In this January 31, 2023, letter sent to John Ohanian, chief data officer and director of the Center for Data Insights and Innovation (CDII) at the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), Connecting for Better Health provided feedback on the Qualified Health Information Organization (QHIO) Application.

In the letter, Connecting for Better Health described itself as a coalition of industry stakeholders dedicated to advancing data sharing policies in California. 

QHIOs will be critical partners that enable many Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) signatories to meet their data-sharing obligations under AB 133, according to the letter. This letter also outlined the coalition’s feedback on the following topics related to the draft QHIO Application: (1) QHIOs’ ability to serve all DSA signatories and required purposes, (2) cybersecurity insurance coverage, (3) security certification, and (4) data quality.

Areas of feedback include:

1. QHIOs’ ability to serve all DSA signatories and required purposes  

2. Cybersecurity insurance coverage  

3. Security certification

4. Data quality

The letter, signed by Timi Leslie, leader of Connecting for Better Health, concluded that the coalition supports CDII’s efforts to advance robust data sharing as required under AB 133 and appreciates CDII’s consideration of these recommendations. She added that Connecting for Better Health looks forward to working with CDII to ensure a robust QHIO program that can support DSA signatories’ data sharing needs in a secure and equitable manner.