Charlie Baker, governor of Massachusetts, has established the Digital Healthcare Council to guide policy decisions related to the state's digital healthcare industry.
The advisory council is an outgrowth of the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative, which was launched this past January 2016. The council will bring together leaders from the academic, government, healthcare delivery, insurance, life sciences, medical devices and technology fields, to discuss how digital technology can improve healthcare, increase jobs and reduce costs.
At the first meeting, which took place Nov. 22, 2016, council members focused on strategies to help the state grow innovative digital health technologies.
"For Massachusetts to become a national leader in digital health, we need to continue to build on the momentum our Digital Health Initiative has already produced," said Gov. Baker. "This council will collaborate to move past barriers in the healthcare industry and solve significant challenges to make advances in patient care, lower healthcare costs and address public health crises, like the opioid epidemic."
The Digital Healthcare Council is a public-private partnership, chaired by Assistant Secretary of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Katie Stebbins and Boston-based Vertex Chairman, CEO and President Jeffrey Leiden, MD, PhD. The council will be supported by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and the Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech.