American College of Physicians and the American Telemedicine Association Collaborate on New Digital Health Assessment Framework
ACP announces pilot test of reviewed digital health tools identified using foundational criteria jointly developed with the ATA and ORCHA
WASHINGTON, DC, and BOSTON – MAY 2, 2022 – The American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and ORCHA, the Organization for the Review of Care and Health Applications, today announced a new U.S. framework for assessing digital health technologies, including mobile apps and web-based tools used by healthcare professionals and consumers. ACP also announced the launch of a pilot test of a database of digital health tools reviewed against the framework by ORCHA.
The Digital Health Assessment Framework is intended to be an open framework, accessible for anyone to use, to support the adoption of high-quality digital health technologies and help healthcare professionals and patients make better-informed decisions about which digital health tools best suit their needs. The Framework includes components to assess privacy and security, clinical assurance and safety, and usability, and was crafted to support U.S.-specific guidelines, regulations and best practices for digital health technologies.
“ACP’s collaboration on this project is an important step forward in identifying and creating digital health tools that are valuable and safe for our members and patients,” said Ryan D. Mire, MD, FACP, and ACP president. “Leveraging the clinical expertise of ACP members, the technology expertise of the ATA members, and ORCHA’s experience in assessing apps to create libraries of high-quality apps, this pilot test has the potential to address the needs of many stakeholders. We look forward to achieving our joint goal through the pilot test to determine how the library can be useful to physicians in recommending high-value digital health tools to their patients, and what other barriers to wider adoption of digital health tools may exist.”
“Digital health technologies can offer safe, effective, and engaging access to personalized health and support, and provide more convenient care, improve patient and provider satisfaction, and achieve better clinical outcomes,” said Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the ATA. “There are literally hundreds of health apps and devices for patients and clinicians to choose from, and our goal is to provide confidence that the health and wellness tools reviewed in this Framework meet quality, privacy and clinical assurance criteria in the U.S. The ATA is pleased to be collaborating with ATA members, healthcare stakeholders, the American College of Physicians, and ORCHA, a trusted partner for healthcare systems and technology companies, to develop foundational criteria for assessing digital health technologies in the U.S.”
For further information, please visit: dhealthframework.org
ACP Pilot Study
Recognizing the need to provide guidance for internal medicine physicians and their patients in choosing high-quality digital health tools, ACP is launching a pilot test of a library of health apps reviewed against the Framework. Implementing a Framework such as this requires efficiently reviewing a large number of digital health tools against it, so as to create diverse libraries of acceptable health apps.
Feedback from the ACP pilot, as well as input from digital health technology companies, healthcare professionals, consumers, and other stakeholders will continue to help improve the Framework, which will be updated regularly to reflect changes in clinical practice, the latest guidelines and best practices.
About ORCHA
ORCHA is the world’s number one software platform for delivering safe digital health. Healthcare providers, professionals and digital health developers in twelve countries use the ORCHA award-winning software platform to deliver digital health safely. Its product range is built around a closed loop system, delivering the core infrastructure needed to introduce digital health safely, and the governance needed to manage risk. Products include assessment, digital health libraries, formularies, prescription tools and training. It has completed over 17,000 assessments on 7,000 apps. Its business intelligence technology, matched with an expert team, assesses a product against security, privacy, accessibility and clinical assurance criteria, in a repeatable process, with unmatched speed and accuracy.
About the ATA
As the only organization completely focused on advancing telehealth, the American Telemedicine Association is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable, and appropriate care when and where they need it, enabling the system to do more good for more people. The ATA represents a broad and inclusive member network of leading healthcare delivery systems, academic institutions, technology solution providers and payers, as well as partner organizations and alliances, working to advance industry adoption of telehealth, promote responsible policy, advocate for government and market normalization, and provide education and resources to help integrate virtual care into emerging value-based delivery models.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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CONTACTS:
Gina Cella Andrew Hachadorian
gcella@americantelemed.org ahachadorian@acponline.org
t: 781-799-3137 t: 215-351-2514
