Institute for Health Metrics Trust Model
Our Trust Model has several components which combine to establish a transparent, auditable and secure system:
- Mission - The protection of personal information is embedded into the core mission statement of our organization. While we abide by all applicable legal guidelines which serve as the floor for our practices and procedures, we also have the goal of supporting research into the development of best practices (ethical and technical) regarding the use of private health care information for quality and safety improvement. Many accepted practices fall short of addressing all of the issues that will be raised by the use of health data for quality improvement. IHM supports the extension of research into the appropriate use of private health information for health system improvement.
- Public Purpose - Uses of the data must always conform to a legitimate public interest. Any use of health information carries an inherent risk. A risk is only justifiable if the benefits are important, clear and demonstrable. Patients care very much about the quality and safety of their care as well as their privacy. We appropriately balance both interests so as to inspire positive public understanding of why the risks of such a system are acceptable.
- Privacy Policies - Privacy policies answer the question of who has legitimate access to identifiable information. IHM institutionalizes the principle that identifiable information is only available to those who have a "need-to-know" and only those in those circumstances when non-identifiable information cannot fulfill the function. Using the most advanced statistical algorithms, IHM enforces a level of anonymity that is statistically superior to the standards set out in HIPAA.
- Security - Physical protections represent the "hard-shell" of the system. Security maintains access control to the system and assures that only legitimate users gain access to any of the data resident on the IHM system. Our security systems are constantly updated and maintained according to the highest available standards of protection.
- Ethics Committee - Outside oversight is a key component of IHMâ?(TM)s trust model. We have established and continue to grow and develop an ethics committee of well known authorities in ethics.
- Legal Compliance - The IHM system always meets or exceeds legal requirements such as HIPAA, the Common Rule and applicable state law. Our staff includes experts in this area with an advanced understanding of these rules.
Our trust model integrates privacy, security and ethical considerations to further healthcare quality improvement.