{"id":12128,"date":"2026-03-26T16:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniteustailstg.wpengine.com\/?p=12128"},"modified":"2026-03-30T13:50:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:50:26","slug":"himss-2026-recap-data-standards-and-rural-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/blog\/himss-2026-recap-data-standards-and-rural-health\/","title":{"rendered":"HIMSS 2026 Recap: How Data Standards Power Rural Health Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By: Emily Anders, Director, Payments Strategy\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier this month at HIMSS, I had the opportunity to represent the Gravity Project at the HL7 International exhibit, presenting alongside Katie Keating, Vice President of Solutions Engineering, on the role shared data standards play in powering rural health transformation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>From Activity to Impact: Shifting How We Think About SDOH Data<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the past decade, there\u2019s been a meaningful shift in how we think about health. Community-based services that address social drivers of health (SDOH)\u2014 or the non-medical factors that impact our health like food access, housing support, transportation, and maternal health services\u2014are no longer seen as adjacent to healthcare, but as essential components of it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve also worked with our customers to build a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/studies-and-data\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">growing body of evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showing that when these needs are addressed, we see real outcomes: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/case-study\/intermountain-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reduced total cost of care<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/case-study\/reducing-ed-utilization-at-ballad-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fewer ED visits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and improved clinical measures like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/case-study\/lighting-the-torch-transforming-rural-health-in-missouri\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A1C and blood pressure control<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But one of the biggest challenges has remained: <\/span><b>proving ROI consistently and at scale.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moving from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">activity tracking<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u201ca referral was made\u201d) to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outcome attribution<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u201cthis intervention improved this person\u2019s health and reduced cost\u201d) requires more than programs and partnerships. It requires a shared language.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why Data Standards Matter<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where SDOH data standards come in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Standards-based infrastructure,\u00a0 like the work advanced through the Gravity Project and enabled through <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/blog\/fhir\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HL7 FHIR<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, allows clinical providers, community-based organizations, payers, and states to speak the same language. It creates consistency in how we:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capture social risk and needs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send and receive referrals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Document services delivered<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Track outcomes and close the loop<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without that shared foundation, even the most well-designed programs struggle to demonstrate impact in a way that is measurable, repeatable, and scalable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What This Looks Like in Practice<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re now seeing leading states operationalize data standardization in meaningful ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/nc-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Carolina\u2019s Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the state built a first-of-its-kind program to pay for evidence-based, non-medical services for Medicaid members. In its interim evaluation, the program demonstrated <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2830892\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$85 PMPM savings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for enrolled members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That result didn\u2019t happen by chance. It required the ability to connect data across many different stakeholders like managed care plans, clinically integrated networks, and community-based organizations, and to consistently track services delivered and outcomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/case-study\/lighting-the-torch-transforming-rural-health-in-missouri\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missouri\u2019s Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> initiative is showing how a hospital-led, community-based model can improve care coordination while also reducing administrative burden. Connecting hospitals and community organizations through shared, standards-based infrastructure, show the program is enabling more timely follow-up, better visibility into services, and HEDIS gap closures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In both cases, standards-based infrastructure t makes it possible to link actions to outcomes, with proven results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why Data Standards Matter for Rural Health<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This conversation is especially timely as states begin preparing for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), a significant, time-bound federal investment aimed at strengthening rural health systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At its core, the opportunity is not just to fund new programs, but to build systems that are sustainable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supporting rural providers under financial strain<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expanding workforce capacity, including community health workers and doulas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investing in infrastructure that connects clinical and community care<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demonstrating measurable improvements in cost and outcomes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But across all of these priorities, one requirement stands out: <\/span><b>the ability to measure impact.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And in rural communities, where care often involves a complex network of providers, community organizations, and support services, that measurement challenge is even more pronounced.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Bringing It Back to the Individual: A Maternal Health Impact Story<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maternal health is a key priority across many states\u2019 RHTP strategy. During our session, we used this as a lens to illustrate why standards-based infrastructure is critical to achieving meaningful, measurable outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pregnancy-related mortality is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0002937821001447\"><b>up to 50% higher for rural individuals compared to their urban counterparts<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and in some analyses, rates are nearly <\/span><b>twice as high in rural areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthaffairs.org\/doi\/10.1377\/hlthaff.2019.00805\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">see higher rates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of severe maternal morbidity, infant mortality, and complications like preterm birth in rural communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, access to care is declining. Over <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/1468-0009.12668\"><b>two-thirds of rural counties lack hospital-based obstetric services<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and many patients are traveling <\/span><b>30\u201350+ minutes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reach care, if it\u2019s available at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine a pregnant patient in a rural community. She may be enrolled in Medicaid and receiving clinical care from a provider located over an hour away, without access to transportation and fresh produce. So when states set goals like improving maternal health outcomes as part of their rural health strategies, this is the reality they need to help individuals overcome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States may employ strategies to meet the pregnant mom where she is &#8211; connecting her to a community health worker to navigate access to transportation and food, and a doula to provide important prenatal education, supportive services, and advocacy. These non-clinical supports might be approved to be reimbursed by Medicaid within their state. Meanwhile, her provider is documenting in an EHR, the birthing hospital is documenting in another system, and the CHW\/doulas in a third system, or using spreadsheets. At the policy level, a state Medicaid analyst who has never met the member, is trying to answer a critical question:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What actually improved outcomes for this patient, and what should we scale in order to positively impact more pregnant individuals?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where standards-based infrastructure becomes essential. By understanding the social risk data the individual was experiencing (LOINC, snomed), what referrals were sent and what supportive services the individual was able to access and what outcome occurred (FHIR), what billable services were provided and reimbursed (Z-codes, HCPCs codes, X12 EDI), and enabling all of these stakeholders to be able to support this pregnant individual on their journey to receiving care (FHIR APIs), the analysts at the policy level are able to understand how programs on the ground are running and whether those interventions are making the impact they need. Without a shared language across all of these actors, it\u2019s incredibly difficult to connect interventions to outcomes. This is why the work the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thegravityproject.net\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gravity Project<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> does to create shared language and exchange is fundamental for programs to be scalable, replicable, and sustainable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Path Forward: Leveraging Data Standards to Power Better Rural Health Outcomes<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rural health transformation isn\u2019t just about funding or new programs. It\u2019s about building the infrastructure to enable providers to coordinate care across the continuum through secure data exchange, speak the same language through shared terminology, and measure the impact of programs in order to ensure sustainability. Standards are the foundation of that work, turning fragmented data into coordinated systems, and uncovering insights on impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to the important work done by the Gravity Project, technology infrastructure can adopt these shared standards and leverage interoperable exchange through HL7 FHIR to connect clinical care, community services, and policy analysis. This is what makes it possible to measure, scale, and sustain interventions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When everyone is speaking the same data language, we don\u2019t just track one-off activities. We can see what works and expand it to improve care for more people in rural communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button button-solid\" href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/solutions\/rural-health\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about partnering with Unite Us for rural health transformation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Emily Anders, Director, Payments Strategy\u00a0 Earlier this month at HIMSS, I had the opportunity to represent the Gravity Project at the HL7 International exhibit, presenting alongside Katie Keating, Vice President of Solutions Engineering, on the role shared data standards play in powering rural health transformation.\u00a0 From Activity to Impact: Shifting How We Think About&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":12132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"states":[],"topic":[84,132,79],"industry":[],"series_name":[],"class_list":["post-12128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","topic-data","topic-integration","topic-rural-health"],"acf":{"layout":"default","gated_page":{"":null,"title":"","featured_image":null,"description":"","form_title":"Fill out the form to download the white paper.","code_editor":"","title_2":"","description_2":"","embeds":null,"display_cta_button":true,"button_text":"Download the White Paper"},"columns":null,"download_page":{"document":""},"reports_component":{"components":null},"webinar_components":{"components":null,"speakers":{"speaker_heading":"Speakers","all_speakers":null},"organizations":{"organization_heading":"Organizations","all_organizations":null}}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HIMSS 2026 Recap | Unite Us &amp; The Gravity Project on Data Standards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniteus.com\/blog\/himss-2026-recap-data-standards-and-rural-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HIMSS 2026 Recap | Unite Us &amp; The Gravity Project on Data Standards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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