Siemens Chief Medical Officer Receives CCHIT Commissioner Appointment.

Other Siemens Leadership Honored with Industry Recognitions and Awards

MALVERN, Pa. -- Siemens Medical Solutions (www.usa.siemens.com/healthcareit) today announced the appointment of Donald Rucker, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, as commissioner of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT(SM)).

In this prestigious appointment, Rucker will be working to review criteria and inspection processes for certification of healthcare information technology (HIT) solutions. Siemens believes that this voluntary participation further advances its longstanding commitment to transforming healthcare by delivering creative, effective and compliant solutions. A Recognized Certification Body for electronic health records (EHRs) and their networks, the CCHIT aims to accelerate the adoption of HIT by creating a credible and lasting product certification program. The CCHIT Board of Commissioners represents a broad array of stakeholders, provides strategic direction, ensures objectivity and credibility, provides guidance to the work groups and approves the final certification criteria and processes.

CCHIT Chairman Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, said, "Dr. Rucker was selected for his individual expertise as well as to create balanced representation from our stakeholder groups. I welcome him to join CCHIT's work in accelerating EHR adoption and eagerly look forward to his support and contributions."

"By continuing to secure influential positions within the industry, our executives are contributing their expertise, as well as strengthening Siemens overall commitment to shaping healthcare in innovative, effective ways," stated Janet Dillione, president, Healthcare Information Technology Division. "We look forward to continuing to collaborate with other industry leaders to foster new ways of improving healthcare quality and patient safety while reducing costs."

Rosemary Kennedy, RN, MBA, chief nursing informatics officer, was elected Member-at-Large to the American Medical Informatics Association's Nursing Informatics Work Group (NIWG). The NIWG promotes the advancement of nursing informatics within the larger multidisciplinary context of health informatics by working on many levels in the following arenas: professional practice, education, research, government, professional organizations and the HIT industry. For more information, visit http://www.amia.org/mbrcenter/wg/ni/news.asp.

Charlene Underwood, director of government and industry affairs, Healthcare IT Division, and chair, HIMSS Electronic Vendor Association, was invited to participate in the American Health Information Community's (AHIC) Quality Workgroup. A federally chartered advisory committee, the AHIC was formed to help advance efforts to reach President Bush's call for most Americans to have access to interoperable EHRs within 10 years. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides input and recommendations to Health and Human Services on how to make health records digital and interoperable and assure that the privacy and security of those records are protected in a smooth, market-led way. Last year, the AHIC formed workgroups to address specific issues and solicit public feedback. The Quality Workgroup was chartered to advance the use of HIT in enabling the measurement and management of quality. For more information, visit http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/ahic.html.

Joe Auriemma, senior director of ambulatory business development and chair of Siemens interoperability standards council, was elected to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance (NCHICA). A nonprofit consortium of more than 220 organizations, NCHICA was established in 1994 by Executive Order of the Governor to improve healthcare by accelerating the adoption of information technology. Its members include hospitals, medical practices, professional associations and boards, law firms, healthcare and IT consulting firms and research and pharmaceutical organizations. NCHICA works closely with its members and operates in many venues as a convener, promoter, educator, catalyst and innovator. The industry-leading consortium participates in demonstration projects, hosts educational sessions, fosters collaborative efforts and supports initiatives that promote standards-based IT in healthcare statewide in North Carolina and neighboring regions. Current projects include the HHS-funded contracts for the architecture prototype for the Nationwide Health Information Network and the Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration. For more information, visit http://www.nchica.org.

Donald Bechtel, chief privacy officer, Healthcare Data Exchange (HDX([R])), a Siemens Medical Solutions company, was awarded the Andrew H. Melczer Excellence in Volunteerism Award from the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI). Additionally, Bechtel was recently re-elected to serve a two-year term on WEDI's Board of Directors. WEDI strives to improve the quality of healthcare through effective and efficient information exchange and management. It provides leadership and guidance to the healthcare industry on how best to integrate the industry's collective knowledge and resources to improve healthcare quality, affordability and availability. The organization includes individuals, providers, government organizations, health plans, vendors and nonprofits. For more information, visit http://www.wedi.org.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Recent acquisitions in the area of in-vitro diagnostics - such as Diagnostic Products Corporation - mark a significant milestone for Siemens as it becomes the first full service diagnostics company. Employing approximately 36,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 130 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 8.23 billion EUR, orders of 9.33 billion EUR and group profit of 1.06 billion EUR for fiscal 2006 (preliminary figures). Further information can be found by visiting www.usa.siemens.com/medical-pressroom.