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Friends of eHealth: An Overview for OHT Board Meeting 12/10/08. Dan Sears, VP of Development and Programs. What is Friends of eHealth. A non-profit public benefit corporation Operating under US law as a 501(c)(3)
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Friends of eHealth:An Overview for OHT Board Meeting 12/10/08 Dan Sears, VP of Development and Programs
What is Friends of eHealth • A non-profit public benefit corporation • Operating under US law as a 501(c)(3) • FEH invests in open-source Healthcare IT interoperability projects for the public benefit • Governed and regulated for the benefit of the public • A legal entity that can receive grant funds directly from foundations, government entities and corporations • Can provide a federal tax deductions to donors http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Friends of eHealth Relationship to OHT • Founded as the sister organization to OHT • Friends of eHealth is the strategic public-benefit funding partner • Established formal grant application guidelines for funding of OHT-approved projects • Serving as a sponsor for OHT projects to funding sources where OHT is legally or financially unable to directly participate http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Status of Friends of eHealth • We can accept U.S. Government federal and state agency grants (no bid) today • We anticipate receiving our IRS federal tax exemption in the winter of 2008/09 • Tax exemption will enable us to accept funds for OHT projects from philanthropic funding sources that require a federal tax deduction: • Private Foundations • Individual Donors http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Friends of eHealth Funding Model • Open Health Tools common solutions, standards and projects based on aligning joint self-interest • We align and aggregate investments in HIT interoperability projects that benefit the public and provide a measureable public good Healthcare & Govt Entities SDO & SSO Orgs Software Vendors Friends of eHealth Open Health Tools http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Advantages to OHT Projects • FEH enters into project funding agreements with OHT, not with the project member's organization • Funds flow from FEH through OHT to each project • We do not have an existing fund; we solicit funds for specific projects • We facilitate, solicit and manage funds from these sources: • Private Foundations • Government Agencies • Donations to FEH that can qualify for federal tax deductions are: • Financial Gifts and Grants • In-Kind Contributions • Intellectual Property (Software Code) • Operational grant money can spread OHT's expenses across multiple projects http://www.friendsofehealth.org
The State of Funding • Good News – President-elect Obama is very pro healthcare IT • Obama's website proposes $10B/yr for 5 yrs for Healthcare IT • "We will make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting-edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes and help save billions of dollars each year.” – Obama radio address on Dec 6 • Govt Health IT - Obama adds health IT to economic stimulus package • Chicago Tribune - Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan gains steam • Wired for Health Care Quality Act -> S.1418 -> Title I - Improving the Interoperability of Health Information Technology • Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors lists seven issues where donor dollars can make the most difference. Health IT is one of them. http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Potential Projects for Funding • OHT Operational Maintenance Expenses • OHT HL7 Tooling – HL7 & NHS • OHT Academic Outreach – Mohawk College Canada • OHT PASS – Inpriva • OHT Conformance Services – Canada Health Infoway • IHSTDO Terminology Tools • Technical Documentation of NEXTj's Code Donation http://www.friendsofehealth.org
Actions • If interested, please request the grant application guideline from Dan via email – dan@friendsofehealth.org • Go to the Friends of eHealth website @ www.friendsofehealth.org http://www.friendsofehealth.org