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Merger Could Form Largest Health Information Exchange in California

A new nonprofit health information exchange will include an estimated 16.7 million information records and participation among 150 partners, making what its operators say will make the HIE the largest in California. A former White House senior technology adviser will lead the new tax-exempt public benefit corporation.

A new nonprofit health information exchange will include an estimated 16.7 million information records and participation among 150 partners, making what its operators say will make the HIE the largest in California.

The California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX) and Inland Empire Health Information Exchange (IEHIE) officially announced the merger this month.

"Claudia Williams, former White House technology senior adviser, will lead the new organization as CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2017. The merger, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017 and will operate as a tax-exempt public benefit corporation under a new name," the exchanges announced.

Williams most recently was senior adviser for Health Innovation and Technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prior to that, she was HIE director in the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency's Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Executives from the two merging exchanges lauded the merger and Williams' leadership:

“The creation of this new statewide health information exchange by IEHIE and Cal INDEX is an important milestone in transforming California’s health-care system into a coordinated system that delivers higher quality and more efficient care to all Californians,” said Dr. Bradley Gilbert, chairman of the IEHIE Board of Directors.

Mark Savage, chairman of the Cal INDEX Board of Directors and director of health information technology policy and programs for the National Partnership for Women and Families, added: “Claudia is the ideal candidate to lead this new entity. She is a strategic and transformational leader with national experience managing and scaling health information exchanges. With Claudia, California’s statewide HIE gets the rare combination of breadth and depth.”