The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has signed a letter of intent to partner with Next Wave CONNECT, Inc., a Houston-based enterprise social networking application for the healthcare industry.
Next Wave, unveiled at the CHIME CIO Fall Forum this year in Scottsdale, Ariz., offers its users a cloud-based collaborative environment with facilitation and support services for members via a network of community managers and community advisors. The advisory board Next Wave has employed features several industry leaders, including members of CHIME. Beyond that detail, the agreement between CHIME and Next Wave hasn’t been spelled out in exact terms.
CHIME says the platform will help members and stakeholders engage with each other in meaningful and ongoing collaborative discussions in real-time. “CHIME is excited to begin working with Next Wave CONNECT,” CHIME president and CEO Russ Branzell said in a statement. “With a mutual interest in guiding the healthcare industry forward, CHIME and Next Wave CONNECT intend to transform the way leaders collaborate and problem-solve together using the tools of social media.”
The Next Wave platform went live on Oct. 8, and has gotten commitments from 31 healthcare industry enterprises, comprising over 450 hospitals operating in more than 30 states.
Next Wave is headed by Drex Deford, the former CIO of Steward Health Care, a Boston-based integrated health system and board chair of CHIME.
