Turning an Upstart into a Major Player
Formed in 2002 by leading health care organizations, The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) was charged with a herculean task: Accelerate progress on the use of IT to transform the U.S. health system. At the time, IT was not on the radar of senior health care executives, so there was little to no momentum for harnessing technology to drive major improvements.
Approach
Padovani Communications designed a strategic media relations campaign that reframed the key challenges blocking health IT adoption as issues for top management. We then showcased NAHIT’s success in tackling and resolving those contentious issues. We positioned NAHIT executives, members and board directors as the go-to sources on health IT news and trends.
Results
NAHIT executives became sought-after experts by the media, and then by Capitol Hill, as interest in health IT by Congress and among policymakers increased. Given its modest size and budget, NAHIT has had an outsized influence in shaping thinking, policies and even language on health IT, from changes in the Stark Rules to creating industry definitions for electronic health record, personal health record, health information exchanges and related health IT terms for U.S. Health and Human Services.