WATERTOWN, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHN), a leading provider of internet-based business services to physician practices, today announced that Dr. William Winkenwerder has been appointed to its board of directors. The addition of Dr. Winkenwerder increases the number of directors on athenahealth’s board to eight.
Dr. Winkenwerder is one of the most influential and prominent leaders in American health care. He is currently the Chairman of The Winkenwerder Company, a health care consulting and advisory company based in Alexandria, Virginia. From 2001 to 2007 he was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Before that, he served in leadership positions at Blue Cross of Massachusetts, Prudential Healthcare, and Emory University during the course of 15 years.
At the Department of Defense, he was the leader of the Military Health System (MHS) and the principal medical advisor to the Secretary of Defense. The MHS organization of 132,000 personnel cares for 9.2 million people through a national network (TRICARE) of physicians and hospitals including 70 military hospitals worldwide.
During his tenure, he led groundbreaking advances in battlefield medicine and the implementation of the world’s largest electronic health record system (AHLTA). He also brought many innovations and improved business practices to government, improved TRICARE and mental healthcare for soldiers, oversaw medical relief efforts for the Asian tsunami and other disasters and led preparedness efforts for a possible avian flu or biological attack.
“I am extremely honored and excited to join the board of directors for one of the nation’s most innovative and forward thinking health care technology companies,” said Dr. Winkenwerder. “It is clear that athenahealth is a leader in helping medical groups of all sizes across the country more readily automate their operational and clinical systems as they look to improve patient care. At a time when both the federal government and private sector seek out new ways to advance the health care delivery system, I look forward to working with the athenahealth management team as they continue to successfully deliver their unique internet-based business services to the U.S. physician practice market.”
“Bill brings decades of truly unique experience to athenahealth’s board of directors both as a health industry technology leader and also as a senior government health policymaker,” said Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth. “As athenahealth continues to expand our national physician network and help our clients navigate an ever more complex health care landscape, Bill’s experience both innovating and overseeing the deployment of new health care technology platforms will play a critical role for us.”
He is a graduate of Davidson College and the University Of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Winkenwerder is also board certified in internal medicine and received his MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
