Policy and Practice: Taking Action to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes

Denise Hines is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert in healthcare technology. She has more than two decades of healthcare experience in a variety of settings—including health systems, physicians’ offices, home health, technology vendors, consulting, state government and revenue management. In 2011, Hines founded eHealth Services Group, a health technology consulting firm focused on leading healthcare delivery transformation through technology. The firm was engaged in 2013 to operate Georgia’s state-designated health information exchange, Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN), with Hines providing insight and strategy as the nonprofit’s executive director. Before forming eHealth Services Group, Hines was vice president of government solutions at HealthNovation and consulted for both AT&T and the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Office of Health Information Technology. Hines demonstrates extensive experience in the field of health IT, previously overseeing and managing the marketing and outreach recruitment of more than 5,200 healthcare providers and 56 critical access and rural hospitals, assisting these providers in meeting meaningful use requirements and qualifying for the CMS EHR incentive program. Hines participated on Georgia’s HIE Strategic and Operational Plan writing team and served as the co-chair of the HIE Governance Committee. She successfully launched Georgia’s first comprehensive health information transparency and HIE website. She served as the first executive director for the Georgia Health Information Technology Advisory Board and created Georgia’s two-, five-, and 10-year strategic plans for health information technology. She also created and implemented the Georgia HIE Grants Awards Program that awarded $1,800,000 in grants in the first and second years. Hines recently served as a member of the HIMSS Board of Directors and the Chair Emeritus for HIMSS North America Board of Directors. She is the past president of the HIMSS Georgia Chapter, which was named the 2012 HIMSS Chapter of the Year. Hines also received the 2012 HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year Award. In 2017, she was recognized with the prestigious Women of the Year in Technology – Small Enterprise Award from Georgia’s Women in Technology (WIT). Hines holds her doctorate degree in healthcare administration where she focused her studies on the use of electronic personal health records and the impact on patient health. She also maintains certifications in project management, software development, and healthcare law. She is on the Board of Advisors for Georgia State University’s Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, as well as the Advisory Board for the College of Coastal Georgia. She is renowned for building service and results-oriented organizations with a passion for the widespread integration of technology and healthcare.

Leigh Burchell leads the Policy & Government Affairs function for Allscripts, including legislative advocacy and regulatory response. Leigh is active in many collaborative industry organizations, serving as: a recent Chair of the Electronic Health Record Association (EHRA) and current Chair of the Association’s Public Policy Leadership Workgroup, a participant in the HIMSS Public Policy Committee, and a member of the eHealth Initiative Leadership Council.