Houston area HIE appoints CTO

Philip R. Beckett, PhD, has been appointed chief technology officer of a health information exchange (HIE), Greater Houston Healthconnect, where he will oversee the implementation of software that will seek to connect more than 130 hospitals and 14,000 physicians to improve health outcomes for 7 million area residents.

Beckett joins Healthconnect after eight years in various roles at Baylor College of Medicine, where most recently he was executive director for commercial solutions. Prior to joining Baylor, Beckett helped build Houston-based medical software company RosettaMed, which was sold to the Kyrptiq in Oregon. Beckett is the author or co-author of more than 15 published journals and articles.



Beth Walsh,

Editor

Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.