Inova First to Gain Joint Commission Certification for Responsible Data Use
Virginia-based Inova has become the first health system in the nation to achieve The Joint Commission’s Responsible Use of Health Data (RUHD) Certification – a new recognition for the responsible use of secondary data or data used for purposes beyond clinical care.
The Joint Commission said the RUHD certification provides a framework for organizations to use and transfer patient data in ways that protect patient privacy, promote transparency and safeguard against misuse. It validates that robust policies and procedures are in place to help protect, govern and accountably use secondary data necessary for learning, safety, quality and operations improvement.
The Joint Commission added that Inova demonstrated strong stewardship capabilities over health data, including:
• de-identification of health data
• access and security controls
• defining and authorizing permitted use of data
• validating the safety, effectiveness, privacy and fairness of algorithms
• providing transparency in data uses for patients
• establishing robust governance structures to oversee compliance with regulations.
In January 2024, Joint Commission CEO Jonathan Perlin, M.D., Ph.D., spoke with Healthcare Innovation about this new certification. “We went live in offering it on January 1, and there's been a lot of interest in this,” he said. “In my previous work it would have been really nice to have an external entity, an Underwriters Laboratory, saying that you're taking the right protections to use data responsibly. We've got so much opportunity to improve the safety, the efficiency, the quality, the compassion, and the equity of healthcare. Not to use this data would be to destroy the value of our investments collectively in the health system. So we need guardrails, on the one hand, but not so rigid that you can't address some of the issues that affect the cost, quality, affordability, equity, and compassion of healthcare.”
Healthcare Innovation asked Perlin if there were things in the certification that would be challenging for some health systems or changes they'll have to make to to meet the requirements.
“I suspect that many health systems with the sophistication to develop these sorts of algorithms or other secondary uses of data have considered these elements, but it's a way for them to systematically consider the elements,” he responded. “We didn’t pull the elements out of the air. A group of experts from the Health Evolution Forum, including patient privacy folks like Devin McGraw to individuals with deep algorithmic experience, were part of the team that worked for two years on something called the “Trust Framework for Accelerating Responsible Use of De-identified Data in Algorithm and Product Development.” It's a very practical approach. And, you know, frankly, if there's not an approach for privacy, security, data controls, limitations on use, verification of the algorithm, transparency to the patient, and governance or oversight structure, should the organization really be embarking on it?”
“Certification strengthens trust with our patients who can be confident that Inova has appropriate safeguards on the responsible use of health data, while providing data-driven insights to doctors and nurses so we can continue to provide world-class care to the communities we serve,” said Matt Kull, chief information and digital strategy officer for Inova, in a statement.
