Xcertia Board of Directors Issues Support of Xcertia Guidelines to Help Strengthen Data Privacy in Mobile Apps

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As concerns continue to mount over the privacy, protection and use of personal health data, the Xcertia Board of Directors and its membership continues to advocate for a set of standardized guidelines and best practices to ensure that mobile apps protect patient privacy. Specifically, Xcertia's Board believes patients using mHealth apps would benefit from knowing that those apps have adopted the organization's mHealth App Guidelines.  Xcertia is also calling on its federal partners to adopt an initial app privacy framework utilizing industry guidelines.

"We believe there is an opportunity to leverage the Xcertia Guidelines given forthcoming federal requirements around certified health IT design, development, and the increased availability of patient health information through application programing interfaces (APIs).  These Guidelines can act as one set of criteria app developers should assert conformance to increasing transparency around an app's data privacy and other practices," said Michael Hodgkins, MD, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Xcertia.

After a nine-month process involving teams of work groups representing over 40 members of the digital healthcare community and a public comment period, Xcertia released it first fully reviewed and board-approved set of guidelines. "The release of Xcertia's Guidelines marks a milestone for patients and providers by meeting a pressing need in the market for a framework helping to build confidence among clinical professionals and patients that apps are safe, trustworthy, and important tools to help people achieve their health and wellness goals," said Joe Kvedar, MD, Xcertia Board Member, VP of Connected Health, Partners Healthcare.

The Xcertia Board of Directors is made up of individuals from the following organizations; Accenture, AHA, AMA, DHX Group, HIMSS, IBM Watson Health, IQVIA, Mayo, Partners Connected Health, The Alliance for Nursing Informatics, The American Telemedicine Association  and The App Association. The Xcertia Guidelines can be accessed at www.xcertia.org.  

About Xcertia
Xcertia is a joint mHealth app collaborative effort pioneered by the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Heart Association (AHA), DHX Group and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The collaboration continues to build on each organization's ongoing efforts to foster safe, effective, and reputable health technologies. Our combined expertise, along with a diverse membership, leverages the insights of clinicians, patients, government agencies and industry experts to improve patient care.

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SOURCE Xcertia