Alexandra Cohen’s father passed away because of healthcare that was uncoordinated. Not all of his medical records were kept electronically and so were not fully shared between his specialists. Because of this, Alie left a successful career at Microsoft to join the cause of updating health information technology and now works at NYeC. Alie’s story is just one of the many reasons that complete and accessible electronic health records are critical, and one of the important stories that will be told at the NYeC gala and awards ceremony next month.
Visit nyecgala.org for more information.
In the year since the first NYeC gala, there have been revolutionary advancements in health IT throughout New York and across the nation. On Monday, October 15th, five champions of health IT will be highlighted at the event, which will be hosted by the dynamic Maria Bartiromo, anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo.”
The 2012 NYeC Gala will honor the Career Achievements in the Advancement of Health IT of General Electric’s Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey R. Immelt and IBM’s Chairman of the Board, Samuel J. Palmisano, both of whom have shown a long-standing commitment to the advancement of healthcare technology. Immelt’s work with the standardization and interoperability of health systems, improvement of EHRs and mobile healthcare applications, and leadership within GE has revolutionized the industry. Under Palmisano’s leadership, IBM is redefining value in healthcare — through health information exchanges, health analytics and especially IBM Watson for Healthcare, a new kind of cognitive computing system that uses natural language capabilities, hypothesis generation and evidence-based learning to support medical professionals in making faster, better decisions on patient diagnosis and treatment.
The 2012 New York Health IT Visionary award is presented to those whose use of technology measurably improves the lives of its community members through care coordination. This year, NYeC is proud to honor the Elmwood Health Center, of Buffalo, for their work with HEALTHeLINK, and numerous accomplishments as part of the WNY Beacon Program. NYeC will also present the New York Health IT Practice Champion award to Dr. Sumir Sahgal, of the Bronx, and Louise West, of Saratoga Springs, for their pioneering contributions to advancing healthcare through technology, and use of Health IT in their respective areas of practice.