The CHIME Foundation Membership Criteria

A hallmark of CHIME’s success has been a close collaborative relationship with the H.I.S. vendor and consulting community. The CHIME Foundation was formed by CHIME’s Board in 1994, whereupon fifteen companies stepped forward to become the Foundation’s first group of member firms. Incorporated as a separate nonprofit organization, the Foundation was structured to support CHIME’s programs and activities. The Foundation Board of Directors, chaired annually by the past chairman of CHIME, has established a set of educational activities and surveys designed to promote collaboration between the Foundation and members of CHIME. These activities have proven to be entirely successful – the Foundation firms and the members of CHIME have discovered mutual benefits in such activities as focus group discussions, networking at meetings to image and identity awareness via visibility opportunities on the member website and in our standard communications.

The purpose of the CHIME Foundation is more than exceptional networking opportunities and exclusive access to resources and information. Your affiliation with the CHIME Foundation is conducive to the advancement of the entire Healthcare IT industry. With so many demands on your time and energy, committing to another organization may seem impossible – unless that organization is the CHIME Foundation, where you will find a dynamic and congenial environment where our members are connecting to make a difference.

Those firms being considered for CHIME Foundation membership should demonstrate several of the following criteria: (Applicants meeting these criteria will be considered for membership on a space available basis, as per potential limits on membership established annually by the CHIME Foundation Board of Directors)

• Supports the purpose of the CHIME Foundation: To encourage, develop, fund and implement programs that foster the empowerment of CIO’s and advancement of the Healthcare IT industry.
• Commits to working in partnership with CHIME CIO’s to refine your company’s strategy and direction regarding the needs of the healthcare industry and can demonstrate this support with documented examples.
• Demonstrates an established presence within the healthcare marketplace with a significant level of business activity related to consulting, recruiting, technology and/or applications within the healthcare IT industry.
• Has an ability to recruit Healthcare CIO’s into CHIME.
• Demonstrates a willingness to engage with Forum Planning committees of CHIME and to actively participate with the CHIME Foundation staff.
• Commits to having its Senior Healthcare Leader (CEO) attend as many annual CHIME conferences as possible.
• Supports a diversity of interests and backgrounds while advancing and broadening the strength of the CHIME Foundation.
• Obtains the sponsorship of at least one current member of CHIME in submitting its application for Foundation membership.

About CHIME - the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives

Formed in 1992, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has become the leading organization dedicated to serving the professional needs of healthcare CIOs and advancing the strategic application of information management in healthcare. With more than 900 members nationwide, CHIME has established a track record of unequaled accomplishments in its growth and beneficial offerings to its CIO members.

Our History

CHIME was formed with the dual objective of serving the professional development needs of healthcare CIOs and advocating the more effective use of information management within healthcare. The need for an organization like the College had become apparent to leaders of the HIMSS and CHIM organizations during their strategic planning sessions in 1991. A special task force was formed to develop initiatives that would response to this need, and from those planning efforts sprang the concept for our organization. The idea gained immediate support from the HIMSS and CHIM organizations, and planning efforts moved swiftly forward to launch the new organization in 1992.

CHIME’s first Board of Trustees was comprised of individuals who had participated in the organization’s development, and included HIMSS and CHIM leaders as well as CIOs with leadership experience in related organizations such as HISEA and ECHO. CHIME was unveiled at the 1992 HIMSS Annual Conference, and the membership quickly grew to more than 250 members by year’s end. The CHIM organization played a major supporting role in our development, providing staff and office support to the new organization. A three-year development period was initiated for CHIM to provide this support, extending through 1994. CHIME was created as a complement to HIMSS, intending to provide a specific focus for healthcare CIOs. CHIME events and activities were designed to reflect that purpose, including networking activities, educational programs, and an interactive website.

Our Mission

To serve the professional needs of healthcare Chief Information Officers; and to advance the strategic application of information technology in innovative ways aimed at improving the effectiveness of healthcare delivery.

CHIME has established the following goals in support of this mission:

• Networking--provide forums and other networking opportunities for members to meet and exchange information and experiences that enhance their professional growth and job performance.
• Education--provide a variety of educational opportunities to those constituencies most able to advance the strategic application of I.T. in healthcare, including CIOs, senior I.T. professionals, and solution partners.
• Career Development--provide services to members that will enable them to enhance their value to healthcare organizations and effectively map their skills to job requirements and career opportunities within the healthcare industry.
• Information Access--support easy access to current I.T. trends, research and benchmarking practices as well as information pertaining to the use of I.T. in healthcare.
• Partnership Advancement--support an ongoing dialogue with healthcare solution partners that will facilitate a sharing of ideas and information that can ensure that I.T. solutions map to the business and clinical requirements of healthcare organizations.
• Advocacy--pursue advocacy and educational programming efforts with organizations that share our goal of advancing the effective use of I.T. in healthcare.