Editor's NoteEditor's Note

Welcome to the premier issue of Healthcare Enterprise, a quarterly supplement for business-technology executives in the health-care industry from the editors of information and Optimize.

Over the past few years, health-care providers, suppliers, and insurers have moved out of the technology shadows and into the limelight of IT innovation. Just look at the information 500 list of the most innovative users of technology: This year and last, seven of the top 50 companies were in health care. That's more than any other industry on the list.

It's easy to understand why. Increased competition, government regulations, and watchdog groups are motivating health-care companies to aggressively use business technology to tackle a formidable list of challenges, including compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, patient safety, the quality of medical care, and a shortage of nurses and other caregivers.

Our mission with Healthcare Enterprise is to inform health-care professionals on ways that business technology can address these challenges. The theme of this first issue, how competing health-care organizations share clinical patient data, is just one area where innovative companies are using business technology to enhance communication, optimize processes, reduce errors, and improve supply chains.

Let us know what you think. Write to us.

Kathy Foley,
Managing editor
[email protected]