Intermountain, Presbyterian, SSM Are First Members of Graphite Health
Graphite Health, a member-led nonprofit company seeking to create a standardized, interoperable data platform to streamline the distribution of digital health solutions, has announced its first three health system members.
SSM Health, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Intermountain Healthcare are the first three organizing members of Graphite, which says it is modeled on Civica Rx, a nonprofit generic drug company founded in 2018 by philanthropies and health systems to reduce and prevent drug shortages.
Graphite said it is building on a common data language to create a platform that enables a secure and open marketplace to streamline the distribution of digital health solutions for both health systems and entrepreneurs. For entrepreneurs, the common data language addresses inefficiencies in data translation and supports the development of plug-and-play digital applications, the company said. In turn, health system members can implement trusted digital tools as easily as anyone can download an app from an app store to a smartphone.
“The digital revolution that advanced every industry in the world missed healthcare,” said Ries Robinson, M.D., CEO of Graphite Health and chief innovation advisor at Presbyterian Healthcare Services. “Right now, when a hospital wants to adopt new innovative solutions, it is hampered by overly cumbersome processes that can require years to implement. Graphite Health will offer a true paradigm shift to deliver on the promise of lower costs and faster integration of solutions that significantly improve patient care and experience, while still maintaining the highest privacy standards.”
Graphite is offering a vision of a “Digital Hippocratic Oath” to bring the industry’s core calling into the 21st century and serve as the ethical compass that guides all operations, including their approach to data sharing, integration, and technical processes.
“Graphite Health is more than a new start-up; it represents a new approach to solving one of our long-standing national problems: health care is too expensive and inconvenient,” said Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president & chief strategy officer of Intermountain Healthcare, in a statement. “By embracing the collective membership approach, and committing to our Digital Hippocratic Oath, we will ensure patients are treated as people rather than products. By doing so, Graphite Health will accelerate access to valuable digital tools that can deliver better health care outcomes at a lower cost.”
Graphite Health said it anticipates bringing additional health systems and philanthropies into their coalition in the coming months, as well as partnering with tech innovators.
