by Kevin M. Sanders
Dec. 13, 2007
Brian Phillips, chief
information officer for Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine (OU-COM), was recently appointed to the Ohio Broadband
Council by Gov. Ted Strickland. The Broadband Council, created
by Gov. Strickland’s Executive Order 2007-24S, Establishing
the Ohio Broadband Council and the Ohio Broadband Network,
was established to develop a strategic plan for the deployment
of a statewide broadband data network. The broadband data
network would be the backbone of health information exchange
connecting health care providers such as physicians, clinics,
hospitals and pharmacies.
Phillips, who heads the Office
of Information Systems and Instructional Technology at OU-COM
and is the executive director of OhiONE, Centers for Osteopathic
Research and Education, has spearheaded several initiatives in
Southeastern Ohio promoting the development of electronic
medical information systems and regional health information
organizations (RHIOs), including the “RHIOhio: Bridging the
Digital Divide” conference held September 2007. Phillips was the
principal investigator for the National Institutes of Health,
National Library of Medicine, grant that established the
Appalachian Regional Informatics Consortium.
The 32-member Broadband Council
held its first meeting Dec. 4, said Phillips.
“It is very
important,” said Phillips, “for Southeastern Ohio to be
represented on the state level to champion the development of
high-speed telecommunications connections to support health care
providers, educational and research entities and public agencies
as they move to implement state-of-the-art, competitive
technologies.”
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