American Hospital Association (AHA): Through their website, the AHA provides a number of useful links to assist those providing healthcare or working with healthcare data. This includes information about access to care, creating a better health care system, emergency readiness, health information technology, and chronic care management as well as other health-related topics.

American Academy of Family Physicians: This professional association provides useful information for healthcare information technology with a focus for the family physician. There are many links to assist those in a physician office practice with coding and billing.

American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA): An association for those interested in public health/population informatics, translational bioinformatics, and clinical informatics, AMIA has a large selection of resources available to the public. For those selecting and implementing an electronic medical record, there are a number of seminars, panels, and other presentations at their meetings, which also provide an opportunity for networking.

American Management Association: AMA is a global not-for-profit, membership-based association that provides a full range of management development and educational services to individuals, companies and government agencies worldwide, including 486 of the Fortune 500 companies.

Bridges to Excellence: This is a not-for-profit organization created to encourage leaps in the quality of care by recognizing and rewarding healthcare providers who demonstrate that they provide safe, effective, efficient, and patient-centered quality of care. This site includes tools and resources for physicians, consumers, and employers and health plans.

HIMMS: The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of human health. This society also provides a number of resources and tools at the following link: http://www.himss.org/ASP/topicsHome.asp

Institute of Medicine (IOM): The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.

Joint Commission Resources: Joint Commission Resources (JCR), an affiliate of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), is the official publisher and educator of the Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of the Joint Commission.

Leapfrog Group: The Leapfrog Group is a voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert America’s health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and customer value will be recognized and rewarded. Among other initiatives, Leapfrog works with its employer members to encourage transparency and easy access to health care information as well as rewards for hospitals that have a proven record of high quality care.