Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) on Thursday signed an Executive Order establishing an advisory council to coordinate the state's e-health initiatives, the Chattanoogan reports.
The Governor's eHealth Advisory Council will be tasked with creating a plan to promote electronic health record use by stakeholders in the state and identifying obstacles to implementing an effective health information infrastructure. In addition, Bredesen hopes the council can offer ways to minimize and eliminate duplicative efforts while leveraging innovation, the Chattanoogan reports.
"By bringing together stakeholders in the health care industry who will focus on the use of technology as a tool to transform the way we provide care, we will put our state in a position to spark fundamental changes in the health outcomes of Tennesseans," Bredesen said.
The 16-member Advisory Council will be chaired by Antoine Agassi, former chief technology officer of Spheris and former CIO of WebMD. The remaining members, who will be appointed by Bredesen in the coming weeks, will represent Tennessee's provider community, employers, regional health care information organizations, payers and consumer groups (Chattanoogan, 4/7).