ANN ARBOR, MI, December 22, 2014 - Today, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) formalized its partnership agreement with KLAS Enterprises, an independent researcher of healthcare technology vendors, products and services for the provider market.

The partnership, announced in October, will aim to accelerate industry performance and provide support to IT leaders during a critical and transformative time in healthcare. New details of the agreement include co-developing best practice and benchmarking studies; establishing an industry recognition program for the healthcare C-suite; distributing KLAS research briefs produced exclusively for members of CHIME and its affiliated associations; and offering discounted KLAS executive services to CHIME members.

"To keep pace with the healthcare industry's rapidly changing environment, our goal is to get critical, timely market data into the hands of our members, so they can make informed decisions and effectively lead their organizations," said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO. "With incentive dollars and strategic assets on the line, there is no room for error, and one of the best ways CHIME can help those driving the digitization of healthcare is to partner with prominent industry research leaders like KLAS, to ensure CIOs and the members of their team are equipped with the means necessary for success."


With considerable pressure on providers to meet organizational and regulatory objectives, KLAS Founder Kent Gale said the mutually beneficial partnership will help to strengthen industry high-standards in patient care quality, efficiency and safety.

"By partnering with CHIME, we can assist the industry's IT vendor and service firms to excel, align their goals and objectives with client success, and become key drivers of innovation," he said.

Gale added that the information shared by the members CHIME will serve as an invaluable resource "in helping us to accurately administer performance-based data."

To commemorate the partnership, CHIME and KLAS have jointly released "The 10 Trends of 2014 You May Have Missed," a collection of notable KLAS research findings, tailored for healthcare IT leaders. This report is currently available exclusively to members of CHIME.

"CHIME is proud to partner with the research professionals of KLAS as we focus our combined energies in the advancement and future of our industry," said CHIME Board Chair Randy McCleese, FCHIME, LCHIME, CHCIO. "Our members, together with KLAS, will help foster performance excellence and guide healthcare transformation forward."

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