Pa. eHealth Partnership Authority names executive director

Alexandra Goss has been named executive director of the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority.

Both Lehigh Valley Health Network of Allentown and St. Luke's University Health Network of Fountain Hill are partners of the authority.

The Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority is an independent state agency that is working to meet federal requirements for electronic health information exchange in Pennsylvania.

Goss joined the governor's office in 2008 to develop consensus for the Commonwealth's Health Information Exchange strategy with a focus on technology and privacy and security framework. Working with multiple stakeholders as program director, she guided the development of a strategic plan that the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology approved in the spring 2012.

She is responsible for policy development, procurement efforts, legal assessments, education and outreach activities to achieve the strategic vision and policy defined by the eHIE business drivers (eHIE is the electronic movement of health-related information among unaffiliated organizations according to nationally recognized standards).

Goss is Pennsylvania's Health IT coordinator and program director for the federal grant that funded the planning and implementation of eHIE in Pennsylvania.

"As the health care industry transitions to a new, outcomes-based model, giving providers and patients information when and where they need it to make the best decisions around care will ultimately improve health care outcomes," Goss said. "Secure exchange of health care information can also improve community health status and help to lower overall costs."

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority's website at www.paehealth.com.