Health IT Leadership and Innovation Showcased in Georgia, TAG Informs

Atlanta, Georgia. November 24, 2014 -- The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) hosted journalists from across the country last week to showcase Georgia’s leadership and innovation in the Health IT Industry.

Recognized as the nation’s health IT capital, the state of Georgia has had a profound impact on the healthcare industry. Georgia’s health IT sector is comprised of more than 200 companies, employs more than 30,000 and is home to eight of the nation’s top health IT companies with cumulative revenues close to $5 billion annually -- the highest cumulative revenues of any state in the U.S.

Journalists that participated in last week’s tour gained insight on some of the cutting-edge technologies that are revolutionizing healthcare in Georgia and around the nation.

Key stops on the tour included: 

•     Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech): located in the heart of Atlanta’s bustling Midtown area, Georgia Tech’s Technology Square was the first stop on the tour with a focus on the current research projects and cutting edge technologies being developed by the institution’s Interoperability & Integration Innovation Lab (I3L) and at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).
•     Morehouse School of Medicine: Featuring Georgia’s diversity of talent, executive leadership and innovation as demonstrated by small, mid-sized and top health IT companies in attendance. The stop also featured the federally-funded Georgia - Health Information Technology Extension Center (GA-HITEC), which offers Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation assistance services.
•     Atlanta Tech Village: A community of innovation designed for technology and technology-related companies including more than 10 Health IT startups. In addition to visiting Health IT startups, journalists were also able to get the latest industry workforce data presented by the Institute for Healthcare Information Technology (IHIT)
•     athenahealth – The final leg of the media tour took journalists to the Ponce City Market, a revitalization development project in the city’s Fourth Ward district. The historic project is home to several new technology companies including athenahealth, one of the top Health IT companies in the nation.

The tour culminated on Nov. 20 at the 5th annual Health IT Leadership Summit. Themed “Transformation of Healthcare Delivery,” the summit brought together more than 1200 Health IT professionals.

About The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

TAG is the leading technology industry association in the state, serving more than 25,400 members through regional chapters in Metro Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon/Middle Georgia, and Savannah. TAG’s mission is to educate, promote, and unite Georgia’s technology community to foster an innovative and connected marketplace that stimulates and enhances a tech-based economy. TAG hosts over 200 events each year and serves as an umbrella organization for 35 professional societies. Additionally, the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG’s charitable arm) focuses on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive.

For more information visit the TAG website at http://www.tagonline.org. To learn about the TAG-Ed Collaborative visit http://www.tagedonline.org/.

About the Metro Atlanta Chamber 
Everything we do at the Metro Atlanta Chamber is about building our economy and creating prosperity to help Atlanta thrive. Our board is made up of Atlanta's top business leaders. Our professional staff serves more than 3,000 member companies that employ nearly 1 million workers. We focus on helping small businesses and mid-size companies grow, helping entrepreneurs get started, and recruiting companies nationally and internationally in our key industries: bioscience, clean technology, health IT, mobility, supply chain and advanced manufacturing, and technology. In public policy, we tackle critical issues to support infrastructure and quality of life. For members, we offer 200+ events and activities each year. In sports, MAC's Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact through sporting events over the last 10 years.

Visit our website at http://www.metroatlantachamber.com