Continua Health Alliance is an international non-profit, open industry group of nearly 240 healthcare providers, communications, medical, and fitness device companies. Continua was a founding member of Personal Connected Health Alliance which was launches in February 2014 with other founding members mHealth SUMMIT and HIMSS.

Overview

Continua Health Alliance is an international not-for-profit industry organization enabling end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity of devices and services for personal health management and healthcare delivery. Its mission is to empower information-driven health management and facilitate the incorporation of health and wellness into the day-to-day lives of consumers. ts activities include a certification and brand support program, events and collaborations to support technology and clinical innovation, as well as outreach to employers, payers, governments and care providers. With nearly 220 member companies reaching across the globe, Continua comprises technology, medical device and healthcare industry leaders and service providers dedicated to making personal connected health a reality. Continua Health Alliance is working toward establishing systems of

interoperable Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader def ...

telehealth devices and services in three major categories: chronic disease management, aging independently, and health and physical fitness.

Devices and services

Continua Health Alliance version 1 design guidelines are based on proven connectivity

technical standard A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task which is applied to a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, ...

s and include

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

for wireless and

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

for wired device connection. The group released the guidelines to the public in June 2009. The group is establishing a

product certification Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications ...

program using its recognizable

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

, the Continua Certified Logo program, 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 A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

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 Health Alliance products make use of the ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Data (PHD) Standards. Continua design guidelines are not available to the public without signing a Non-disclosure agreement. Continua's guidelines help technology developers build end-to-end, plug-and-play systems more efficiently and cost effectively.

Milestones

Continua Health Alliance was founded on June 6, 2006 Continua Health alliance performed its first public demonstration of interoperability on October 27, 2008 at the Partners Center for Connected Health 5th Annual Connected Health Symposium in Boston. Continua Health Alliance certified its first product, the Nonin 2500 PalmSAT handheld pulse oximeter with USB, on January 26, 2009. By the end of December 2014 there are more than 100 certified products. Continua selected Bluetooth Low Energy and

Zigbee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and o ...

wireless protocols as the wireless standards for its Version 2 Design Guidelines which have been released. Bluetooth Low Energy is to be used for low-power mobile devices. Zigbee will be used for networked low-power sensors such as those enabling independent living. Beginning in 2012, Continua invites non-members to request a copy of its Design Guidelines after signing a non-disclosure agreement. Continua has working groups and operations in the U.S., EU, Japan, India and China.

Members

Continua Health Alliance currently has nearly 220 member companies.Member Companies (English)
/ref> Continua's Board of Directors is currently composed of the following companies:
/ref> * Fujitsu * Intel Corporation * Oracle Corporation *

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Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

* Qualcomm *

Roche Diagnostics F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX S ...

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...

UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest ...

Organisational structure

The organisation is primarily staffed by volunteers from the member organisations that are organised into working groups that address the goals of the alliance. Below the board of directors sit the following main working groups:{{Cite web, url=http://www.continuaalliance.org/static/cms_workspace/Continua_Overview_Presentation_7.16.12_web.pdf, title=Personal Connected Health Alliance * Emerging Markets Working Group * EU Working Group * Global Development and Outreach Working Group * Marketing Council * Market Adoption Working Group * Regulatory Working Group * Technical Working Group * Test & Certification Work Group * Use Case Working Group * U.S. Policy Working Group

Relevant standards

* ISO/IEEE 11073 * ISO/IEEE 11073 Personal Health Data (PHD) Standards *

* HL7 *

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) is a non-profit organization based in the US state of Illinois. It sponsors an initiative by the healthcare industry to improve the way computer systems share information. IHE was established in 1998 b ...

Website

The Continua Alliance website contains a full listing of member organisations, a directory of qualified products, and a clear statement of their mission.

References

External links

Continua Health Alliance website
** New Website
Personal Connected Health Alliance
Health informatics organizations Interoperability Telehealth