Four major medical associations said today they will group to form Xcertia, a multi-stakeholder collaboration focused on improving mobile health applications.
The American Medical Association, American Heart Association, DHX Group and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society will join together to create the non-profit corporation, which looks to establish and promote best practices for mobile health applications.
“The collaboration builds on each organization’s ongoing efforts to foster safe, effective, and reputable health technologies, while complementing our mutual commitment to advancing innovation in medicine, and improving the health of the nation. Our combined expertise, along with a diverse membership, will leverage the insights of clinicians, patients and industry experts to help improve patient care and increase access to data,” founding groups wrote in a press release.
The groups said that membership and governing boards of Xcertia will be “open to broad representation from consumers, developers, payers, clinicians, academia and others” who are interested in developing guidelines for mobile health applications.
“Today’s announcement, and the founding of Xcertia with our co-founders, represents a significant first step to bringing meaningful clarity and focus to evaluation within the mHealth space. The AHA is an evidence based organization, so we can add an emphasis on evaluation that is critical for the mHealth space to realize its full potential and, truly, deliver better outcomes for patients,” AHA Center for Health Technology & Innovation chairperson Dr. Eric Peterson said in prepared remarks.
The collaboration will aim to incorporate feedback from members to advance knowledge around clinical content, usability, privacy and security, interoperability and evidence of efficacy related to the ever-expanding market of mobile health applications.
Xcertia will not seek to engage in certifying mobile health applications, the groups said, but will encourage makers to apply principles and guidelines for developing safe and effective apps.
“Physicians recognize the tremendous potential in digital health tools and are looking to the AMA to help make sense of mobile health technologies. Our role in helping to form Xcertia underscores the AMA’s ongoing commitment to innovation and collaboration that helps empower patients to assess mobile health apps, and enable physicians to take a lead role in advancing the state of digital health technology,” AMA CEO James Madara said in a prepared statement.
The stakeholder groups said they are openly inviting other organizations in the patient, tech and healthcare fields to join the effort to create effective guidelines for the emerging mobile health industry.
“After years of pioneering the art and science of mobile health app curation, DHX Group is pleased to join forces with our Xcertia co-founders to spark an industry movement in establishing guidelines to help patients in the selection and use of appropriate and secure mobile health apps,” DHX Group founder & chair David Vinson said in a press release.
“Secure, real-time access to accurate electronic health information gives consumers, patients, and clinicians the knowledge needed to make informed health-related decisions. As a founding organization of Xcertia, HIMSS extends its commitment to improving health and healthcare through the best use of IT by championing the creation of guidelines for mobile health apps. With safe, effective, and reputable mobile health apps, clinicians, caregivers, consumers, and patients can better manage care, and maintain their wellness,” HIMSS exec VP Carla Smith said in a prepared release.
