FIU hosts conference to discuss the benefits of a Health Information Exchange

Posted by × 04/28/2010 at 10:00 am

WHAT: Executives from Florida International University affiliate hospitals and other partners are coming together at FIU on Wednesday to discuss the possibility and benefits of creating a health information exchange – a seamless system for doctors to access patients’ records across a network.

“Ideally a doctor anywhere should be able to access a patient’s medical history,” said Tom M. Gomez, Director of Program Management for the FIU Health Information Technology Initiative (FIU HIT Initiative). “We are looking to build the backbone that will make that possible in South Florida and connect us with the rest of the nation.”

The Health Information Exchange (HIE) Executive Sessions are designed to organize an effort that would make it possible to attract a portion of $20.7 million in federal funding that will be available in Florida in the coming months for these types of projects. The event is coordinated by FIU HIT Initiative. The vision calls for a working exchange in South Florida in the next three years. 

WHO: The conference will feature the following speakers, among others.

  • President and CEO of VitalSpring Technologies Sreedhar Potarazu will speak at 11:30 a.m. on the basics of the health information exchange.

 

  • CMIO for Advanced Information Technology Group (AITG) & Clinical Neurologist at TATRC Steve Steffensen will address the group at 12:15p.m. on how the Defense Department uses this process to exchange information with the public sector.

 

  • A panel discussion will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will include Martin Prahl, who will discuss how a limited implementation of a health information exchange has had excellent results in Virginia.

The FIU HIT Initiative utilizes the framework of National Science Foundation’s FIU-FAU Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Knowledge Enablement (CAKE) and is guided by the steering committee comprised of the FIU Deans of Medicine, Business, Nursing, Public Health, and Engineering & Computing.

The HIT Initiative and the NSF Center are directed by Naphtali David Rishe, PhD, the inaugural Outstanding University Professor of FIU and the principal investigator of $45 million in grants, including $7 million in current NSF grants. 

Tom M. Gomez is Entrepreneur-in-Residence, and Principal Architect of the HIT Programs at the FIU NSF Center.  He serves as Director of Program Management for the FIU HIT Initiative.

WHEN AND WHERE:  April 28, 2010 at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, CBC 155.  Conference participation is by invitation only, but media is welcome.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Tom M. Gomez at 917-304-7149 or via e-mail at gomezt@cs.fiu.edu.

Media Contact:  Lissette Lanza at 305-348-2232.

-FIU-

About FIU:
Florida International University is one of the 25 largest universities in the nation, with nearly 40,000 students. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. Its colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. The opening of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in August 2009 has enhanced the university’s ability to create lasting change through its research initiatives. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.

 

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