Georgia Institute of Technology became the first university to receive the Phoenix Award from the Health IT Leadership Summit for support of innovative health IT-based education, research and commercialization at its Interoperability and Integration Innovation Lab (I3L). Stephen Fleming, vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, which manages the lab, accepted the award at the Fourth Annual Health IT Leadership Summit, November 12 in Atlanta.

The I3L is the realization of a five-year vision for driving health care transformation through advanced technologies. The lab provides a vendor-neutral test bed for exchanging health information among disparate electronic health records systems and other platforms, including patient-facing mobile and telehealth tools. The I3L is exploring solutions for “ownership” of health data, thereby maximizing its potential value for the discovery and application of evidence-based medicine.The lab is supported by members from start-ups through established vendors and provides them with standards-based exchange tools and protocols; development and testing; as well as networking, market feedback and beta customer access.

"The I3L, located on the Georgia Tech campus, is improving the way healthcare delivery works,” said David Hartnett, co-founder of the Health IT Leadership Summit and vice president, Bioscience & Health IT Industry Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC). “Supported by corporate membership, the lab is an unbiased environment for testing new products and helping to train the IT workforce needed to move the industry forward. Steve Rushing, Myung Choi, Marla Gorges and the entire I3L team are one of the reasons Atlanta is the nation’s health IT capital.”

This year’s awards were given in four categories: Startup Company of the Year, Emerging Company of the Year, Community Leader of the Year, and University Advancement of the Year. Created by MAC to recognize the major role the health IT industry plays in Georgia’s economy, the awards are presented annually. The health IT industry in Georgia leads the nation with more than 250 companies and more than 30,000 jobs. The nine top Atlanta health IT companies report more than $4 billion in annual revenue.

The Health IT Leadership Summit was founded in 2010 by three organizations to support the growth of the health IT industry: the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Health.  The Summit ranks as one of the nation’s premier health IT events, with more than 500 business leaders, healthcare providers, and public and private organizations in attendance each year.

For more information about the I3L, visit http://i3l.gatech.edu/