Worcester Board of Health backs citywide health data exchange and will send outreach letter to providers

The Worcester Board of Health on July 28 unanimously voted to support the Worcester Integrated Health Data Exchange (WIDE) and to send a letter from the board to local health organizations encouraging participation.

Dr. Michael Tsai, representing the project team from UMass Chan Medical School, described WIDE as a near-real-time, citywide platform that combines standardized, de-identified electronic health record data from participating health systems into interactive dashboards. "The dashboards update daily and can be used to identify gaps in screening and treatment, drill down to demographic groups and neighborhoods, and support targeted interventions," Dr. Tsai said.

The board's motion, made by Member Michael Perrado and seconded by Member Charice Allen, included a friendly amendment from Member Charice Allen to send an endorsement letter to local providers. The roll call was recorded as: Leo Negron Cruz, yes; Michael Perrado, yes; Charice Allen, yes; Gary Rosen, yes; Francis Anthes, yes.

What WIDE does: Dr. Tsai said the project maps de-identified records to an OMOP common data model, links records across organizations using privacy-preserving techniques, and supports ad-hoc population discovery. The initial dashboards focused on the opioid-affected population and identified screening and treatment gaps for hepatitis C and HIV. Participants so far include UMass Memorial and the Family Health Center of Worcester; the team is working to onboard additional partners, including Reliant, St. Vincent's, and Worcester EMS data.

Board members cited the public-health value of more timely local data. Dr. Tamara Lundy, Director of the Division of Public Health, noted that much existing public-health data arrives months or years late; a near-real-time city-level feed would help target interventions and identify hot spots sooner.

Data protections and participation: Dr. Tsai emphasized the data are de-identified and stored in a secure UMass Chan cloud environment; linkage across sites is privacy-preserving and does not reveal patient identity to the city or to other partners. He said the city is currently underwriting technical support to help organizations onboard and that participation can be tailored to an organization's capacity.

The board motion asked staff to prepare and send a letter encouraging Worcester providers to participate and to support WIDE's activities; the board also agreed to monitor and receive updates on onboarding and metrics. The motion carried unanimously.

Ending: Board Chair Francis Anthes thanked the presenters and asked staff to help distribute the endorsement letter to health-care organizations and partners.