Amendola Communications Adds Cal INDEX, Greater New Orleans Health Information Exchange to Client Roster

Amendola selected for broad HIE experience and expertise

Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized and award-winning public relations, content creation and marketing communications firm specializing in healthcare and health information technology (HIT), has added two health information exchanges to its client roster. Amendola recently developed and implemented a new website for the Greater New Orleans Health Information Exchange (GNOHIE), an organization dedicated to improving care and reducing costs by facilitating the secure exchange of patient data. In addition, Amendola signed a PR agreement with the California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX), an independent, nonprofit organization that is developing a statewide health information exchange (HIE) with clinical data from healthcare providers and health insurers combined into a single longitudinal patient record.

“This is the fourth opportunity I had to select and work with the team at Amendola. Their focus and knowledge in the healthcare vertical has exceeded my needs at each company I’ve worked,” said Doug Hart, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Cal INDEX. “That’s why I was eager to work with them again. I know they will succeed in differentiating our combination of clinical and claims data to provide a more comprehensive patient view.”

“We are very pleased with our new website and its ability to effectively communicate our mission,” stated Clayton Williams, executive director of The Partnership for Achieving Total Health (PATH), the supporting organization that manages the services and operations of the GNOHIE. “From the beginning, Amendola understood the need for creating a highly efficient and user-friendly site that would continue to meet our needs in the future. We couldn’t have chosen a more knowledgeable partner to work with and are very pleased with the outcome.”

“It is a pleasure to team with organizations like Cal INDEX and the GNOHIE that are working hard to improve the health of their communities,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola Communications. “We are immensely proud that our experience and strategic guidance can be leveraged by organizations focused on addressing interoperability challenges to enable better outcomes.”

Amendola designs and develops websites and other capabilities for HIEs of all sizes such as the statewide Arizona Health-e Connection where Amendola led full-scale branding, PR and integrated consumer marketing campaigns that included website development, messaging, targeted advertising, media relations, marketing collateral, leveraging social media, e-mail outreach and videos. According to Tom Reavis, director of marketing and communications, “Amendola Communications generated 10 million impressions for our consumer campaign in just over one month and exceeded all our expectations for educating and persuading consumers to take advantage of the benefits of enabling their health information to be shared in a secure environment. Plus their overall knowledge of the healthcare delivery system and health information technology (HIT) were a significant bonus.”

Amendola also developed a community-wide education and awareness campaign to convince consumers to “opt in” to sharing their health information through the San Diego Health Connect HIE. Amendola accomplished this by developing and designing a new website, logo and other elements of a comprehensive brand identity while simultaneously enhancing their social media presence. Executive Director Dan Chavez stated that “Amendola Communications” efforts greatly accelerated awareness about and participation in the organization’s information sharing that is helping to improve the quality and cost of their local healthcare system.”

About the Greater New Orleans Health Information Exchange

As a not-for-profit organization, the sole purpose of the GNOHIE is to advance the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Triple Aim for the New Orleans community. Focused on improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing the cost of healthcare, the GNOHIE was developed as part of the Crescent City Beacon Community and is currently managed by The Partnership for Achieving Total Health, a 509(a)(3) supporting organization of the statewide nonprofit organization Louisiana Public Health Institute.

About Cal INDEX

California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX) is an independent, nonprofit organization that is developing a statewide, next-generation health information exchange (HIE). This unique comprehensive collection of electronic patient records includes clinical data from healthcare providers and health insurers combined into a single longitudinal patient record (LPR). Cal INDEX provides the underlying data and technology platform to provide real-time access. The goal of Cal INDEX is to improve quality of care by providing clinicians with a unified statewide source of integrated patient information, improve efficiencies and coordination of care and reduce the cost of healthcare. Cal INDEX was founded through seed funding from Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross. For more information, visit www.calindex.org.

About Amendola Communications

Amendola Communications is an award-winning national public relations, marketing communications, social media and content marketing firm. Named one of the best information technology (IT) PR firms in the nation by PRSourceCode for four years running, Amendola represents some of the best-known brands and groundbreaking startups in the healthcare and healthcare IT industries. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros delivers strategic guidance and effective solutions to help organizations boost their reputation and drive market share. For more information about the PR industry’s “A Team,” visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow Amendola on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes, Regional Managing Director Amendola Communications 480-664-8412, ext. 15 mrhodes@ACmarketingPR.com