Message #16 From:
NewsBot Date: September 28, 2006 05:00:00 AM
BGAT News Governor Perry Appoints Bluegate CEO Manfred Sternberg to Southern Governors Association Gulf Coast Health Information Technology Task Force
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bluegate Corp. (OTCBB:BGAT), the nation’s
premier provider of outsourced health care IT solutions, professional
technology consulting services and the Bluegate Medical Grade Network™,
announced that CEO Manfred Sternberg has been appointed by Texas
Governor Rick Perry to the Southern Governors Association (SGA) Gulf
Coast Health Information Technology Task Force.
Comprised of experts from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama, and
national experts in developing, implementing and/or applying health
information technology, the task force is charged with developing a plan
for adopting a digitally based health information system in the Gulf
Coast region. The task force will identify and explore solutions to
technical, political and attitudinal obstacles to the development of
state-based health information systems that ensures regional
interoperability while maintaining the privacy and security of patient
information.
Hurricane Katrina exposed US health care system vulnerabilities and
clearly defined the urgency for an interoperable digital network to
replace a largely paper-based medical records system.
The recent announcement by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
regarding the Stark Law Rule Change and the U.S. House of Representatives’
passage of HR 4157 “The Health IT Promotion
Act of 2006,” both aimed at removing legal
barriers so hospitals and certain other organizations can provide
information technology and support services to physicians, marks a
critical step in laying the foundation for health care interoperability
and aids the Bush administration’s goal of
nationwide adoption of electronic health records (EHR) by 2014.
“Building acceptance and widespread adoption
of EHR, patient management and other digital systems among health care
facilities, and more importantly, the independent physician practices
that provide the majority of patient care, is critical to creating
health care interoperability that can improve patient care and reduce
costs,” stated Mr. Sternberg. “I’m
honored to have been selected by Gov. Perry to serve on the Task Force
and am looking forward to helping define a solution that will enhance
patient care in times of normalcy, as well as catastrophe.”
A native of New Orleans, Mr. Sternberg is a member of the State of Texas
Health IT Advisory Committee and is involved in multiple efforts to
create Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO) in Texas and
around the country. He also is a licensed attorney in Louisiana and
Texas.
About Bluegate
Bluegate Corp. is an industry leader of outsourced health care IT
solutions, the Medical Grade Network™ and
remote management services. It provides IT consulting through its
professional services division and HIPAA-compliant, turnkey managed
security services and interoperability solutions across its Medical
Grade Network™ to hospitals, physicians,
other health care facilities, RHIOs, HCOs and third-party solution
providers. Bluegate is publicly traded on the over the counter bulletin
board under the ticker symbol BGAT. For information, visit www.bluegate.com
or call 713-686-1100.
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements." All
statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release and
without limitation statements regarding potential future plans and
objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to
be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in such statements.
