Panelists
Pamela Hanlon, President & CEO, Community Medical Networking Society
Richard D. Rubin, President & CEO, Foundation for Health Care Quality
STATEMENT OF THE SUBJECT
To date most Community Health Information Networks (CHINs) have focused on meeting the needs of the private sector and the health industry. Yet, CHINs offer great promise for also meeting the health information needs of the public. Integrating the interests of the broader community with the business and clinical needs for the health industry is an important objective for the CHIN movement.
KEY ISSUES, INCLUDING THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY
What is a CHIN? What is the state of the CHIN movement? How do CHINs relate to other health information
networking efforts? What is the nature of CHIN partnerships? Which partnership models seem to
work best? Are CHINs currently serving the public sector or consumers? What type of CHIN
functionality is likely to be of greatest interest to the public? What aspects of a CHIN may raise public concern? How can consumers and the public sector become involved in a CHIN partnership? How can the public health community and the personal health industry collaborate to meet shared health information needs?
How will the growth of the Internet effect the evolution of CHINs? Will the focus of CHINs be
the network, content, applications, all three? Who will pay for and control CHINS? Are consumers
the ultimate growth market for CHINs?
ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND PRIORITIES OF KEY SECTORS
1. Legislative/executive: An improved health information infrastructure is a prerequisite for
successful reform of the health system. CHINs and other forms of public/private health information partnerships should be encouraged and supported.
2. Health industry: Investment in health information technology must be a priority. Collaboration
offers an opportunity to reduce cost and increase benefits. Community or inter-enterprise connectivity issues must be considered as intra-enterprise solutions are developed.
3. Consumers: Better information to support health decisionmaking is critical. Consumers need
to be more actively engaged in community conversations related to health information. These consumers
need to forcefully state their needs, push for accountability, and protect privacy.
Richard Rubin, President and CEO
Foundation for Health Care Quality
rickrubin@aol.com