Date Announced for Second Annual Health IT Leadership Summit

Call Open for Inaugural Intel Innovation Awards

ATLANTA, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2011 Health IT Leadership Summit will take place on November 8, 2011, at the Fox Theatre from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The 2011 Summit, which is hosted by sponsor Verizon Wireless, will address the programs and initiatives that support a robust health IT cluster, including workforce readiness, special projects, capital investments, public policy and innovation.

Also announced today is the call for submissions for the first-ever Intel Innovation Awards to recognize the health IT companies who are using technology in innovative ways, reaping strong clinical and financial benefits, or finding new ways to address specific disease states.

Four finalists will be selected to present at the 2011 Health IT Leadership Summit and one will be recognized as the top innovator. The winner will also be showcased by Intel as an innovation leader at 2012 HIMSS and in other Intel promotions. The entry form is on the Summit website at

www.GAHealthIT.com. Entries are due by August 24, 2011.

The Health IT Leadership Summit was founded in 2010 by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) Health. More than 111 leading health IT companies participated and over 500 people attended the first event, which highlighted Georgia's leadership in the industry and addressed the actions needed to build and sustain a premier health IT workforce and build a robust health IT cluster. Attendance for the second annual Summit is expected to top 500 people.

Additional information and registration: www.GAHealthIT.com.

Georgia, the nation's health IT capital
Georgia is the health IT capital of the U.S. and is home to more than 185 Health IT companies and eight companies on the HCI-100, including McKesson Technology Solutions, which is ranked the world's largest by Healthcare Informatics. Georgia's health IT companies employ approximately 15,000 people in the state. Georgia's health IT industry thrives due to the concentration of best-in-class health IT vendors, nationally recognized care providers, global public health organizations such as CARE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a continuum of workforce development programs that ensure trained employees at all levels.

About The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. www.georgia.org

About Metro Atlanta Chamber
Everything we do at the Metro Atlanta Chamber - from recruiting businesses to Atlanta from all over the world, to tackling policy issues - is about creating jobs and prosperity to help Atlanta thrive. Our board is made up of Atlanta's top business leaders. Our professional staff serves 4,000 member companies that employ nearly 1 million workers. We focus on recruiting headquarters and global business -- and companies in the supply chain and advanced manufacturing, bioscience, technology and business services sectors. In public policy, we tackle critical issues such as transportation, water and education. For members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year. In sports, MAC's Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact through sporting events over the last 10 years. For more information on MAC's Health IT initiatives please contact David Hartnett at [email protected] or visit our website www.healthit.metroatlantachamber.com.

About TAG Health
TAG Health is one of 30 special interest groups that make up the Technology Association of Georgia, which is a 13,000-member organization. TAG Health's mission is to create an environment that fosters economic development through health technology in the state of Georgia. That mission is fulfilled through programs and events for our members and guests, which include corporate, government, education and entrepreneurial leaders throughout the state. As the federal government makes funds available for the adoption of healthcare technology, TAG Health is leading the way by bringing together providers, payers, vendors, as well as government and education leaders.  For more information visit: www.tagonline.org/tag-health.

Contact:

Becky Biggs
Technology Association of Georgia
Director of PR/Georgia's Technology Evangelist
404.920.2008
[email protected]

Tanya Dunne
Metro Atlanta Chamber
404.586.8471
[email protected]

Alison Tyrer
Georgia Department of Economic Development
Director of Communications
404.962.4078
[email protected]

SOURCE Technology Association of Georgia