CHICAGO (Feb. 25, 2008) - The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the TicSalut Foundation (TicSalut) based in Barcelona signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Feb. 25 to collaborate on the development of education and training in Catalonia, an autonomous region in Spain.

"We are pleased to work with HIMSS to develop healthcare IT education and training solutions that work for us in Catalonia," said Joan Cornet, Executive President of TicSalut. "We have ambitious plans to employ IT to improve the delivery of healthcare, and HIMSS has the instruments and know-how to help us bring the necessary training in our language to the 70,000 professionals in our healthcare sector.

The purposes of the MoU are:
* Exchange knowledge, information and experience between both parties in their fields
* Cooperate in building initiatives in the healthcare sector in places of mutual interest
* Cooperate in conducting scientific and specialized workshops, symposia, training and seminars
* Cooperate in executing projects of common interest
* Develop other related services as agreed

"HIMSS welcomes the opportunity to work with the TicSalut Foundation to help further the adoption of health information technology in Catalonia," said H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS president/CEO, during the signing at HIMSS08. "Through the MoU, our organizations will work together to develop and implement professional education for IT professionals and clinical IT users in Catalonia."

About HIMSS

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, and other locations across the United States and Europe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 300 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems' contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit www.himss.org for more information.

About TicSalut

The TicSalut Foundation was created in 2006 by the Catalan government's Department of Health as a public not-for-profit foundation with the objective to encourage the development and use of information and communication technologies to enhance healthcare in Catalonia, an autonomous region in Spain with 76 hospitals (public and private) and 450 primary care centers. TicSalut's advisory council comprises 120 IT companies. Its main activities include the development and implementation of electronic health records, the introduction of electronic prescription systems, implementation of telemedicine and the development of an electronic health atlas on the web to map welfare and health facilities and make health statistics available for the citizens of Catalonia. Visit www.ticsalut.cat for more information.

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