In a recent press release, higi, a Chicago company that operates a national network of more than 11,000 health self-screening stations for population health enablement, announced the development of a new app that will allow higi users to have data from their screening shared with health care providers who maintain electronic health records (EHR) in Epic, the most widely-used system. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago built the app in conjunction with higi.
“higi is proud to partner with Rush on this important integration, which enables Rush and other organizations who use the Epic EHR to connect with our more than 11,000 publicly-accessible higi stations to extend their reach into communities, enable more convenient measurement of health data, gain insight into social determinants of health and inform patient treatment plans,” said Jeff Bennett, CEO of higi.
higi readings in homeless shelter inspired app’s development
As part of this initiative, Rush is placing additional higi stations into community centers, high schools and other locations to improve access and to address social needs that affect overall health and well-being. Rush’s first higi station deployment was to Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph, a not-for-profit homeless shelter near Rush on Chicago’s West Side where Rush clinicians and students provide free medical services.
At Franciscan House, the Rush team detected a prevalence of severe hypertension in residents that was multiple times higher than for people in the greater Chicago area. This finding inspired Rush’s information technology team to create an interoperable integration with Rush’s Epic EHR to ensure that data from higi is accessible in real time for Rush clinicians or other community-based providers.
Beyond measurement of important biometric health indicators, higi also enables collection of social determinants of health information at the station. Social determinants such as housing instability, food insecurity and difficulty accessing transportation have a significant impact on health outcomes, and this data can be used to connect individuals with appropriate community based resources.
“At Rush, we are focused on improving the health of our surrounding communities,” said Dr. Shafiq Rab, Rush’s senior vice president and chief information officer. “A leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Chicago’s West Side is unmanaged hypertension and heart disease. By connecting higi health stations with Epic workflows, we are trying to improve access to care, regularly measure biometrics and work with our community partners to better understand and address social determinants of health.”