The Continua Health Alliance
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The Continua Health Alliance is an open industry group of healthcare, technology and fitness companies establishing a system of connected personal telehealth solutions that fosters independence and empowers people and organizations to better manage health and wellness.
The Continua Health Alliance is working to provide interoperable devices and services in three major categories: chronic disease management, aging independently, and health &physical fitness.
By enabling a network of readily connected health and medical devices, people with diabetes or other chronic diseases will be able to share glucose, blood pressure and other vital sign information with their doctors. Adult children will be able to monitor the health of their aging parents. Diet and fitness-conscious individuals will also be able to share their weight and exercise data with fitness consultants through the Internet.
The Continua Health Alliance design guidelines are based on proven connectivity standards, such as Bluetooth and USB, among others. The group announced the guidelines in September 2007 and plans to release its Version 1 Guidelines in September 2008.
The group is establishing a product certification program using its recognizable logo, signifying that the product is interoperable with other Continua-certified products. Products made under Continua Health Alliance guidelines will provide consumers with increased assurance of interoperability between devices, enabling them to more easily share information with caregivers and service providers.
Through collaborations with government agencies and other regulatory bodies, Continua works to provide guidelines for the effective management of diverse products and services from a global network of vendors.
Continua's Board of Directors is currently comprised of the following individuals: Vice President Joseph Ternullo, Partners Healthcare; Treasurer Michael Robkin, Kaiser Permanente; Secretary Deepak Ayyagari, Sharp; Executive Director Emily Teiper, VTM Inc.; Nicholas Augustinos, Cisco Systems; Marshall Stanton, Medtronic; Youngsoo Kim, Samsung Electronics; Eric Thelen, Philips; Kimio Minami, Panasonic; and Sal Strods, Welch Allyn.
David Whitlinger, Director of Healthcare Standards in Intel’s Digital Health Group, currently serves as President and Chairman of the Board.
