IHIE News

PRESS RELEASE

Indiana Health Information Exchange Named Finalist for Prestigious Technology Award

Indianapolis, IN (May 16, 2008) ‐ The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) was selected as a finalist for the state's most prestigious technology award, the TechPoint Mira Award. The awards recognize the top performers, innovators and contributors to technology‐related industries in Indiana. TechPoint received 75 nominations this year, nearly double the number of nominations in previous years. IHIE competed in the Health & Life Sciences Gazelle Company Award, which recognizes companies that are commercializing projects or services in the Health & Life Sciences sector and have been in business less than five years from the initial formation of the company.

As a provider of practical solutions to address the most difficult healthcare issues, IHIE is one of the nation's most high‐profile health information exchange efforts. IHIE bridges the gap between paper‐based and technology‐based medicine without requiring complex software packages. The organization was formed specifically to address the following issues in the healthcare industry:

1. Safety: Medical errors take nearly 100,000 lives each year.
2. Cost: healthcare spending in U.S. is at $1 trillion. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to $5 trillion.

Other notable accomplishments and awards for the Indiana Health Information Exchange include:

• Quality Health First program winner of the eHealth Initiative's award for the Aligning Financial and Other Incentives category for their annual awards.
• 2007 Finalist for Indiana Entrepreneurial Awards of Distinction
• U.S. Surgeon General visits the Indiana Health Information Exchange in Fall 2004; declares the organization a national model.
• The Quality Health First program has landed the Indiana Health Information Exchange with national recognition and participation in federal projects related to healthcare quality and improvement initiatives, including the Better Quality Information to Improve Care for Medicare Beneficiaries Project (as one of 6 national pilot sites) and the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Value‐Driven Health Care Community Leader Designation.
• IHIE is supporting Regenstrief's $2.5 million contract to begin a trial implementation of a Nationwide Health Information Network. The Indianapolis group is one of only nine selected by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to work on the Nationwide Health Information Network.
• IHIE is "…at the forefront of the effort to strengthen our nation's chaotic healthcare delivery system". U.S. News & World Report, August 2005
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt visits IHIE in Summer 2006; declares IHIE and Indiana as national model for health IT efforts.

About the Indiana Health Information Exchange
Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) is a non-profit corporation formed by the Regenstrief Institute, private hospitals, local and state health departments, BioCrossroads, the state's life sciences initiative, and other prominent organizations in Indiana. IHIE is the nation's most respected health information exchange organizations and one of the nation's only health information exchange organizations providing chronic disease and preventive health services (www.qualityhealthfirst.org). It is dedicated to supporting communities by providing services that enable the right medical information to get to the right provider at the right time to enhance patient care. To learn more, visit www.ihie.org.