Former MinuteClinic CEO appointed chair of Mednet board

MINNEAPOLIS Mednet, which specializes in Health Information Exchange applications and services, has elected former MinuteClinic CEO Michael Howe to serve as chairman of its board of directors.

"Mednet has great technology for rapidly building modern and standardized health information exchanges," stated Howe. "However, what excites me the most is Mednet's focus on ensuring the privacy of patient information and engaging the patient in their own health care information. I want to help build a company that puts the privacy and security of patient information first. This strategic approach to information exchange is the right platform from which to engage the provider and investment community in Mednet as the secure, safe choice as we connect health care."

Howe joined MinuteClinic as CEO in June 2005. Under Howe's leadership, the retail-based clinic operator expanded to more than 500 clinics in 27 states. In 2006, MinuteClinic was acquired by CVS Caremark. In 2007, he was appointed to the Minnesota Governor's Healthcare Transformation Task Force. In addition to being CEO of MinuteClinic and Arby's, Howe held several positions with Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.

"Mr. Howe, with his extensive healthcare expertise, has embraced this opportunity to build another national healthcare success story," added Mednet CEO John Fraser. "We are very pleased to have Michael Howe as chairman of the Mednet board of directors, and look forward to his positive impact to our company, our customers and most importantly on patient care."