Recognizing the Synergy and Strength of Collaboration, eHealth Initiative and HIMSS Align on Health Information Exchange and RHIO Initiatives
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For more information contact: Karla Hurter / eHealth Initiative |
September 14, 2006 |
Working together, the two organizations will continue to provide their members with effective resources and education on and for the mobilization of information electronically to support healthcare
WASHINGTON, D.C. and CHICAGO (September 14, 2006) As the movement of health information exchange (HIE) initiatives and regional health information organizations (RHIOs) continues to grow in states and communities across the country in support of the Administration's focus on a "Nationwide Health Information Network" or "NHIN", the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced today a collaborative agreement that will strengthen this movement, offering complimentary education programs, tools and resources to state, regional and community leaders engaged in health information exchange and building RHIOs. H. Stephen Lieber, president and chief executive officer of HIMSS, and Janet Marchibroda, chief executive officer of eHI, jointly made the announcement.
"Through collaboration, we will further advance the field, by coordinating our efforts and combining the strengths of both organizations," said Marchibroda. "eHI has built a coalition of more than 280 state, regional and community-based initiatives engaged in mobilizing data, created a rich set of tools and resources through its Connecting Communities Toolkit, and is helping a number of states and communities on the ground with technical assistance. This relationship enables us to leverage HIMSS leadership in providing educational programs--globally, nationally, and locally, to 'get the word out' to the hundreds of thousands of leaders in the field who are transforming healthcare."
"This agreement builds on the strengths of both organizations," said Lieber. "HIMSS strong focus on educational program development in collaboration with eHIs Connecting Communities will provide those involved in RHIOs and healthcare data exchanges with unsurpassed resources."
Under the terms of the agreement, eHI and HIMSS will recognize eHIs Connecting Communities Membership as the primary networking community for regional health information organizations and health information exchange initiatives. eHI 's Connecting Communities Toolkit will serve as the primary source of tools, guidelines and resources developed on a complementary basis by both eHI and HIMSS. Finally, both eHI and HIMSS will recognize HIMSS as the primary organizer of educational programming for RHIOs and HIE initiatives.
The first new program from this collaboration will be a series of regional educational programs throughout the country. To start, two programs are scheduled for December in Salt Lake City and Chicago. At least two more early next year will be convened. HIMSS and eHI will jointly develop the educational content for these programs which will be presented through HIMSS. The 2006 programs are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 12, in Salt Lake City, and Thursday, Dec. 14, in Chicago. More information is forthcoming on both the eHI and HIMSS Web sites.
HIMSS is currently developing a privacy and security tool for RHIOs and HIE initiatives which will be offered through the eHI Connecting Communities Toolkit. eHI and HIMSS will both continue to provide resources to the RHIO/HIE community. eHI will continue to expand its Connecting Communities Toolkit, an online resource for health information exchange and set of technical assistance capabilities it provides to state and regional leaders. HIMSS will publish complementary resources in the Toolkit including research, guidebooks, checklists, assessment tools, and others.
About eHealth Initiative
The eHealth Initiative and its Foundation are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. eHI engages multiple stakeholders, including clinicians, consumer and patient groups, employers, health plans, healthcare IT suppliers, hospitals and other providers, laboratories, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, public health, and public sector agencies, as well as its growing coalition of more than 280 state, regional and community-based collaboratives focused on improving healthcare by mobilizing health information electronically, to develop and disseminate common principles, policies and best practices for improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of America's healthcare through information and information technology. For more information, go to http://www.ehealthinitiative.org.
About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., and other locations across the country, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit www.himss.org for more information.
