Oct. 8, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) announced today it has elected two new members to the HITRUST Executive Council. Kimberly Gray, Chief Privacy Officer, Americas Region, IMS Health, and Mark Kinnunen, Information Security Officer, Express Scripts have been appointed to the Executive Council for two-year terms. HITRUST is led by a seasoned management team and governed by the Executive Council, which is comprised of leaders from across the healthcare industry and other HITRUST supporting organizations.

As HITRUST moves its focus from development of the Common Security Framework (CSF) to widespread adoption, the ongoing involvement from organizations such as Express Scripts and IMS Health furthers its goal to aid healthcare organizations in securing health information and meeting legal, policy and compliance requirements. The CSF, now publically available at no charge, is an information security framework that harmonizes the requirements of existing standards and regulations, including federal (HIPAA, HITECH), third party (PCI, COBIT) and government (NIST, FTC). The broad representation and collaboration of organizations on the Executive Council strengthens HITRUST’s ability to offer the CSF as a key component in meeting federal and state regulations with regards to health information exchanges.

“Kimberly and Mark, as well as their respective organizations, have demonstrated tremendous commitment in advancing the healthcare industry and protecting health information while reducing the burden of an organization’s compliance efforts,” said Daniel Nutkis, Chief Executive Officer, HITRUST. “We are honored to have them join the Executive Council and work with us to collaborate and lead the industry forward in safeguarding health information in an efficient and cost-effective manner.”

As IMS Health's Chief Privacy Officer for the Americas Region and its affiliates, Kimberly Gray is responsible for the development, oversight and promotion of IMS's comprehensive privacy, data protection and data management program, which includes policy development, communications and strategic direction. “My involvement with HITRUST and the other organizations on the Executive Council exposes me, and in turn IMS, to leading-edge, strategic resources and guidance for managing the requirements of health information protection,” said Gray.