New model defines capabilities, benchmarks, and levels of advancement to support policy makers and health information exchanges in developing HDUs

The Consortium for State and Regional Interoperability (CSRI), a collection of the nation’s largest and most robust nonprofit health data networks, announced today the release of their new Health Data Utility (HDU) Capability Model. This model establishes a method for describing and standardizing what an HDU can consistently deliver at scale that is outcomes-oriented, evidence-based, and stakeholder-specific, mapping capabilities to the distinct needs of providers, public health agencies, Medicaid and other state programs, payers, researchers, and patients. The model is available at www.thecsri.org to the public at no cost.

An HDU is a not-for-profit organization with information exchange at its core and multi-stakeholder governance, which, through its mission and function, seeks to meet the comprehensive health data delivery and analytics needs of a state’s public and private sectors. The concept of HDUs has gained momentum in recent years as health information exchanges (HIEs) have advanced and developed more technology and functionality to serve state and other healthcare stakeholders at scale. CSRI’s vision is for every state to have a statewide HDU that enables better health for its entire population.

The HDU Capability Model builds on CSRI’s original HDU Maturity Model, launched in 2023, which provides a simple three-tiered framework for states and the health data organizations within those states to clarify, advance, and apply the HDU concept. The new Capability Model identifies more than 160 capabilities, some shared among all HDU stakeholders and some specific to each stakeholder, for a more defined understanding of what an HDU can do across four tiered levels — “Emerging” to “Aspirational” — for each stakeholder. It also includes robust, weighted scoring methodology, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison among HDUs.

“HDU stakeholders, including patients, are all asking the same question: Can I rely on this organization to deliver the data and services I need?” said Dr. J. Marc Overhage, who led the development of the HDU Capability Model for CSRI and will become CSRI’s CEO in January. “This model gives a consistent, evidence-based way to answer that question. It doesn’t just say whether an organization calls itself a health data utility — it makes clear what it can actually do, at scale, for each stakeholder.”

Overhage has served as Chief Health Information Officer for organizations like Elevance Health, Siemens Health Solutions, and Cerner as well as practiced for 20 years as a physician in a major academic medical center.

The model was developed with considerable input from stakeholders, HDUs, HIEs, and Civitas Networks for Health^®, a national collaborative comprised of member organizations working to use health information exchange, data use, and cross-sector approaches to improve health.

The updated HDU Capability Model can be used as:

• A road map for advancement: To define and measure the core capabilities and those needed to deliver value and services to payers, providers, public health, researchers, and patients
• A communication tool: To help HDUs clearly show stakeholders how capable and reliable they are today and where they’re headed
• Guidance for HIEs: To outline what HIEs need to develop and where to invest to better serve their stakeholders and support broader health data exchange goals

“There were many reasons for us to update this model starting with the federal government’s greater emphasis on closing the gaps in health data exchange,” said John Kansky, Board Chair, CSRI and CEO, Indiana Health Information Exchange. “This model gives policymakers and our industry a tool and common language to assess and determine the value an HDU is capable of providing and offers clear benchmarks and guidance to help HDUs continue to evolve as essential infrastructure for regional, state, and national healthcare.”

CSRI is inviting public comments on the HDU Capability Model. The comment period will remain open until December 12, 2025. To submit input on the HDU Capability Model, please email hdu@civitasforhealth.org.

About CSRI

The Consortium for State and Regional Interoperability (CSRI) is a collection of the nation’s largest and most robust nonprofit healthcare data organizations. Collectively, our nonprofit organizations connect more than 100 million records for patients across several states and provide a wide range of services to healthcare organizations and state and public health agencies.

Founding CSRI members include: Contexture, CRISP, CyncHealth, Indiana Health Information Exchange, and Manifest MedEx. Most recently New York eHealth Collaborative joined in May.

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