MCLEAN, VA--(Marketwired - Jan 27, 2015) - Healtheway, a non-profit, public-private collaborative focused on advancing the implementation of interoperable health information exchange, today announced that the eHealth Exchange has been selected as a Top 30 finalist for the 2015 Igniting Innovation Awards, presented by the American Council for Technology - Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Institute for Innovation, the premier public-private partnership in the government IT community.
The awards program selected 30 finalists from a large pool of innovative government and industry solutions developed to address the government's biggest IT challenges. An overall Igniting Innovation winner will be selected on February 5th at the Igniting Innovation Showcase and Award event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C.
Achieving a nationwide health information network can only occur through collaboration. It requires government and industry to work together and agree upon technology standards, rules for security and trust, common testing protocols, and legal agreements. The eHealth Exchange stands out for the scale and scope of its member collaboration. Not only did government and industry have to work together to create the framework for the eHealth Exchange, the work also involved state and regional agencies as well as a broad spectrum of technology providers and healthcare organizations across the full spectrum of healthcare.
"The eHealth Exchange is a public/private collaboration in the truest sense of the word," said Mariann Yeager, Healtheway's CEO. "Originally created by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT within HHS, the eHealth Exchange was formed through the collaboration of four federal agencies and dozens of private sector organizations. The goal was to allow healthcare organizations across the country to securely share electronic health records with each other using standards-based technologies. The eHealth Exchange was eventually transitioned to Healtheway to manage the growing network, and today, membership includes federal agencies, states, technology vendors and healthcare organizations."
Current eHealth Exchange members include large provider networks, hospitals, pharmacies, regional health information exchanges and many federal agencies, representing 1/3 of all US hospitals, tens of thousands of medical groups, more than 5,000 pharmacies and 100 million patients.
"We are proud to recognize Healtheway for its dedication to advancing the mission of ACT-IAC by enabling government to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the eHealth Exchange," said Chris Smith, Igniting Innovation Program Chair. "Igniting Innovation provides a spotlight for the great work done in government each and every day in carrying out the critically important missions of these agencies for our nation. The finalists are leading the way through innovation and collaboration to improve outcomes and to assist government to operate more efficiently and effectively on behalf of our citizens."
The Top 30 finalists will exhibit their solutions at the Igniting Innovation Showcase and Award event on February 5th at the Ronald Reagan Building. The Top 8, selected via social media voting during the event, will deliver live presentations to a judging panel of government and industry professionals, as well as the entire showcase audience comprised of IT executives, influencers and media.
For more information and to register for the 2015 Igniting Innovation Showcase and Awards, see http://actiac.org/ignitinginnovation2015.
About Healtheway
Healtheway is a non-profit 501c3 chartered to advance implementation of secure, interoperable nationwide health information exchange (HIE). Healtheway currently supports two initiatives: the eHealth Exchange, a rapidly growing community of exchange partners who share information under a common trust framework and a common set of rules; and Carequality, a public-private collaborative effort to build consensus among existing health IT data exchange programs regarding technical specifications and best practices (similar to when the banking industry created a nationwide ATM network). Healtheway leads in cross-industry collaboration to develop implementation strategies that enable secure, interoperable nationwide exchange of health information. For more information about Healtheway, the eHealth Exchange and Carequality, visit www.healthewayinc.org. Follow Healtheway on Twitter: @HealthewayInc @eHealthExchange and @carequalitynet.
About eHealth Exchange
The eHealth Exchange is a rapidly growing health information exchange network of partners who securely share clinical information over the Internet nationwide. The eHealth Exchange spans across all 50 states and is one of the most widely used health information exchange infrastructures in the US. The network was incubated by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (HHS) beginning in 2004 with the goal of creating nationwide health IT interoperability. In 2012, it was transitioned to Healtheway to begin private sector stewardship of the network. Current eHealth Exchange members include large provider networks, hospitals, pharmacies, regional health information exchanges and many federal agencies, representing 1/3 of all US hospitals, tens of thousands of medical groups, more than 5,000 pharmacies and 100 million patients.
About ACT-IAC
ACT-IAC has been recognized as the premier government IT community's public-private partnership and is an example of how government and industry work together. We are a nonprofit educational organization created to advance government in serving the public through the effective application of IT resources. Our education, training, programming and collaboration opportunities enhance and advance the government IT profession. ACT-IAC's objective, vendor- and technology-neutral, and ethical forum allow government and industry to collaborate and improve government through technology. Headquartered in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, ACT-IAC also has chapters in the Pacific region (based in San Diego) and the Rocky Mountain region (based in Denver). www.actiac.org
Contact Information:
Contact:
Ivy Eckerman
Phone: (540) 373-2963
Email: ieckerman@spirecomm.com