March 15, 2010, BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continua Health Alliance, an international organization of leading health care and technology companies, today announced the increasing global impact of the organization through strategic partnerships worldwide and availability of 15 quality Continua CertifiedTM products from Continua member companies. This week Continua is proud to collaborate with World of Health IT Conference and Exhibition (WoHIT) organizers to offer health care professionals and policy makers practical knowledge about how technology can enhance health care. The Alliance will share Continua's standards based, interoperability approach to personal health systems with more than 3,000 attendees of WoHIT 2010. As a leading forum for eHealth in Europe, WoHIT 2010 will explore the convergence of health information from clinical environments to the home.
"Continua is dedicated to supporting connected health initiatives worldwide," stated Chuck Parker, executive director, Continua Health Alliance. "We feel WoHIT is an excellent fit for our priorities and brings together leaders from both Europe and around the world, resulting in incredible momentum and synergy for the connected health movement."
Recently, Continua has strengthened its engagement with the European Union on personal health connectivity through the receipt of funding from the European Commission (EC) for a 12-month project called Smart Personal Health. Smart Personal Health aims to promote awareness and a deeper understanding of the need for interoperability among personal health systems (PHS), devices and other eHealth systems across Europe.
The first in a series of workshops in conjunction with Smart Personal Health, "Enabling Integrated Care: Harnessing personal health systems for better outcomes across the care continuum," will take place on March 18, 2010 in conjunction with WoHIT 2010. The workshop will provide a forum to explore opportunities and identify solutions for integrating personal health systems in routine health care, while focusing on the real world experience of clinicians. It will also outline the key benefits of PHS such as reduced emergency room visits and repeat hospitalizations, improved patient compliance and increased productivity.
"HIMSS is pleased that Continua and many other pan-European and global health care stakeholders have joined WoHIT 2010 to give attendees a glimpse into the future of converged health information," said Jeremy T Bonfini, HIMSS Global Senior Vice President. "We are excited for the incredible range of speakers, demonstrations and networking events that will accompany WoHIT 2010 this week."
Additionally, Continua is proud to announce its partnership with Renewing Health, a major project co-funded by the European Union with a total of budget of more than $19 million (USD). It aims to aid the implementation of homecare systems which make use of connected health technology to assist chronic disease patients suffering from diabetes, cardio-vascular or respiratory illnesses. The launch of Renewing Health brings together representatives from nine European countries including Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Spain.
Continua, which recently achieved the certification of 15 Continua CertifiedTM products, plans to release its Version 1.5 Design Guidelines in the second quarter of 2010. The Version 1.5 Design Guidelines will outline the technical requirements which will allow the addition of new devices to the Continua ecosystem such as an insulin pump, peak flow meter, and adherence monitor, as well as the wide area network interface and the addition of email to health record networks.
About Continua
Continua Health Alliance is a non-profit, open industry coalition of the finest health care and technology companies joining together in collaboration to improve the quality of personal health care. With more than 230 member companies around the world, Continua is dedicated to establishing a system of interoperable personal health solutions with the knowledge that extending those solutions into the home fosters independence, empowers individuals and provides the opportunity for truly personalized health and wellness management. For more information visit: www.continuaalliance.org.