Vanderbilt and Accenture Launch Healthcare Industry Collaboration Initiative

Research and an Endowed Chair at Core of Program

NEW YORK AND NASHVILLE; Jan. 12, 2004 – The Vanderbilt Center for Better Health (VCBH) and Accenture today announced that they are launching a research-based effort aimed at helping the global healthcare industry find ways to use information more effectively to increase collaboration.

To anchor this program, the organizations will conduct research and create an endowed faculty chair at VCBH.

The research is intended to address a number of information bottlenecks in the healthcare industry. It will focus on defining the attributes of high performance healthcare organizations – those that are transforming the way information is used to bring better healthcare services to consumers – and the related implications for existing business models, as well as understanding the effect of collaboration on the future of the healthcare industry.

Additionally, the two organizations will use VCBH’s Nashville facility to host working sessions for a broad spectrum of healthcare organizations – including pharmaceutical and medical device companies, hospitals and health insurers and governments -- to develop optimal approaches to accessing and exchanging information.

“The industry’s use of information is crucial to its future success,” said Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs at VCBH. “As advances in science and technology make traditional methods of managing information obsolete, the industry must seek alternatives. With Accenture, we will help the industry find new approaches and tools to make information more available to all participants.”

“The Vanderbilt Center for Better Health has quickly emerged as a leading source for expertise and resources to improve the quality and cost effectiveness within the health industry,” said Dr. Patricia O’Brien, partner in the Accenture Health & Life Sciences practice. “Working with participants from across the industry, we intend to build on that foundation, making the industry’s best thinking available for critical healthcare decisions.”

About the Vanderbilt Center for Better Health
The Vanderbilt Center for Better Health was launched in June, 2002 with a goal of helping doctors and hospitals improve quality and lower the cost of health care. The center uses health care organizations around the country as test beds for improvement initiatives. It has a particular focus on how information technology and biomedical informatics can support innovation and improvement. The center conducts conferences and research and provides advisory and consulting services.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With more than 83,000 people in 48 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$11.8 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2003. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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