A consortium of five health information organizations will use a $2.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve electronic commerce practices in the health industry.

The HealthKey program will bring the organizations together to test how e-commerce technology is used and determine the best ways to protect user privacy.

The organizations are Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, Minnesota Health Data Institute, North Carolina Health Information and Communications Alliance, Utah Health Information Network and the Community Health Information Technology Alliance, a program of the Seattle-based Foundation for Health Care Quality.

The collaboration will test the security of information technologies and determine the best use of those technologies. These five groups will also examine the business and social implications of these technologies for the health industry.

One of the main focuses of the program is to share information that can be used by organizations in communities nationwide. HealthKey's Web site will be used to disseminate information and solicit feedback.

The grant will be administered by the Foundation for Health Care Quality, which focuses on consumer health issues, quality measurement and electronic commerce. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is devoted to health and health care issues.

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