ATIS and Continua Agree to Collaborate
on eHealth and mHealth Initiatives
WASHINGTON — ATIS announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Continua Health Alliance, an industry organization dedicated to advancing personal connected health by promoting technology innovation, standards and partnerships with clinical leaders. ATIS and Continua will collaborate on North American use cases, requirements, security and impacts on communications networks used to support mHealth/eHealth initiatives.
“With costs on the rise and new regulatory frameworks in place, the healthcare sector demands the attention of the telecom industry,” said Susan Miller, ATIS president and CEO. “ATIS is playing a leading role in unifying standards across multiple eHealth sectors. Expanding collaboration with organizations such as Continua that are active in this space is critical to this work. I am excited about this new agreement for its potential to advance the important mHealth and eHealth work currently taking place within ATIS.”
ATIS’ agreement with Continua will foster knowledge-sharing to support two main existing initiatives. One is the mHealth Initiative of the ATIS Wireless Technologies and Systems Committee, which is investigating the North American use cases, requirements, security and related impacts on 3GPP-based wireless networks used to support mHealth or “mobile healthcare.” The other is the work of the eHealth Landscape Team, an initiative of the ATIS Technology and Operations Council, which is playing a leading role in unifying standards across multiple eHealth sectors. This group’s focus addresses eHealth functionality as well as regulatory compliance issues. The Team is exploring whether value-added possibilities exist for service providers in this space and whether to create technical standards around the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other health regulations and policies.
“Smartphones and other mobile devices are rapidly becoming an efficient and effective tool used by healthcare providers to connect with patients and a means for individuals to access and self-manage a range of health and wellness activities,” added Chuck Parker, executive director, Continua Health Alliance. “Remote monitoring and the connected medical home offer additional opportunities to bring healthcare into patients’ the day-to-day lives. Ensuring that these technologies are secure, easy for the consumer to use and standardized for network providers and device manufacturers is critical to success. We are delighted to be working with ATIS to improve data access for more efficient, effectivehealthcare delivery.”
About ATIS
ATIS is the leading technical planning and standards development organization committed to the rapid development of global, market-driven standards for the information, entertainment and communications industry. More than 200 companies actively formulate standards in ATIS’ Committees, covering issues including: Cloud Services, IPTV, Energy Efficiency, IP-Based and Wireless Technologies, Quality of Service, Billing and Operational Support, Emergency Services, Architectural Platforms and Emerging Networks. In addition, numerous Incubators, Focus and Exploratory Groups address evolving industry priorities including ehealth, cybersecurity, the transition of the PSTN, unified client architecture and machine-to-machine communications.
ATIS is a founding partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a member and major U.S. contributor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio and Telecommunications’ Sectors, and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For more information visit www.atis.org.
About Continua Health Alliance
Continua Health Alliance is an international not-for-profit industry organization dedicated to advancing connected health by promoting connectivity of personal health devices, promoting partnerships with clinical and technological innovators and encouraging adoption of personal health technologies by consumers and within the healthcare system. Continua is a pioneer in developing industry standards for connected health technologies such as smartphones, remote monitoring devices and web-based services in order to facilitate better patient care, empower consumers to manage their health, improve clinical outcomes and lower overall healthcare costs. With nearly 250 member companies around the world, Continua is comprised of technology, medical device and healthcare industry leaders as well as service providers dedicated to making personal connected health a reality. For more information visit: www.continuaalliance.org.
