Delaware, New York, Texas & Washington Join National Drug Alert Effort

State Medical Societies Provide Members with Immediate Access to Online Patient Safety Alerts

(San Francisco, CA) – November 1, 2008 – The Medical Societies of Delaware, New York, Texas and Washington today announced their participation in the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN), a national, online Drug Alert network that replaces a widely criticized, slow and decades-old system based upon paper-based alerts delivered via U.S. mail. These state medical societies join dozens of other societies and partners who are improving patient safety by bringing immediate drug and medical device warnings to U.S. physicians.

The HCNN was launched five months ago and already reaches over 150,000 U.S. physicians as a result of the joint efforts of U.S. medical societies, liability carriers, health plans, consumer advocacy groups, government leaders and industry. The addition of these new state medical society members adds more than 50,000 physicians to the HCNN effort.

“Strong leadership from medical societies such as Delaware, New York, Washington – and my home state of Texas – is exactly what is needed to improve health care by encouraging physician use of information technology,” explained Nancy Dickey, MD, former AMA president and chair of the iHealth Alliance, the not-for-profit board that governs the new HCNN service. “Our goal is to have every physician subscribe to the HCNN by year’s end. We encourage all U.S. physicians to take 2 minutes and enroll today at www.hcnn.net. Physicians and their patients will realize immediate benefit.”

In addition to major medical societies, the HCNN is promoted by most liability carriers and many university medical centers because it significantly reduces delays in notifying physicians of important patient safety alerts, dramatically improving patient safety and limiting medical liability. Partnering organizations typically assist their members with HCNN enrollment through email outreach and pre-registration for the service.

Free to all licensed U.S. physicians, the HCNN is used solely for Patient Safety Alerts, not for advertising or promotion. Available immediately at www.hcnn.net, it ensures the most rapid and effective delivery of these important Alerts. Physicians may also request that a copy of the Alert be delivered to their office staff, further improving patient safety and office efficiency. Physicians not yet enrolled in the HCNN will continue to receive paper-based Patient Safety Alerts via U.S. mail, typically a few weeks after the online delivery via the HCNN.

The HCNN is also a “Green” initiative because it reduces paper and mail, thereby saving trees and fuel.

For more information about the HCNN and online patient safety Alert services, visit www.hcnn.net.

About the Medical Society of Delaware

The Medical Society of Delaware (MSD), the third oldest society of its kind in the United States, was incorporated on February 3, 1789. Although much has changed in the medical profession since the inception of MSD, the principle upon which this society of physicians was founded remains steadfast: to further the ideals of the medical profession, thereby enhancing the health and well-being of the citizens of Delaware. We exist to serve our members and, through them, all Delawareans. We do this through advocacy, representation, education, and the advancement of public health and well-being.

About The Medical Society of the State of New York

Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state’s principal non-profit professional organization for physicians of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physician to assure quality healthcare services for all.

About the Texas Medical Association

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 43,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.

About the Washington State Medical Association

The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) represents over 9,600 physicians and surgeons throughout the state of Washington. More information about the WSMA can be found at www.wsma.org.

About the HCNN:

The HCNN is the new online service that delivers important patient safety alerts that are product-related and mandated by the FDA, to physicians and other healthcare professionals via email. Currently, these alerts (also known as "Dear Doctor letters") are sent to physicians on paper via traditional U.S. mail–a slow, error-prone process. The HCNN may also be used to notify physicians in the event of national public health emergencies or bio-terror events. The network is governed by the not-for-profit iHealth alliance with network operations provided by Medem, Inc.

About the iHealth Alliance

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 ensures that the network is used only for patient safety alerts. The iHealth Alliance is chaired by Nancy W. Dickey, MD, past President of the AMA, President of Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for Texas A&M University. The 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.

Press Contacts

Jason Willett
HCNN
(415) 644-3926
press@hcnn.net