CodeX Grows Steering Committee To Advance HL7 FHIR Interoperability

The HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Accelerator CodeX has announced an expanded steering committee and new additions to its leadership team.

CodeX aims to advance the adoption of FHIR as the data standard to obtain high-quality data for patient care and research.  

"These experts in their fields are committed to helping CodeX develop and implement a strategic vision for the future with integrity, fairness, and equity," Su Chen, MD, program manager and clinical director of CodeX, said in a press release.

"We embrace the HL7 ethos of collaboration and community to collectively solve interoperability challenges," said Chen, who also serves as a digital health clinical principal at MITRE and chair of the CodeX Steering Committee.

The CodeX community identifies use cases where adopting data standards can improve care delivery and outcomes while reducing stakeholder burden.

In the oncology space, CodeX members are working to develop an open standard language for cancer care and research through testing the minimal Common Oncology Data Elements (mCODE) FHIR Implementation Guide.

Members will tackle similar challenges in new focus areas, such as exchanging cardiovascular data and constructing infrastructure to advance genomics research and care delivery.

The CodeX Steering Committee expanded from two to seven members to achieve broader representation from stakeholders.

The new representatives are:

• Adam Dicker, MD, PhD, FASTRO, FASCO, chair and professor of radiation oncology, pharmacology, and experimental therapeutics at Thomas Jefferson University; affiliated with CodeX member ASTRO.
• Charles Mayo, PhD, FAAPM, FASTRO, professor and director of radiation oncology informatics & analytics at the University of Michigan; vice chair of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) data science committee; and chair of the AAPM big data subcommittee; affiliated with CodeX member AAPM.
• Sorena Nadaf, MS, MMI, chief data & informatics officer for Alliance Data Innovation Lab; affiliated with CodeX member Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (ACTO).
• Heather Trimble, vice president of product strategy & growth at eviCore healthcare; affiliated with CodeX member Evernorth Health Services, the pharmacy, care, and benefits solutions division of The Cigna Group.
• Wanmei Ou, PhD, vice president of product at oncology solutions provider Ontada; affiliated with CodeX member Ontada.

The new members began their term in January 2023, joining the two existing Steering Committee representatives: Chuck Jaffe, MD, PhD, HL7 CEO, and Chen.

"We know that there will always be more potential use cases than any single entity can explore on its own, which is why we're leveraging this broader committee to zero in on the most promising, high-impact areas of study," said Steve Bratt, PhD, outgoing chair of the CodeX Steering Committee and program manager and principal of health standards and interoperability at MITRE.

"We are very excited to open this new chapter for CodeX and continue to build on our successes so far," he said. "HL7 FHIR is already doing so much to bring better care to patients in the real world, and we are eager and honored to contribute our time, skills, and resources to this crucial mission."  

Bratt served as chair of the CodeX Steering Committee from its inception until December 2022 and was key to the growth of CodeX and the publication of the mCODE FHIR Implementation Guide.

After more than five years in MITRE leadership, Bratt assumed a consultative role with MITRE, effective January 1, 2023.

"Steve's leadership has been instrumental to leading CodeX to where we are today," said Chen. "It's Steve's belief in the power of community in driving healthcare innovation that has led to building the vibrant CodeX community and consequently the growing footprint that mCODE and its extensions have in real-world pilots and implementations."

Effective January 1, 2023, Chen added CodeX program manager to her CodeX clinical director role and now serves as Steering Committee chair.