Connecting for Health
Organization URL(s)
info@markle.orgwww.connectingforhealth.org
Other Contact Information
The Markle Foundation
10 Rockefeller Plaza
16th Floor
New York,
NY 10020-1903
212-713-7600 (Voice)
212-765-9690 (FAX)
Description
Connecting for Health is a public-private collaborative of more than 100 participants from both the public and private sectors focused on addressing the policy, technical, and legal barriers to establishing an interconnected health information infrastructure and to promote its potential benefits. Connecting for Health was convened by the Markle Foundation to serve as a catalyst for changes that would begin rapidly to clear the way for an interoperable health information infrastructure. It was designed to address the challenges of mobilizing health information in order to improve quality, conduct timely research, empower patients to become full participants in their care, and bolster the public health infrastructure. The first phase of the collaborative's work drove consensus on the adoption of an initial set of data standards, developed case studies on privacy and security, and helped define the electronic personal health record. Connecting for Health developed an incremental roadmap intended to lay out near-term actions necessary to achieving electronic connectivity. To carry out its work, Connecting for Health organized several working groups focusing on understanding the business and organizational issues of community-based information exchange, sharing electronic information with patients, and several aspects of technical interoperability. Connecting for Health receives additional funding and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Online Resources
- Americans Want Benefits of Personal Health Records
http://www.connectingforhealth.org/resources/phwg_survey_6.5.03.pdf - Connecting Americans to Their Healthcare
http://www.connectingforhealth.org/resources/wg_eis_final_report_0704.pdf
Print Resources
Connecting for Health produces press releases and publications. Sample publications include “Americans Want Benefits of Personal Health Records,” an online survey on consumer attitudes toward a personal health record; and “Connecting Americans to Their Healthcare,” a report that addresses barriers, emphasizes opportunities, and recommends guidelines for electronic information sharing between patients and clinicians.