higi Health Stations Now Can Connect With Electronic Health Records

App developed in partnership with Rush University Medical Center will help improve management of chronic conditions and address health disparitiesCHICAGO – March 1, 2018 – higi, a Chicago company that operates a national network of more than 11,000 health self-screening stations for population health enablement, today 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 developmentAs 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.”Patients will be able to share data from higi stations across ChicagoIn the initial launch of the higi-Epic EHR integration, planned to begin during the third quarter of 2018, Rush patients who receive specialized care for hypertension will be able to measure their biometrics at 211 Jewel-Osco, Meijer, Sams Club and select CVS pharmacy locations across the Chicago area. With the patients’ consent, data from higi will be shared immediately and securely with trusted Rush care providers in Epic’s hypertension registries to decrease the need for blood pressure check visits to Rush clinics.Based on the results of the launch, this program will be extended to 60,000 additional Rush patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension, pre-diabetes and diabetes."The partnership with higi helps us toward achieving our population health goals for hypertension management,” said Dr. Omar Lateef, Rush’s chief medical officer. “Through their extensive network of health stations, higi will provide an accessible and affordable way for our patients to regularly measure and share their blood pressure measurements."The higi team is working with the Rush IT team to make the higi – Epic EHR integration application available on the Epic App Orchard marketplace for adoption by other health systems and physician groups that use Epic EHR solutions.Those attending the HIMSS18 conference in Las Vegas from March 5-9 will be able to see this integration at Booth #12440 and to learn more about how higi and Rush are using data and community-based care to make it easier for patients to be their healthiest.###ABOUT HIGI:higi is a population health enablement company that empowers consumers to measure, track and act on their health data. Through a nationwide network of over 11,000 FDA-cleared self-screening stations found at pharmacy retailers and other community locations and over 80 different third-party integrations, higi makes it easier to engage consumers in their health.  As the largest repository of standardized biometric data, higi enables healthcare organizations to better reach targeted populations; collect biometric and other health determinant data to stratify and prioritize consumers; and motivate consumers to take specific actions at a point of care. To date, more than 45 million people have used a higi health station to conduct over 259 million biometric screenings. For more information, visit us at www.higi.com.HIGI CONTACT: Anna Stallmann, higi@nahigianstrategies.com, 202-660-2567ABOUT RUSH:Rush is an academic health system whose mission is to improve the health of the patients and the diverse communities it serves through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research and community partnerships. The Rush system comprises Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Copley Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital, as well as numerous outpatient care facilities. Rush University, with more than 2,500 students, is a health sciences university that comprises Rush Medical College, the College of Nursing, the College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College.In November 2017, Rush University Medical Center was recognized by CMS as the only five-star academic medical center in Illinois. The Rush University Medical Group was also named a CDC 2017 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Champion for achieving a control rate of 74 percent, demonstrating a commitment to provide the highest quality of care for patients.