Sherold Barr
HL7 Communications
+1-503-595 5546
sherold@sheroldbarr.com 

Joyce Lofstrom
HIMSS
+1-312-915 9237
jlofstrom@himss.org 

Save the Date for “Interconnected Health 2012”
April 2-4, 2012 in Chicago

Needham, MA, USA and Ann Arbor, MI, USA and Chicago USA – November 30, 2011 – OMG®, Health Level Seven® International (HL7), and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), today announced “Interconnected Health 2012: Enabling Health through High-Impact IT.” The event will focus on approaches, challenges, and solutions affecting the ability to connect health organizations and systems, and the role of IT as an enabler in achieving this connectivity. Geared toward the CxO suite and senior leaders within healthcare organizations, Interconnected Health provides a venue to hear what peer organizations are doing (both within the US and abroad), to exchange ideas, and to interact with peers who are leaders in this space. For more information on the conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago, IL on April 2-4, 2012, visit http://www.omg.org/interhealth. 

“’Interconnecting Health’ is a theme that continues to come up, not just within the US, but globally. Creating those mechanisms to allow for health organizations to coordinate, collaborate, and effectively share information is of paramount importance for care management, care delivery, and wellness promotion. This event will provide a place for this community to come together to share ideas, best practices, and experiences,” said Ken Rubin, Chief Architect, Federal Healthcare Portfolio, HP Enterprise Services and Robert Lario, Principal, Visumpoint, co-chairs, Healthcare DTF at OMG.

“HL7 is proud to be part of this event and to share best practices and insights in implementing its standards and other ONC selected standards and implementation specifications,” said John Quinn, CTO of HL7. “We look forward to the U.S. moving towards implementing meaningful use stage 2 interim final rules that will be published in the summer of 2012.”

“Facilitating the future of secure and seamless healthcare interoperability is one of HIMSS’ top priorities,” said Jim St.Clair, Senior Director, Interoperability and Standards, HIMSS. “We are proud to participate in this event and share insights and experiences with the healthcare community.”

About the Conference
Interconnected Health 2012 will feature several tracks including:

• A HIMSS track
• An Implementation Track, focused on use of health IT and organizational adoption
• An Infrastructure Track, including cloud computing, integrated infrastructure and availability
• A SOA Track, looking at business services, shared services and architecture
• A Global Case Studies Track, emphasizing implementation experiences and challenges
• An Incremental Innovation Track, examining approaches to achieving innovation recognizing financial, cultural and technological constraints

Other presentations will focus on taking examples of success from other industries and applying those lessons to health. The Call for Participation for the Interconnected Health 2012 conference will be issued shortly. For conference information, visit http://www.omg.org/interhealth.  Interconnected Health evolved from the highly successful SOA in Healthcare conference.

More Information
Exhibit space is available, for more information email marketing@omg.org. Sponsorship opportunities are available; contact Ken Berk at ken.berk@omg.org or +1-781-444 0404.

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About Health Level Seven (HL7) International
Founded in 1987, Health Level Seven International (www.HL7.org) is the global authority for healthcare Information interoperability and standards with affiliates established in more than 30 countries. HL7 is a non-profit, ANSI accredited standards development organization dedicated to providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information that supports clinical practice and the management, delivery and evaluation of health services. HL7’s more than 2,300 members represent approximately 500 corporate members, which include more than 90 percent of the information systems vendors serving healthcare. HL7 collaborates with other standards developers and provider, payer, philanthropic and government agencies at the highest levels to ensure the development of comprehensive and reliable standards and successful interoperability efforts.

About HIMSS
HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 50 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 38,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 540 corporate members and more than 120 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org.

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Edited by Stephanie