ORLANDO, Fla. — The Integrated Health Model Initiative (IHMI), a collaborative effort founded by the American Medical Association (AMA) to lead solutions for improving, organizing and exchanging health data, announced today the development of a new data model to manage an uninterrupted stream of data from innovative devices that remotely monitor blood pressure.

The Self-Measured Blood Pressure Data Model was created by IHMI’s first collaboration between the health and technology sectors to tap into important health information that has often gone uncollected, unanalyzed, or unshared, opening potential to improve health outcomes. This successful collaboration has helped speed product integration as the first medical technology companies have adopted the IHMI data model for use in the field.

IHMI’s unique data model standardizes clinically relevant information for validated blood pressure monitoring devices that improves the capture of reliable blood pressure data.The IHMI data model serves as a data portability standard used by devices to define what data to collect, select how to represent the collected data, and determine how to encode the data for easy transmission, exchange and retrieval.

“For too long, clinicians have struggled to navigate a landscape with oceans of data but puddles of useful information. The ability to harness patient-generated health data from a multitude of sources has come of age, and will empower patients and physicians to find and leverage meaningful data to improve health,” said IHMI Chief Medical Information Officer Tom Giannulli, M.D., M.S. “With the increase in health care consumerism, there is a critical need to enable data models that manage the collection and exchange of health data so patients and clinicians can make sense of it and rely on its accuracy.”

The common structure of the Self-Measured Blood Pressure Data Model was reviewed by physicians in collaboration with technology leaders in the field. With a proven track record as a trusted convener, the AMA is uniquely qualified to lead and facilitate a collaboration that helps physicians take on a greater role in leading changes that will move technological innovations forward.

Following the successful completion of a clinical review process, the Self-Measured Blood Pressure Data Model has now moved into product integration with various consumer health technology companies. higi, one such consumer health technology company, and a contributor of practical expertise to this IHMI data model, has begun to pilot the data model.

“higi is proud to collaborate with IHMI on this important endeavor which enables health care providers the ability to expand their current network and tap the power of the higi to reach, know, engage with and manage their patients and consumers in real-time,” said higi Founder and Chief Medical Officer & Chief Technology Officer Khan Siddiqui, M.D. “With this real-time remote patient data now accessible to providers, they are able to connect patients to the right care they need, providing next health actions based on the reliable higi station blood pressure and biometric information to add real-time intelligence to patient treatment plans.”

HealthSteps, a health technology company that has developed a mobile application that places the patient at the center of their own care, is also integrating content from the Self-Measured Blood Pressure Data Model into its mobile platform.

“The development of a common data structure with the AMA's IHMI data models is a giant leap forward for health care," said HealthSteps CEO Benjamin King. "We are excited to work with the AMA Integrated Health Model Initiative and its community of collaborators to advance this first release, and further the deployment of this technology to improve care for millions of patients."

A product integration agreement has also been finalized with Cloud DX, a Canadian leader in the digital health care industry.

"Cloud DX is excited to work with the AMA on the Integrated Health Model Initiative,” said Cloud DX Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer Anthony Kaul. “Cloud DX has always been a proponent of capturing meta-data about the conditions under which patient-generated vital signs are gathered. The IHM data model for gathering self-measured blood pressure will assist in establishing a baseline of trust in the BP readings of remotely monitored patients. As digital medicine builds momentum and the care continuum continues to expand past the four walls of the clinic, it will be imperative that the precision of data gathered outside the clinic is a known entity as an input to diagnostic and prescriptive decisions by the clinician."

The AMA’s IHMI group is dedicated to ensuring that data standards, governance, and semantic interoperability are openly achievable. Its ongoing work continues to focus on the development of common data standards to enhance information sharing and unlock potential improvements in patient outcomes.

Participation in IHMI is open to all health care and technology stakeholders, and early collaborators include IBM, Cerner, Intermountain Healthcare, American Heart Association, American Medical Informatics Association, and a growing list of other organizations.

IHMI’s collaborative efforts are designed to address significant data portability gaps within healthcare, and be responsive to these unmet needs at the pace of innovation. The AMA invites all health care innovators and stakeholders to download the free Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) profile for the Self-Measured Blood Pressure Data Model, and join the IHMI and contribute their unique expertise to transforming health care. To join IHMI, visit www.ama-assn.org/ihmi for more details.