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American Geriatrics Society Joins Medical Society eCooperative
New York, January 11, 2001 -- The American Geriatrics Society, the nation's premier professional organization of health care providers dedicated to improving the health and well-being of older adults today announced that it has joined the Medical Society eCooperative.
Now numbering ten medical organizations representing 86,000 members, the Medical Society eCooperative provides access to new and expanded Internet-based information and connectivity services, which each society builds, manages, controls and owns separately. The eCooperative also serves as a vehicle enabling participating societies to share content and assist each other in creating their services.
"In addition to enhancing the support we provide our members, participation in the Medical Society eCooperative will help the American Geriatrics Society fulfill one of its most important missions -- to improve the care of older adults through better education and greater awareness among all health care providers," said Linda Hiddemen Barondess, executive vice president of the American Geriatrics Society.
"We are very excited by the sophistication of the technology available through the Medical Society eCooperative. Easy to use, it fosters precisely the right balance of individual society control and inter-society collaboration we've been seeking for the American Geriatrics Society and our members," said Ken Brummel-Smith, MD, president-elect of the American Geriatrics Society.
Historically, most of the American Geriatrics Society's members have been physicians. However, the Society's current membership is comprised primarily of geriatrics health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, researchers, medical educators, pharmacists, physician assistants, social workers, physical therapists, health care administrators and others.
An unprecedented initiative, the Medical Society eCooperative enables participating societies to access advanced technology and provide enhanced services without requiring they or their members to pay a fee. The societies will also retain their unique brand identities and the deep trust their members have placed in them.
The California Academy of Family Physicians announced earlier this week that its information and connectivity services are now available for general member use through its new Family Medicine Online. In addition, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) announced that its services, available through its new DO-Online, have entered beta testing and will be available to its members later this month.
Other members of the eCooperative include the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Medical Women's Association, the Association of Black Cardiologists, the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, the International College of Surgeons, and the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians.
A founding grant for the Medical Society eCooperative has been provided by Pharmacia Corporation. "Pharmacia is proud to support this exciting and unprecedented initiative because we share the eCooperative's principal goals of developing stronger physicians and physician organizations, as well as strengthening physician-patient ties," said Stuart Charney, R.Ph., J.D., Executive Director, Emerging Technologies, Pharmacia.
Additional Background Information
Each society participating in the Medical Society eCooperative will provide its members with an individualized Internet portal for accessing the information and connectivity services. Participants will screen and review any information provided to its own members through individualized member portals.
Available through the individualized member portals will be online continuing education, polls and surveys and the latest professional information affecting physicians and their practices. Society members will receive legislative news and updates and be able to contact their legislators via the site. Health care professionals will be able to create communities relevant to them, making it easier to share information on clinical trials, practice management issues and general medical news with their colleagues across the country.
Using the portals, members will also be able to provide their patients or clients with customized Web sites featuring information and applications they and their societies have created or reviewed. Typically, the information and connectivity services will supplement, rather than replace, current public Web sites of eCooperative participants.
The Web sites customized by society members for their patients and clients will feature information about themselves and their practices. The patient and client Web sites will provide details on treatment plans, health information recommended by the societies, and a secure email option.
The Medical Society eCooperative uses the latest and most advanced technology. Sun Unix and Broadvision, two proven technologies, give each society the flexibility to customize its services to serve every member. For example, a society can funnel tailored information to a member based on a profile completed by the member. The technology allows the societies to feature information from other respected health-related sources, such as hospitals or academic institutions, while keeping users within their portals instead of taking them to an outside link.
Participating societies control all data and databases associated with their portals, and do not collect any identifiable individual information. The only exception is information voluntarily supplied by their members for personalization of services. All other data collected is aggregate data, which remains in the control of the societies. In addition, 128 bit encryption is used for email, which is sent and read from the portal's web interface, further enhancing security. Each society's portal fully complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Media Contacts: American Geriatrics Society, Pamela Ingham, 212-308-1414; California Academy of Family Physicians, Shelly Rodrigues, 415-345-8667; American Osteopathic Association, Karyn Gianfrancesco, 312-202-8042; Association of Black Cardiologists, Melanie Dowdell, 678-302-4229; American College of Sports Medicine, Gail Hunt, 317-637-9200; American Gastroenterological Association, Chris Daniels, 301-941-2627; American Medical Women's Association, Meghan Kissell, 703-838-0500; Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, Ginnie Henry, 630-435-0257; North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Libby Anderson, 919-833-2110; Pharmacia, Bryant Haskins, 908-901-7481.
For additional information, visit http://www.selj.com/msec.htm.
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