[September 02, 2014]

Cal INDEX Names David Watson Chief Executive Officer

The California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX) today announced that it has selected David Watson as chief executive officer effective immediately.

Cal INDEX is developing a statewide, next-generation health information exchange (HIE). This comprehensive collection of electronic patient records will include clinical data from healthcare providers and health insurers. Cal INDEX will allow physicians, nurses and hospitals throughout the state to share patients' health information, and will provide them with the tools to help them give their patients the safest, highest-quality care possible. The result will be one of the largest exchanges of its kind, initially providing physicians and nurses with secure, on-line access to approximately 9 million health information records - or nearly one-fourth of the state's population. Cal INDEX expects to be operational by the end of 2014.

"David Watson is a leader in healthcare technology and has a broad range of industry, management and technical skills, including a particular expertise in health data privacy and security," said David T. Feinberg, M.D., M.B.A., chairman of the Cal INDEX Board of Directors. "His leadership experience makes him an excellent fit to lead Cal INDEX, which will provide the underlying data and technology platform to improve the quality of care, improve efficiency and reduce the cost of healthcare for all Caifornians." Dr. Feinberg is president of UCLA Health System, chief executive officer of UCLA Hospital System, and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences.

"I am thrilled to lead Cal INDEX because I believe it represents a truly important and historic milestone for California," said Mr. Watson. "Currently, doctors, nurses and hospitals are challenged sharing vital patient information easily and securely, making it difficult to coordinate care. Cal INDEX is designed to fill the tremendous need for a reliable and secure electronic health information exchange in California and to address the fragmentation, inefficiency and complexity of the current environment. I am looking forward to working with the Cal INDEX Board and assembling a management team to lead this valuable next-generation health data exchange for California residents."

Mr. Watson brings to Cal INDEX significant healthcare technology industry experience. Most recently, he served as global vice president, Healthcare Product Strategy for Oracle (News - Alert) Corporation. Prior to that, he was chief technology officer and then chief operations officer at MedeAnalytics, a healthcare services company providing cloud-based analytic solutions to provider and payer clients in the United States and United Kingdom. Earlier in his career, he served as chief technology officer for Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States. He serves on the Board of Shield Healthcare and on the industry advisory board for New Leaf Venture Partners. Mr. Watson earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Southern California and completed the Executive Development Program at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

About Cal INDEX

California Integrated Data Exchange (Cal INDEX) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that is developing a statewide, next-generation health information exchange (HIE). This comprehensive collection of electronic patient records will include clinical data from healthcare providers and health insurers. Cal INDEX will provide the underlying data and technology platform to improve quality of care by providing clinicians with a unified statewide source of integrated patient information, as well as improve efficiency 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.

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