ONC recruits Consumer Engagement Expert Joshua Seidman;
eHealth Initiative Takes Over IxAction Alliance
Diane Manos of HealthcareIT News reported on November 24, 2009, “The eHealth Initiative (eHI) is taking over the Information Therapy Action (IxAction) Alliance, a group that focuses on patient-centered care and health information technology.” The IxAction Alliance and its Web sites will maintain their identities while being managed by eHI.

eHealth Initiative stated in a November 24, 2009 press release “eHI’s adoption of the IxAction Alliance, which was previously operated by the Center for Information Therapy (IxCenter), comes on the heels of the announcement that the IxCenter will be ceasing operations as its founder and president, Joshua Seidman, PhD, moves to the federal Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology to help lead government efforts around consumer engagement and the meaningful use of electronic health records. eHI will also absorb the intellectual property of the IxCenter.”

Jennifer Covich Bordenick, Chief Operating Officer of the eHealth Initiative said “eHI will be able leverage its broad-based membership spanning every sector of the healthcare community and its leadership in using health information technology to drive improvements in healthcare as a means to expand the reach and impact of the IxAction Alliance.”

Seidman’s Transition Post on Center for Information Therapy Blog:
“Meaningful Use, ONC, Ix, and Me”
Joushua Seidman presented an 8-year history of Center for Information Therapy, their accomplishments, the commitment of ONC and eHI to consumer focus, and the transitions of iXAlliance and iXCenter to eHI in his November 18, 2009 post.

The boiler-plate descriptions of eHI and iXAction Alliance taken from the eHI press release:
About eHealth Initiative and its Foundation
“The eHealth Initiative (eHI) is an independent, non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization whose mission is to drive improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care through information and information technology. eHI engages multiple stakeholders including clinicians, consumer and patient groups, employers and healthcare purchasers, health IT suppliers, health plans, hospitals and other providers, laboratories, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, pharmacies, public health agencies, and state and community-based organizations, to reach agreement on and drive the adoption of common principles, policies, strategies and actions that improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care through information technology that are responsible, practical, sustainable, responsible to stakeholder needs—particularly those of patients–and build and maintain the public’s trust. For more information, visit http://www.ehealthinitiative.org.”

About the IxAction Alliance
“The IxAction Alliance is an alliance of organizations committed to stimulating innovation and diffusing best practices and to evolving critical Ix strategies with the goal of advancing the practice and science of information therapy in order to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery. The IxAction Alliance envisions a future for our healthcare system in which every health decision made collaboratively by patients and providers is an informed one.  For more information, visit http://www.ixaction.org.”

eHI Web site
http://www.ehealthinitiative.org
iXCenter Web sites
http://www.ixcenter.org 
http://www.ixaction.org

eHI Members
eHI Board Members   
iX Board Members