Falls Church, Va.-based Inova has become the first health system in the U.S. to achieve The Joint Commission's Responsible Use of Health Data certification.
Launched Jan. 1, the voluntary certification program recognizes hospitals and health systems for ethical practices in using data beyond clinical care, such as for safety and quality work or operational improvements. The certification provides a framework for healthcare organizations to safely use and transfer patient data, ensuring transparency and responsible use.
Inova earned the recognition for its efforts in de-identifying data, setting strict access controls, clearly defining permitted data uses and validating the safety and fairness of its algorithms, among other efforts.
"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," Matt Kull, chief information and digital strategy officer at Inova, said in a Dec. 2 news release.