FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michelle Fritts
202.429.7558; mfritts@aphanet.org
December 9, 2010
Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative Defines Structure and Available Membership Categories
WASHINGTON, DC – The Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology (eHIT) Collaborative today released information regarding the organization’s newly crafted structure and membership categories. The Collaborative’s structure is designed to expand opportunities for participation by a broader set of stakeholders to pursue a standard for pharmacists’ participation in electronic health records.
There are three levels of membership available to organizations that wish to join:
- Collaborative Council Member: Not-for-profit, national pharmacy organizations that support the practice of pharmacy. Members vote on governance issues and are aligned with the Collaborative’s mission.
- Collaborative Associate Member: For profit or not-for-profit organizations that can contribute to the Collaborative’s overall mission.
- Petitioner: A subcategory of membership for organizations that wish to support the Collaborative’s objectives, but do not meet the established criteria for membership.
Formed in the fall of 2010, the Collaborative is focused on improving patient care quality and outcomes, through the integration of pharmacists’ patient care services into the national electronic health record infrastructure. The group is pursuing Electronic Health Record (EHR) standards that effectively support the delivery, and documentation of, and billing for, pharmacist-provided patient care services across all care settings. The Collaborative influences Health Information Technology (HIT) policy through unified, consistent communications to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and other HIT organizations about pharmacist-provided patient care services and pharmacists’ contributions to the CMS and ONC defined meaningful use of EHR.
Organizations interested in joining the Collaborative should visit the Membership section of the website or contact Shelly Spiro, Director, Pharmacy e-HIT Collaborative at shelly@pharmacye-hit.org or 703-599-5051.
About the Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative
The Collaborative is focused on influencing the structure, development and implementation of the U.S. health HIT infrastructure to assure safe, efficient, and effective medication use through pharmacist-provided patient care services working with the interdisciplinary patient care team. Founded by nine pharmacist organizations, the Collaborative seeks to ensure that the pharmacist’s role of providing patient care services is integrated into the National HIT interoperable framework. The founding organizations of the Collaborative represent pharmacists working in all patient care settings within the health care system, in addition to many other facets of pharmacy including pharmacy education and pharmacy education accreditation. For more information, visit www.pharmacye-hit.org/.