FSPHP-Research Information System (RIS)Shaping the Future of Physician Health and Healthcare Professional Programs A national initiative to strengthen Physician Health and Healthcare Professional Programs (PHPs and HPPs) through secure, data-driven insights and ethical research. The FSPHP-Research Information System (RIS) will help PHPs and HPPs answer critical questions about their work, such as:
Why This Project Matters The FSPHP-RIS, with support from the Physician Foundation grant, is now moving to the next steps, and your participation response is requested below. Our goal is to help PHPs demonstrate impact, strengthen advocacy, and advance physician and health professionals’ health while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and data protection. We are excited to invite you to participate in this new initiative that will help to shape the future of PHPs nationwide. This is an innovative project aimed at developing data-driven analysis of various PHP models and outcomes. The FSPHP RIS is designed to explore our collective ability to track participant outcomes and strengthen advocacy efforts, all while ensuring secure and responsible data governance. This initiative is intended to serve as a way to collect de-identified data — we are not collecting any private health information or identifying details. Our focus is on aggregated insights that can help strengthen PHPs without compromising participant confidentiality. Secure, Responsible Data Governance De-identification – proper de-identification of Protected Health Information (PHI) is a critical aspect of compliance, and we are appropriately safeguarding the sanctity of PHP participant information in this project. The RIS will not receive, process, or store any PHI (Protected Health Information). As verification, we will contract with a qualified statistician who will review the data sets and confirm, pursuant to the HIPAA and Part 2 protocols, that the information received has been properly de-identified. The data sets will represent de-identified demographic information, referral patterns, presenting problems, assessments and recommendations, monitoring and drug testing, and outcome measures such as compliance, relapse, program status, and whether participants are currently practicing. To ensure a smooth process, we have partnered with three information technology experts, Ted Blizzard, Jeff Gross, and Raj (Sidhu) Datla. Ted Blizzard was the former Chief Information Officer at the Massachusetts Medical Society; he and his team have extensive expertise in healthcare technology and data-driven solutions. In addition, Ted was involved in the IT solutions for the Massachusetts Physician Health Services for over a decade, seeing this program through a few database transitions. Of importance to you, we have commitments from RecoveryTrek and Affinity to support any PHP affiliated with them in the data file preparation, extraction, and export. The lift on your end will be light. 42 CFR Part 2 This federal regulation protects SUD patient records but does not apply to properly de-identified data used for research, aligning with HIPAA standards. The HHS final rule (February 8, 2024) confirms: “We reiterate here that the proposed change should not be construed as extending the protections of part 2 to de-identified information, as such information is outside of the scope of § 2.12(a).” While § 2.54 allows de-identified disclosures to public health authorities, it does not restrict other research uses. FSPHP has consulted healthcare attorneys to verify compliance when data is de-identified. FSPHP has determined that Part 2 does not apply to de-identified RIS data submissions. Programs should still consult their legal counsel. References: Final Rule IRB In addition to the above items, FSPHP has requested approval by the IRB (Institutional Review Board), to confirm that all aspects of the data collection and research protocols are compliant and are fully protective of patient confidentiality. We have submitted our application and anticipate hearing back in early 2026. We look forward to updating you. Why Participate? Strengthen PHPs Through Data: Enhance Program Advocacy: Secure & Ethical Data Management: Early Access to a Transformative System: Improve Program Efficiency: We are seeking up to five PHPs to participate in the proof of concept. As part of the Proof of Concept, FSPHP and its technical partners are defining data layouts, building and testing the database and data ingestion processes, and running queries to demonstrate that the system can reliably integrate and analyze de-identified PHP and HPP data. As of Jan 2026, the final architecture of the RIS has been designed and reviewed in collaboration with participating PHPs and Third-Party Administrators (Affinity and RecoveryTrek). We are ready to receive and process data from four PHPs that have joined us (Georgia, Texas, Washington, and Pennsylvania). We would like to thank the PHPs who have joined us to date to make this remarkable progress possible. The proof of concept will focus on a limited but meaningful subset of data elements, allowing us to test the system’s functionality, assess usability, and refine processes before broader implementation. Your participation would be invaluable in ensuring that the RIS meets the real-world needs of PHPs while maintaining the highest standards of data security and ethical oversight. How to Get Involved Step 1 – Confirm Participation Step 2 – Review FAQs Questions ? Contact the FSPHP-RIS Team As with any research initiative, especially in the “proof of concept” phase, questions arise. FSPHP is committed to responding to every question, so that each participating program can join in this effort without reservation. FSPHP is making every effort to provide careful and thorough answers to the participating programs. As always, further questions may be directed to the FSPHP-RIS team about these or any other issues. FSPHP will be in touch with you next on the steps to submit your data file via a secure link. |
