Faculty Voice: Harnessing Health Information Technology for Equitable Care in Michigan

December 18, 2025

Dr. Charles ("Chaz") Hong is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur. He is chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and a MSU Research Foundation Professor.

If you or a loved one has ever had a complicated medical condition or been hospitalized, you know how hard it can be to manage your health record. As a cardiologist, I’ve observed this struggle firsthand with patients. How can technology be so advanced, yet we still struggle with this issue? Moreover, in a time when artificial intelligence has seemingly infiltrated nearly every industry – I’ve become more curious about how we could leverage this powerful tool to address some of the shortfalls in patient care. Could AI really help us improve health care in Michigan? I believe it can. My growing interest in how health information is shared and the use of artificial intelligence has motivated me to serve on the Governor’s Health Information Technology Commission.

The Health Information Technology (HIT) Commission is charged with promoting secure and effective health information exchange across the state so that every Michigander can receive high-quality care, regardless of where they live. Michigan’s health care system spans large academic medical centers in cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor, community hospitals in mid-sized cities, and critical access hospitals and clinics in rural regions such as the Upper Peninsula. The Commission’s work to improve interoperability ensures that vital clinical information can follow patients across these diverse settings, reducing errors, duplicative testing, and delays.

I was drawn to the Commission not only by this core mission, but also by its growing relevance in the era of health AI. Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly used to predict disease risk, support clinical decision-making, and guide population health strategies for conditions common in Michigan, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, when AI systems are trained on incomplete or unrepresentative data, they can worsen disparities—particularly for rural residents, low-income communities, and communities of color.

Health information technology plays a critical role in mitigating these risks. By strengthening statewide data exchange and integrating information from diverse settings—including urban health systems, rural hospitals, and safety-net providers—Michigan can support the development of AI models that better reflect our state’s full population. Robust HIT infrastructure also enables ongoing evaluation of AI tools, allowing us to assess performance across race, ethnicity, geography, and insurance status and recalibrate when inequities emerge.

The Commission’s emphasis on secure data sharing, privacy protections, and inclusive stakeholder engagement is foundational to this work. Michigan’s participation in national interoperability efforts, including alignment with frameworks such as the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), further strengthens our ability to build trustworthy systems tailored to Michigan-specific needs.

I firmly believe that technology, when guided by thoughtful equity-focused policy, can meaningfully improve the health of all Michiganders, from Detroit to the Upper Peninsula. Beyond better care, health information technology strengthens Michigan’s economic competitiveness by lowering costs, preventing avoidable hospitalizations, supporting earlier interventions, and improving workforce health. As the saying goes, “A healthy community is a wealthy, thriving community.” I am honored to serve on the Governor’s Health Information Technology Commission.