Healthvision Announces Get Connected Knowledge Forum Conference; Exclu

    Business Editors/Healthcare Writers
    Get Connected 2005 Knowledge Forum

    IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2005--Healthvision, a leading healthcare Internet company, today announced their Get Connected Knowledge Forum Conference. The Get Connected 2005 Knowledge Forum, sponsored by Healthvision, VHA and eHealth Initiative (eHi) is the premier event that will bring together attendees seeking information on how to build a Connected Healthcare Community (CHC) or Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO's) and visionary leaders that are either executing today or have a dream for transforming our healthcare system.
    The event will be held from June 27-29, 2005 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. This venue is nationally renowned as one of newest premier resort properties in the country; with conventions booked well into 2013.
    "This unique event will be the first of its kind to bring together those who are doing it with those communities that need answers, inspiration and leadership," said Scott Decker, CEO of Healthvision. "Attendees will learn how to collaborate with healthcare systems and CHC's will better understand the role of this critical stakeholder in building a true connected community. The Get Connected conference is a how-to guide to help facilitate this dialogue with real examples of solutions that exist in many of our communities today."
    VHA and eHealth Initiative (eHi) will be sponsoring the event along with Healthvision. VHA is a member-owned and member-driven health care cooperative. They help their members become the local provider of choice by developing products and services that improve their clinical and operational performance.
    "We are very excited about aligning with Healthvision to sponsor this key conference," stated Curt Nonomaque, president and chief executive officer, VHA Inc. "Bringing together health care leaders of this caliber crystallizes the connected healthcare community concept and pushes it further toward adoption by the entire health care community."
    "The eHealth Initiative is proud to be a sponsor of the 2005 Get Connected Knowledge Forum Conference along with Healthvision and VHA," said Janet M. Marchibroda CEO, eHealth Initiative and Foundation, and executive director, Connecting for Health, Washington, DC. "We are focused on engaging multiple and diverse stakeholders to define and then implement specific actions that will address the quality, safety and efficiency challenges of our health care system through the use of interoperable information technology. This conference is an ideal way to accomplish this mission."
    Healthvision has organized some of the best leaders to share their vision on how to transform health care. Attendees will leave this event with a better understanding of the role their organizations can play as a catalyst for this change. Whether they want to connect physicians using clinical access or introduce their centers of excellence to their community, they will find the sessions they need at the 2005 Get Connected Knowledge Forum.
    "Each year, as many as 98,000 deaths are caused by avoidable medical errors and in 2003 alone, approximately $510 million was spent on ineffective care. At the same time, costs continue to rise -- in 2003 and 2004, the average insurance premium rose 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively," stated Decker. "Clearly, something has to change."
    At the root of these problems is the lack of coordinated care. Seventy-five percent of all healthcare spending is spent on people with one or more chronic diseases, and these patients typically see more than four physicians each year for care. If the patient population that drives 75 percent of the cost is seeing multiple care providers, a collaborative model becomes imperative. Without a system of collaborative care in place, quality of care will be driven down as medical errors; duplicate testing and costs continue to increase.
    Guests of the Gaylord Texan Resort will experience the best of the Lone Star State under the signature glass atrium where they can dine, shop, socialize, and be entertained among four-and-a-half acres of lush indoor gardens. Guests can stroll around and experience the festive atmosphere of Riverwalk, explore the vast canyons of Texas Hill Country, view the Alamo and taste the Nuevo Latino creations of award-winning Texas chef Stephan Pyles.

    About VHA

    VHA, founded in 1977, is an alliance of not-for-profit hospitals, health systems and their affiliates. Member organizations range from single 50-bed facilities to large, integrated health care systems made up of multiple hospitals, physician clinics and support care sites.

    About eHealth Initiative

    The eHealth Initiative and the Foundation for eHealth Initiative are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvement in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology.

    About Healthvision

    Healthvision creates Connected Healthcare Communities by helping market leaders quickly and cost-effectively plan for and deliver patient-centric information via shared information exchanges. Healthvision's capabilities cover the spectrum of needs ranging from a suite of strategic consulting services to web-based infrastructure and applications -- all designed to enhance decision making and effectiveness. The Healthvision e-Health Interoperability Platform and applications improve access to clinical information and enhance coordination and collaboration of care.
    The company's Web-based infrastructure, e-healthSOURCE, is the most widely used in the industry, hosting more than 7.5 million unique patient records. Additionally, more than 350 healthcare organizations use the company's solutions to make health care easier for their key audiences - a number that represents more than 23,000 clinicians (including 11,000 physicians), thousands of patients and millions of consumers. A privately held company, based in Irving, Texas, Healthvision was formed in July 1999. For more information, visit www.healthvision.com.

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CONTACT: Healthvision, Irving Bevey Miner, 972-819-4207

KEYWORD: TEXAS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE MEDICAL INTERNET E-COMMERCE TRADESHOW PRODUCT SOURCE: Healthvision

Copyright Business Wire 2005