The iHealth Alliance is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect the interests of patients and providers, as healthcare increasingly moves online. The iHealth Alliance governs the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) and will ensure that the network is used only for patient safety alerts.
The iHealth Alliance is chaired by Nancy W. Dickey, M.D., past President of the AMA, President of Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for Texas A&M University.
The iHealth Alliance Board of Directors is comprised of industry leaders from medical societies, liability carriers, patient advocacy groups and others dedicated to protecting the interest of patients and providers.
President, Texas A&M Health Science Center
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Texas A&M University System
Former President, American Medical Association, 1998-99
Chairman, iHealthAlliance
Chair, Board of Trustees
American Medical Association
Medical Director
Senior Vice President
The Doctors Company
Past President
Massachusetts Medical Society
Professor of Surgery
Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs
LSU Health Sciences Center
Medical Director, Medical Informatics
Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Clinic
Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer
Food and Drug Administration
Deputy Chief Medical Officer
American Cancer Society.
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
Texas Medical Association
Former Chair, Board of Trustees
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Alliance for Health Information
Attorney
Brown McCarroll, L.L.P.
Chief Executive
LSU Healthcare Network
Frank Opelka, MD FACS serves as the chief executive of the LSU Healthcare Network. Dr. Opelka joined LSU in the spring of 2005, returning to New Orleans after spending time in Boston at one of the Harvard affiliate hospitals. Dr. Opelka is a physician executive and a recognized national leader in patient-centric health care. He also has expertise in healthcare patient safety, quality improvement and health care finance. He serves LSU Health Science Center as the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs. Dr. Opelka is the LSU Health Science Center's advocate for improving patients' health through the e-health record, the personal health record, and e-prescription program entitled, eRxNow. He serves as the national co-chair for the e-RxNow program in hopes of providing safe, effective patient medication prescriptions. Dr. Opelka feels, "physicians provide better and safer health care through communication". The electronic health system will connect patients to doctors, nurses, allied health, pharmacists and result in a patient having more ownership in their health. Dr. Opelka states, "With e-health systems, patients forced to respond to an emergency evacuation will always have their health care plan at their side. Our patients will never be alone without their providers again."
Dr. Opelka serves on several national committees working for the US Secretary for Health and Human Services and for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Opelka works closely with the National Quality Forum, the National Center for Quality Assurance, the AQA (the national physician quality alliance), the Surgical Quality Alliance, and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Opelka has also served in academic medicine for over 20 years and has authored several scientific works involved with surgical care. He is a recognized expert in disease of the colon and rectum. He has received awards and recognition for his efforts throughout the United States. Dr. Opelka conducts seminars in practice management, patient safety, and quality improvement. He has over one hundred regional and national presentations on a broad array of surgical and medical topics.