available securely at the point of care throughout the Greater Philadelphia/Delaware Valley area’s healthcare ecosystem. HSX links disparate electronic medical record (EMR) systems of hospitals, health systems and healthcare stakeholders across the continuum of care along with the clinical data of healthcare insurers for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. HSX services deliver real-time clinical information to our members, including a patient’s medical history as well as notifications to enable improved outcomes, care coordination and more cost-effective care for over 12 million patients. HSX is a HITRUST certified organization, a PA P3N certified Health Information Organization (HIO), a State of NJ Trusted Data Sharing Organization (TDSO) and is part of the national eHealth Exchange. For more information, visit https://www.healthshareexchange.org/ or follow us on Twitter (@HealthShareExch) and LinkedIn.
