State reveals members of Bredesen eHealth Advisory Council

Execs from HCA, FedEx, Nissan, Caremark, Dell among 16 chosen for EMR push

Email | Print By Milt Capps

Antoine Agassi

Executives from HCA, FedEx, Nissan, Dell Inc., Caremark and Vanderbilt are among 16 newly appointed members of Gov. Phil Bredesen's eHealth Advisory Council, which is tasked with speeding Tennessee's adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs).

Following announcement of the appointments earlier today, NashvillePost.com learned that Gov. Bredesen and Finance and Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz will address the group during its inaugural meeting in Nashville, June 26. Goetz's division provides staff support to the new Council, which has no funding of its own.

In a statement released by Bredesen's office this afternoon, the Governor, who in April criticized lagging federal progress on EMRs, praised the quality of the new group's volunteers and underscored the challenges faced by the Council.

In keeping with the Governor's April 6 executive order creating the Council, the Council's ranks include representatives of providers, employers, regional health information organizations (RHIOs), payers and consumers. The group is to "advise state government on how to more effectively promote the successful adoption of EMRs," minimizing needless duplication of efforts and speeding adoption of innovations.

Also in today's statement, Council Chairman Antoine Agassi said the 16 new Council members "will play a key role in advising policymakers on complex and far-reaching issues" related to development and adoption of EMRs and related policy policies and standards. Agassi has been moving on a number of fronts since he began serving under State Finance and Administration Commission Dave Goetz to influence national and regional projects and policies.

Appointees announced today:

Antoine Agassi (Nashville), chairman of the Governor's eHealth Advisory Council;

Peter D. Greaves (Lebanon), HCA Healthcare, senior enterprise architect (IT);

Denise D. Wood (Collierville), FedEx Corporation, vice president and chief information security officer;

David H. Sensibaugh (Kingsport), Eastman Chemical Company, director of integrated health;

Marlin Clifford Chapman (Smyrna), Nissan North America, director of human resources, compensation and benefits;

Linda Eskind Rebrovick (Nashville), Dell Inc., vice president-healthcare;

Dr. William R. Stead (Nashville), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, associate vice chancellor for health affairs & chief information officer;

David C. Guth (Nashville), Centerstone, CEO and co-founder;

Dr. David R. Reagan (Mountain Home), chairman, Carespark RHIO; and chief of staff of the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center (Tri-Cities);

Alan Leon Hill (Knoxville), executive director of the Innovation Valley Health Information Network, and president and CEO of ClearPath Group;

Robert Steven Gordon (Collierville), Mid-South eHealth Alliance, former chairman of the board, Baptist Memorial Health Care, executive vice president and chief administrative officer;

Jana Lynn Skewes (Signal Mountain), Shared Health (subsidiary BlueCross BlueShield of Tenn.), president & CEO;

Bradley Steven Karro (Nashville), Caremark Rx, Inc., executive vice president;

Vicky Gregg (Chattanooga), BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, president and CEO;

Dr. Winnie Ruth Toler (Franklin), State of Tennessee, Bureau of TennCare, chief network officer;

Dr. Andrea D. Gelzer (Hartford, Conn.), CIGNA HealthCare, senior vice president - clinical public affairs;

Elisa D. Parker (Franklin), Pilkenton Real Estate Co., affiliated broker.