PHNS, the independent provider of comprehensive healthcare IT services  for hospitals and other providers, has changed its name to Anthelio. In addition, it has formed the Healthcare Inovation Council, which seeks to generate ideas about how hospitals can meet escalating quality and financial pressures.

"Our new corporate identity reflects a renewed commitment to innovation and the significant infrastructure and expertise we now have in place to help hospitals meet unprecedented technology, operational and financial challenges,” said Richard S. Garnick, CEO of Anthelio.

In November, PHNS was acquired by the ConJoin Group, an IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) company.

[See also: The ConJoin Group acquires PHNS.]

The Healthcare Innovation Council will convene independent experts to help develop innovative ideas that would enable healthcare providers to improve their delivery of high quality, safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable healthcare services – all while improving their top-line and bottom-line financial results. Richard Kneipper, chief strategy and innovation Officer of Anthelio, will serve as chairman.

The Healthcare Innovation Council will use sophisticated ideation software to harness ideas from Anthelio’s customer base of more than 100 hospitals and healthcare providers. Council members will meet quarterly to review innovative ideas generated by members, Anthelio’s employees and employees of Anthelio’s customers.

Anthelio also plans to launch a collaborative public healthcare innovation wiki to demonstrate that mass collaboration can generate game-changing innovative ideas that will improve our healthcare quality and costs.

[See also: HIMSS launches new CPOE Wiki.]

In order to convert ideas into results, Anthelio will “road test” merit worthy ideas generated by its Healthcare Innovation Council and its wiki by implementing them in pilot projects at selected hospitals using Anthelio’s extensive clinical, information technology and business process resources and expertise, and the results of these pilot projects will be shared publicly.

“Healthcare Innovation Council illustrates our renewed commitment to excellence and a reinvigorated approach to ramping up our core offerings in a way that reflects a real urgency in the healthcare community to make better use of technology and improved business processes to improve patient care and streamline operations," said Kneipper.

“The healthcare industry faces a multitude of clinical and economic challenges that can only be met by rigorous innovation and a commitment to use the latest scientific and technological advances to improve the quality and efficiency of care and the financial performance of hospitals and other healthcare providers," said Jack Lord, MD, chairman of Dexcom, Inc., and newly appointed member of the Healthcare Innovation Council. "I am delighted to join such a distinguished group of executives and medical practitioners to take a fresh, 360-degree view of the healthcare ecosystem and begin to take steps toward raising the standard of care and efficiency and effectiveness of hospitals.”

Healthcare Innovation Council members:

• Jack Bailey, FACHE, former COO, California Pacific Medical Center; former SVP, The Hunter Group; former CEO, Memorial Health System of East Texas; former Commander, 11th Contingency Hospital, USAF; former CEO, Lutheran Medical System of North Texas
• Jim Brexler, FACHE, MPA, CEO, Erlanger Health System; vice chancellor, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Services Division and CEO of its Health Care Services Division
• Robert Burns, PhD, MBA, chair of the Health Care Management Department at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; director of the Wharton Center for Health Management & Economics
• Hud Connery, MHA, CEO of Performance Management Institute (strategic planning services and performance management tools for hospitals); former founder and CEO of Essent Healthcare; former COO of HealthTrust (now part of HCA)
• Jack Lord, MD, chairman, Dexcom, Inc.; former CEO, Navigenics; former SVP and chief innovation officer, Humana Inc.; former COO, American Hospital Association; director, Stericycle; member, Advisory Committee to the Director of the CDC
• Julie Klapstein, CEO, Availity (health information exchange network between payers and providers) owned by BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, Humana, HCSC, WellPoint, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; former CEO of Phycom, a vendor of medical management solutions
• MaryAnn Stump, RN, president, Innovation International, Generate; former SVP, chief strategy and innovation officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota; external advisory board, Yale College of Nursing; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation executive nurse fellow National Advisory Board

“The Council will give our clients access to some of the most talented and influential executives in our industry to help navigate through one of the most challenging environments that we’ve ever experienced,” said Kneipper.

Company officials say PHNS' new name derives from "anthelion" (the halo around bodies directly opposite the sun), standing for an unchanging belief in setting a higher standard in healthcare – a rising benchmark, like the ascending sun.

“Anthelio is focused on redefining fundamental economics of the current hospital cost structure to drive significant top and bottom line results, realize cost efficiencies and scale, and help create a higher standard of care throughout the industry," said Garnick.