american thrombosis & hemostasis network

Riverwoods, ILL. -- The American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN) is pleased to announce the hiring of Diane Aschman as the first President and CEO of the organization. Founded in July 2006, ATHN’s vision is to advance and improve the care of individuals affected by bleeding and thrombotic disorders. ATHN provides stewardship of a secure national database, which will be used to support clinical outcomes analysis, research, advocacy and public health reporting in the hemostatis and thrombosis community.

“Diane’s extensive knowledge of health information technology and standards will be a tremendous asset as we build a national database infrastructure that delivers value to the entire community,” said Amy Shapiro, M.D., Medical Director of the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center and co-chair of the ATHN Board of Directors. “With the impact of disasters such as hurricane Katrina fresh in our national psyche, a national database is critical to the protection of information gathered at a local level, as well as to advance and improve the care for individuals affected with these disorders. Most importantly, the patients and providers will benefit from having access to more structured data wherever and when ever needed to support the continuum of care.”

In a joint effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ATHN will create a formal coalition with the 140 federally funded hemophilia treatment centers across the U.S. with the goal to conserve resources through use of a common information infrastructure and to foster collaboration within the thrombosis and hemostasis community. For the first time in history a secure central server for all federally funded hemophilia treatment centers in the United States will be in place, backing up a patient’s medical information and precious data will no longer be at risk for loss or fragmentation due to disasters like Katrina.

“With a CEO in place, we can now begin the work of ATHN for the benefit of individuals with hemophilia, as well as other inherited bleeding and clotting disorders,” said Jeanne Lusher, M.D., Director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “With Diane, we couldn’t ask for a more complimentary mix of talent and expertise,” Lusher added.

Aschman, a pharmacist entrepreneur, has enjoyed a dynamic career. In 1998 Aschman became Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of SNOMED International® where she was responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of the SNOMED® works of clinical nomenclature, selected as one of the standards for the U.S. national health information infrastructure. Previously Aschman worked in start-up and early stage businesses within Fortune 500 companies including Baxter International, Caremark, and Dun & Bradstreet HealthCare Information.

“For much of the last 10 years, I have advocated for adoption of health care information standards for electronic health records, research and public health reporting within the U.S., U.K. and other parts of the world. I am honored to continue the work of advancing health care by applying these standards through ATHN and helping to serve the bleeding and thrombotic disorders community,” said Aschman.

The American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN) is a non-profit corporation founded in July 2006. Dedicated to advancing and improving the care of individuals affected by bleeding and blood clotting disorders, ATHN will provide stewardship of a secure national database, adherent to all privacy guidelines, which will be used to support clinical outcomes analysis, research, advocacy, and public health reporting. ATHN will foster collaboration with patients, providers, suppliers, government agencies and non profit organizations in the thrombosis and hemostasis community. ATHN is coming soon to the World Wide Web at http://www.athn.org.

ATHN MEDIA CONTACT:

Kathleen Van Gorden
KVG Communications
401-480-1840
kathleenv@kvgcom.com