The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

Founded in 1961, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members, 9,000 health care professionals. and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people.

The CHIME Foundation is a separate non-profit organization comprised of select healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms. CHIME Foundation members benefit from the unique opportunity to partner and collaborate with more than 1,400 CHIME member CIOs. The CHIME Foundation provides and participates in the educational initiatives and programs that serve the professional development needs of both CHIME and CHIME Foundation members. These mutually beneficial activities include both online and in-person educational programs, surveys, focus groups, and the opportunity to network and collaborate with leaders in the industry. These initiatives and partnerships are intended to advance the strategic and innovative applications of healthcare information technology

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of health care vendors. KLAS’ mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our health care provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4500 hospitals and over 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email marketing@KLASresearch.com, or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative.

The eHealth Initiative and the Foundation for eHealth Initiative are independent, non-profit affiliated organizations whose missions are the same: to drive improvement in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology.

Both organizations are focused on engaging multiple and diverse stakeholders--including hospitals and other healthcare organizations, clinician groups, consumer and patient groups, employers and purchasers, health plans, healthcare information technology organizations, manufacturers, public health agencies, academic and research institutions, and public sector stakeholders--to define and then implement specific actions that will address the quality, safety and efficiency challenges of our healthcare system through the use of interoperable information technology.

One of several American National Standards Institute (ANSI) -accredited Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) operating in the healthcare arena, Health Level Seven is an international community of healthcare subject matter experts and information scientists collaborating to create standards for the exchange, management and integration of electronic healthcare information. HL7 promotes the use of such standards within and among healthcare organizations to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery for the benefit of all.

IHE is an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information. IHE promotes the coordinated use of established standards such as DICOM and HL7 to address specific clinical needs in support of optimal patient care. Systems developed in accordance with IHE communicate with one another better, are easier to implement, and enable care providers to use information more effectively.

Microsoft Healthcare Users Group (MS-HUG) unified with The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) as part of the HIMSS Users Group Alliance Program in October 2003. The unification strengthens the commitment of HIMSS and MS-HUG to better serve their members and the industry through a shared strategic vision to provide leadership and healthcare information technology solutions that improve the delivery of patient care.

The mission of the Microsoft Healthcare User’s Group (MS-HUG) is to be the healthcare industry forum for exchanging ideas, promoting learning, and sharing solutions for information systems using Microsoft technologies. MS-HUG will leverage this forum to provide industry leadership, drive appropriate standards and develop associated requirements in support of healthcare solutions.

The Medical Users Software Exchange (MUSE) supports healthcare organizations using MEDITECH developed software and technologies, by providing a user-driven networking environment conducive to learning - where ideas are exchanged and information is shared so that our members can continually improve organizational performance.

Scottsdale Institute is a not-for-profit association serving executive teams in leading healthcare systems.

The University HealthSystem Consortium, formed in 1984, is an alliance of 107 academic medical centers and 238 of their affiliated hospitals, representing approximately 90% of the nation’s nonprofit academic medical centers. UHC offers its members specific programs and services to improve clinical, operational, financial, and patient safety performance. The mission of UHC is to advance knowledge, foster collaboration, and promote change to help members succeed in their respective markets. For more information, visit www.uhc.edu.