News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren Rotman" <>]

Focused on Creating an Advanced and Interoperable Medical Network, HIMSS and
Internet2 Announce Collaboration

The two organizations will leverage each other's expertise to explore the
viability of an independent and logically interconnected medical network in
the United States

CHICAGO, Ill. and ANN ARBOR, Mich. - August 1, 2006 - The Healthcare
Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and Internet2 announced
today that the two organizations have created a partnership to explore the
development of a secure, reliable and advanced networking solution for the
transmission of medical information, messages and images throughout the
broad healthcare industry.

The two organizations are exploring a new network designed to offer the
health sciences and healthcare sectors a private and secure medium for
exchanging health information. A next-generation architecture built to meet
federal regulatory requirements, this new network may also have value to
offer in the work of the National Health Information Network (NHIN).  

This ground-breaking collaboration is a natural extension for both
not-for-profit organizations. Through a membership of 20,000 individuals, 45
chapters, and more than 300 corporations representing millions of employees,
the HIMSS mission focuses on the betterment of healthcare through the most
effective use of information technology and management systems. Internet2,
the U.S.'s advanced networking consortium led by 208 U.S. university members
in partnership with over 100 industry and government members, works to
develop and deploy advanced networks, applications and resources. 

"HIMSS and our members look forward to this collaboration with Internet2,"
said H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS president/CEO. "The synergies between HIMSS
and Internet2 brought our organizations together to consider and evaluate
the feasibility of establishing a network that would meet the evolving needs
of the biomedical and healthcare delivery community." 

Since 1999, Internet2 has operated an advanced nationwide network that
supports leading-edge Internet technology development for the research and
academic community. Internet2 recently announced a major upgrade to this
network to provide members ten times the capacity and speed of its current
infrastructure. In addition, the Internet2 community has successfully
developed important middleware technologies to address critical issues in
authentication and authorization in order to enable active privacy
management. Through this partnership, HIMSS and the Internet2 community will
work closely together to leverage these leading-edge technologies to explore
development of brand new capabilities that meet the specific security and
privacy needs of the healthcare industry.      

"The research and education community has long understood the potential for
leveraging advanced Internet technology to enhance the healthcare industry's
ability to serve the public's needs, to improve the flow of information for
research, to streamline care processes and to enable cost savings," said
Douglas Van Houweling, Internet2 president and CEO. "Our partnership with
the HIMSS community is a major step forward in realizing this vision.
Together we will work to create a new state-of-the-art platform for
biomedical research, education and clinical practice on a national scale."

Through the partnership, four working groups have been established to
explore the requirements and capabilities needed to create an advanced
medical network during the next year. HIMSS and Internet2 will join each
other's organizations. Members of both organizations will also join each of
the four working groups, which include:
 
 - Identity Management that will allow the identification and authentication
of individuals regardless of their physical location.
- Privacy & Security that will focus on the tools and techniques that will
assure the privacy and security of the information that travels on the
network.
- Biomedical (Health Sciences and Healthcare) Education that will focus on
meeting the unique needs and accessing the resources required for biomedical
education.
- Telehealth that will focus on the implications for clinical practice when
a reliable advanced network is available.

In addition, members of both organizations will work for the development and
implementation of the network with other partnerships and collaborations,
including Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE).  

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.

About Internet2
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and
government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 facilitates the kinds of dynamic partnerships
among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet
in its infancy. For more information about Internet2 network capabilities,
visit http://networks.internet2.edu.

For more information, contact:
HIMSS
Joyce Lofstrom, MS, APR
312-915-9237 - 


Internet2
Lauren Rotman
202-331-5345 - 


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