Testimonials

“I want to commend Joe Kanter… I think you’ve captured the (twenty-first century) version of … ‘Power to Patients.’ And, patients must use their power to help themselves and thereby to improve the nation’s health care system. The old adage is certainly true – information is power.”

–William Novelli, Former CEO of AARP

“Joe, you’ve given us all a benchmark for persistence and vision. We’re living the life of Joe Kanter’s vision.”

–David Brailer, MD, PhD, the United States’ First National Coordination for Health Information Technology

“Joe – You are the visionary who first saw this potential. Thanks for sticking with it – and nudging the players to this stage. – Karen.”

–Karen Davis, PhD, Former President of the Commonwealth Fund

“The (Joseph H.) Kanter Prize recognizes the true calling of medicine – to deliver health care to those in need. This is both the greatest privilege and highest obligation of a physician. Exceptional individuals who are highly dedicated to this mission in their practice deserve the recognition and admiration of our profession and our society.”

–Alan Leff, MD Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and Pharmacology and Physiology at The University of Chicago

“Joe’s interest in this arena was stimulated by early work on shared decision making. This pioneering work by Jack Wennberg and his colleagues was inspired by the radical idea that when there are two or more options, the penultimate decision maker must be the patient. The National Health Outcomes (Research) Data Sharing Network could be an important tool for patients to use in collaboration with their physicians to make informed decisions about their health care. Such shared decision making will revolutionize the practice of medicine and the delivery of health care services. We have an unprecedented opportunity to improve the health of all Americans.”

—Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

“More than two centuries ago, President Thomas Jefferson recognized that, ‘Information is the currency of democracy.’ In 2004 President George W. Bush saw the value of electronic health records, setting a goal of having most Americans’ records digitized by 2014. In 2009 President Barack Obama built upon this vision, signing into law the HITECH Act allocating more than $30 billion in federal recovery act funding for health information technology. More than a decade before Presidents Bush or Obama acted, inspired by his own experiences as a patient, Joe Kanter envisioned something much bigger – a vision for a health system that empowers researchers, clinicians, and especially patients by leveraging the power of anonymized electronic health records to learn from the collective real – world experiences of millions of patients. With determination and perseverance reminiscent of President Abraham Lincoln, Joe has been working tirelessly for almost two decades to effectuate his inspiring and transformative vision. That’s why I volunteered for his foundation for more than a year, and ultimately accepted Joe’s invitation to be Executive Director of the Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation: I now spend every day working to transform Joe’s vision into a reality that will improve the health of millions of Americans – Joe’s health legacy.”

–Josh C. Rubin, JD, MBA, MPH, MPP, Former Executive Director of the Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation