AMIA co-convenes meeting that succeeds in forging common U.S.-EU approach  

Bethesda, MD—The final meeting in a series held by the ARGOS eHealth Consortium, a project funded by the European Commission (EC) to develop and promote common methods for responding to global eHealth challenges, recently concluded in Budapest amidst greater mutual understanding and stronger agreement among a broad set of leaders in Europe and the U.S., all of whom are responsible for expanding the use of health information technology (HIT). Research in informatics in biomedicine and health demonstrates that effective use of HIT supports improved health outcomes; the ARGOS participants believe that expanded and coordinated use of HIT will have a deep impact on the health and well-being of a broad swath of populations here and in Europe.  

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: May 11, 2011

Ensuring Vendor Accountability, Supporting Profession’s Expansion are Strategic Keys to Success

AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, has weighed in on the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan in response to the HHS Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) call for comments on the overarching strategy for realizing health IT goals set forth by the U.S. Congress and the Administration. AMIA President and CEO Edward H. Shortliffe, PhD, MD, summarizes AMIA’s comments simply:

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: May 6, 2011

The May issue of JAMIA, the top-ranked journal reporting on informatics in biomedical and health informatics, features new scientific research—in print and online—on healthcare’s hottest HIT-related topics, written by prominent experts working in health and biomedicine. Editor-in chief Lucila Ocho-Machado bullets some of the rich content in the newly released, current issue:

Click to read more.

Uploaded: April 14, 2011

Washington, DC—Approximately 35 members of AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, traveled to Capitol Hill today to meet with four Members of Congress and more than 30 legislative aides to discuss the roles of health information technology (HIT) and informatics in quality healthcare delivery, and how to accelerate their broad adoption in the healthcare sector. The group, comprising clinicians, allied health professionals from many states and healthcare settings, and scientists who work in the corresponding commercial sector was greeted by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who supports expansion of biomedical and health informatics, an emerging field in health care.

Click here to read more.

Uploaded: March 7, 2011

Leaders in healthcare meet to consider HIT’s potential in promoting greater health equity and patient-entered care vs. its capacity to unintentionally increase existing disparities in health and health care

Washington, DC -- A diverse group of healthcare stakeholders address questions related to health information technology’s (HIT) impact on health and healthcare disparities in a two-day invitational roundtable on March 7-8, sponsored by the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and AMIA, the association for informatics professionals. Participants represent the perspectives and concerns of community health centers, health systems, health plans, clinicians and other providers, and consumers. A background paper, the roundtable agenda, and participants list are online at www.amia.org/disparities-roundtable

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: March 7, 2011

San Francisco—A ground-breaking pair of scientific meetings, the Joint Summits on Translational Science, open today with several hundred scientists, researchers, academic leaders, and nonprofit and corporate leaders in biomedicine who share a common interest in transforming biomedical research discoveries into clinical treatments and health promotion. AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, convenes the week-long Joint Summits on Translational Bioinformatics (TBI) and Clinical Research Informatics (CRI) to meet the knowledge-driven needs of translational scientists who use the Summits as a key venue in which to share the spectrum of their work in discovery-driven science from ‘bench to bedside’, find collaborative partners, and network with peers also interested in bridging innovation in biomedical research to patient care.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: March 2, 2011

Bethesda, MD—The current edition of JAMIA, today’s top-ranked journal in biomedical and health informatics, features new scientific research—in print and online—on some of healthcare’s most hotly discussed HIT-related topics, written by prominent experts working in health and biomedicine:

"The case for randomized controlled trials to assess the impact of clinical information systems" Joseph L. Y. Liu of The University of Dundee and The University of Edinburgh, UK; and Jeremy C. Wyatt of University of Warwick and The University of Dundee, UK, provide a perspective on the critical role of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in the assessment of clinical information systems. The authors make a compelling case that clinical information systems can be very influential in determining clinical outcomes; therefore, they should be subject to the same rigorous evaluation standards as other types of clinical interventions, such as medications and procedures.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: Feb. 28, 2011

EHR-Users Need Systems that Provide Cognitive Support and Evidence-based Functionalities

Bethesda, MD—AMIA, the association for professionals in biomedical and health informatics, sent comments to the federal Office of the National Coordinator on Health Information Technology (DHHS/ ONCHIT), which has actively supported and incentivized the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) over the last year, and which solicited comment, through the HIT Policy Committee (HITPC), on the continuation of support for achieving meaningful use of EHRs in 2013 and 2014.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded: Jan. 3, 2011

Bethesda, MD—The Jan-Feb 2011 issue of JAMIA, the scientific journal on informatics in health and biomedicine, introduces not only a new Editor-in-Chief, but also a number of changes to the journal’s business operations and contents. The first issue published under the editorship of Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, MBA, PhD, FACMI, University of California, San Diego, reveals the new editor’s influence throughout the publication.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 30, 2010

Bethesda, Md.--The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and the Global Health Informatics Partnership (GHIP) have announced a strategic alliance to strengthen health information and communication (HICT) systems, create learning modules appropriate for a wide variety of workers in public health and clinical roles, and facilitate infrastructures and policies that support sustained investment in HICT and informatics at the global level. The alliance also will support the development of local and regional centers of excellence in health informatics. The two organizations signed a joint Letter of Understanding in Washington, DC, during AMIA’s recently held 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics, with IMIA President Antoine Geissbuhler and AMIA President and CEO Ted Shortliffe serving as signators.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 15, 2010

Nov. 15, 2010, Washington, DC—In only its sixth month of operations, the Global Health Informatics Partnership (GHIP) has actively gained the support and participation of numerous international health-related organizations as it seeds and grows a collaborative learning community focused on the creation of a collaborative network and clearinghouse of information for global health informatics. At its international debut among regional and world health organizations in South Africa two months ago, GHIP rolled out prototypes of health informatics building blocks—HIBBs—to be used as training modules for health workers in clinical settings in low-resource countries. With operational support from AMIA, the association of informatics professionals, GHIP aims to build a grassroots network of health informatics advocates and professionals that will result in strengthened health informatics capacity in South America, Africa, and Asia. Health informatics is the science of using data, information, and knowledge to improve both human health and delivery of healthcare services.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 15, 2010

Washington, DC, Nov. 15—The 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics opened this week with keynote speaker Susan Dentzer, editor in chief of Health Affairs, addressing a crowd of more than two thousand professionals who are central to modernizing the nation’s health sector by applying the science of informatics to a variety of specialized health domains, including public health, clinical practice, clinical research, and translational bioinformatics. The informatics work force develops and encourages use of critical decisionsupport tools for healthcare providers, adopts and promotes use of electronic health records as a tool for collaborative treatment of patients, and creates resources and tools used in biomedical research. The Symposium’s theme, Informatics: Key to Quality Care and Scientific Progress, links together 102 scientific sessions, two keynote speakers, 364 scientific posters, 71 exhibits, a number of theatre-style demonstrations, and six late-breaking sessions. Sessions are led by informatics experts in a professional community that spans academia, industry, clinical settings, research environments, and government and nonprofit agencies.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 15, 2010

Following their recent election, eight new Fellows were inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, at ceremonies that followed the opening of AMIA’s 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics in Washington, DC, where more than 2,000 informatics professionals have gathered for five days of scientific sessions and panels on policy and ethical issues, EHRs and achieving meaningful use, translational bioinformatics and biomedicine, clinical research informatics, data mining and information extraction, and many other topics related to the science of informatics and its application areas. Incoming ACMI President Jim Cimino, MD, FACMI, welcomed the following Fellows to the College:

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 12, 2010

Bethesda, MD– Don E. Detmer, MD, is to receive the 2010 Morris F. Collen Award from AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, in recognition of his longstanding efforts to advance the field of biomedical and health informatics and in so doing, improve health care in the United States and around the world.

The prestigious award is to be presented at the opening session of AMIA’s 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics on November 15, in Washington, D.C.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 12, 2010

Washington, DC, Nov. 13, 2010--Six nurse informaticians, all leaders in the emerging nursing informatics profession, are to be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) as Fellows this evening at the AAN Annual Meeting and Conference. The incoming AAN Fellows are Amy Barton, Patricia Dykes, Jacqueline Moss, Susan Matney, Joyce Sensmeier, and Charlotte Weaver. AAN is recognizing them for their individual accomplishments within the nursing profession and for their contributions to transforming America's health care system through design of electronic health record systems that support nursing workflow, critical decision support and best practices.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 12, 2010

Visionary Leaders in Research and Practice Are Recognized for Ground-Breaking Advancements in Digitalizing Health Data and Information

Washington, D.C.–AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, honors four leaders in biomedical and health informatics on Nov. 13, 2010, with the annual presentation of its Signature Awards. The awards are to be announced on Monday, Nov. 15 at the Opening Session of AMIA’s 34th Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics in Washington, D.C., before an audience of more than 2,000 informatics professionals attending the event. Signature awards highlight extraordinary professionals working in the health industry, whose work transforms how health information and data is gathered, applied, and disseminated, and whose efforts result in elevated standards of care in the United States and beyond.

"The Signature Award recipients have made significant contributions to informatics, and in the process, have helped streamline the way data and information can be applied to patients," said AMIA Chairwoman Nancy M. Lorenzi, PhD, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "This group of Signature Award recipients joins an impressive cohort of pioneers in health who are leading the way to more robust biomedical research, a more responsive public health sector, advancements moving more quickly and efficiently from bench to bedside, and more incisive clinical practice—all of which are made possible through the science of informatics," she added.

Click to read this release.

Uploaded Nov. 11, 2010

Bethesda, MD--An original and progressive report on health information technology (HIT) vendors, their customers and patients, published online today, makes ground-breaking recommendations for new practices that target the reduction or elimination of tensions that currently mar relationships between many HIT vendors and their customers, specifically with regard to indemnity and error management of HIT systems. In light of the Obama Administration’s $19 billion investment in HIT, paid out in ARRA stimulus funds, these recommendations are particularly significant in helping to foster greater use of electronic health records and other tools in the transition from paper records, largely understood to be a hindrance to quality patient care.

Click to read this release.

Washington, DC—AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, has been selected to serve as a partner for one year in the National Priorities Partnership (NPP), beginning Sept. 21, 2010. A coalition of 48 organizations convened by the National Quality Forum (NQF) will reconstitute the NPP, which currently comprises 32 organizations working to address challenges in the U.S. health care system. The NPP’s previous work has targeted ways to eliminate harm, waste, and disparities in health care delivery. The NPP aims to leverage its collective influence to align public and private sector activities with the National Priorities and support their implementation.

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, Md. —In comments sent to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) called out 10 specific challenges to proposed modifications to HIPAA Privacy and Enforcement Rules. AMIA’s comments, sent Sept. 13, 2010, on behalf of its membership of 4,000 informatics professionals, detail key issues of concern related to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on HIPAA modifications, along with suggestions for models of change. The following areas were cited:

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, Md. -- In an article published in the Sept. 15 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA), author Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD, points out that although information underlies all clinical work, and despite the growing role that information management and access play in healthcare delivery and clinical support, there is a dearth of informatics competency being developed in America’s future corps of physicians. Formalized education in the application of informatics and the use and methodologies of health information technology and exchange, Dr. Shortliffe observes, is not typically a specific part of medical education.

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, Md.—A new online publication, targeted to health professionals working in the global informatics community, has been launched by AMIA, the professional association for informatics professionals. The Standards Standard provides a single online destination for healthcare information, communications, and technology experts who require a reliable periodic update on the activities and initiatives of the world's major biomedical and healthcare standards- setting organizations. Its editor is AMIA member Dr Dipak Kalra, Clinical Professor of Health Informatics and Director of the Centre for Health Informatics and Multiprofessional Education (CHIME) at University College, London.

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, MD—Scientific research published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) reports on a study of genetic variants that influence human susceptibility to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), made possible by leveraging electronic medical records (EMRs; also called EHRs or electronic health records). A team of authors from the Mayo Clinic Divisions of Cardiovascular Diseases and Biomedical Informatics and Statistics conducted the study and concluded that EMR-based data, used across institutions in a structured way, "offer great potential for diverse research studies, including those related to understanding the genetic bases of common diseases."

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, MD -- AMIA, the U.S.-based association for informatics professionals, has launched a non-profit, wholly owned subsidiary organization called the Global Health Informatics Partnership (GHIP) to serve as an international center for collaborative initiatives on health informatics. With generous operational support from AMIA, GHIP (say "gee-hip"), aims to build grassroots networks of health informatics advocates and professionals that will result in strengthened health informatics capacity in low-resource settings, primarily in South America, Africa, and Asia.

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, Md, June 2, 2010—Numerous grants funded by the U.S. economic stimulus program (ARRA) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, to advance the use of health information technology (HIT) and to ready a professional informatics work force, have been awarded to leading members of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), a growing professional society that for the last two decades has advocated for informatics as a health care specialty. AMIA members are healthcare professionals with expertise in managing digital health information to optimize use of knowledge and data that underpins clinical care, biomedical research, post-graduate education, and public policy. Award recipients (See Table 1) include pioneering members who are on the AMIA Board of Directors, who provide online educational coursework in informatics, and who publish in AMIA’s peer-reviewed journal, JAMIA. The workforce awards support curriculum development and training of a new generation of informatics specialists; SHARP awards are aimed at research programs that will address problems that have impeded the adoption of health IT, and especially electronic health records, while supporting a high-performing continuously-learning healthcare system.

Click to read this release.
Click to open table 1 of Grant Recipients.

Phoenix, Arizona, May 26, 2010—After a months-long search, the Board of Directors of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) today announced the selection of Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, PhD, FACMI, as the new Editor-in-Chief of the AMIA peer-reviewed informatics journal, JAMIA. Dr. Ohno-Machado is a faculty member of the University of California San Diego, where she is Professor and founding chief of the Division of Biomedical Informatics. She has been an AMIA member since 2001 and is the most recent past Chair of AMIA’s Annual Symposium, a premier forum that attracts several thousand informaticians-- physicians, nurses, dentists, chief medical information officers, and other healthcare and industry professionals—to present their scientific studies and attend policy sessions related to biomedical and health informatics.

Click to read this release.

Bethesda, MD, Feb. 19, 2010 – The Rockefeller Foundation has awarded a $630,100 project support grant to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) to support the initial implementation this year of a global e-Health training program in sub-Saharan Africa designed for primary care providers, technical staff and health policy-makers. The Rockefeller grant will support Health Informatics Building Blocks (HIBBs), a program developed by AMIA in which distance-learning supports clinical and health informatics training in low-resource countries where greater understanding and use of informatics and databases can enable better support of community care and public health services. This education initiative will provide an infrastructure that enables a broad audience such as community health workers in developing countries to acquire skills and knowledge in informatics at little or no cost to indigenous institutions or individuals.

Click here to read this release

Bethesda, MD, February 5, 2010—Five articles, whose lead or senior authors are nationally known informatics leaders and members of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), appear in the Feb. 2010 issue of Health Affairs and provide a glimpse into the future of health care delivery in an increasingly information-driven era of health care in the developing world. These articles explain the critical role that information technology, and the health informatics work force will play in achieving overall health improvements globally. The articles further reflect innovative program initiatives AMIA and its membership currently have underway on a global scale.

Click here to read this release

Chicago, Jan. 12, 2010--Two nurses have won recognition as emerging leaders in the field of nursing informatics, selected by the Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI) to participate in a jointly supported Nursing Informatics Emerging Leaders Program. The selections were based on a number of criteria, including a mid-level position in informatics in a health care setting, a current license to practice as a registered nurse, and the ability to make a difference as a leader in the field of informatics. This inaugural program aims to develop leaders capable of assuming national leadership positions in an informatics-related organization. The two emerging leaders selected are: Ellen Makar, RN-BC, MSN, of Yale New Haven Health System, Conn.; and Sandra Ng, RN-BC, MSN, UCSF Medical Center, part of the University of California, San Francisco. 

Click here to read this release.

To view 2009 news releases, click here.

Bethesda, MD, Dec. 15, 2009 - Although physicians support the use of electronic health records, concerns about potential privacy breaches remain an issue, according to two research articles published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Informatics Association (JAMIA), in its premiere issue as one of 30 specialty titles published by the BMJ (British Medical Journal) Group, UK.

Click here to read this release.

San Francisco, November 16, 2009 –The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) opened its Annual Symposium on Biomedical and Health Informatics with more than 2,000 members and registrants gathered at the Hilton San Francisco to exchange new information, best practices, and cutting-edge thinking on an array of topics in this burgeoning health care field. Opening the symposium was Mark D. Smith, president & CEO of California HealthCare Foundation, with a speech entitled, “Health Information Technology: Hope, Hype, and How to Avoid the Road to Hell.”

Click here to read this release.

San Francisco, November 16, 2009 –The professional association for biomedical and health informatics, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), honored leading informaticians working in the country today at ceremonies that opened the Annual Symposium 2009 on Biomedical and Health Informatics. The AMIA Signature Awards recognize individuals who have performed outstanding leadership in the field of biomedical and health informatics.

Click here to read the release.

San Francisco, November 14, 2009—Following their recent election, 11 new Fellows were inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) this evening at ceremonies that raise the curtain on the opening of the Biomedical and Health Informatics Symposium tomorrow at the Hilton San Francisco.

Click here to read this release.

Bethesda, MD, September 11, 2009 – AMIA released a framework for classifying and assessing unintended consequences of health information technology (HIT) and policy during its 4th Annual invitational Health Policy Conference. The conference, held on September 9 and 10, 2009, in Reston, Virginia, drew diverse stakeholders from the public and private sectors who focused their discussions on anticipating unintended consequences of HIT and policy, as well as options for addressing them. Keynote presentations were made by David Blumenthal, MD, PhD, National HIT Coordinator, and Aneesha Chopra, MPP, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology in the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.

Click here to read this news release in its entirety.

Click here to view interim work products and meeting materials.

Bethesda, MD, July 14, 2009 – The Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) has published the results of a randomized trial to study the effectiveness of telemedicine in an intervention designed to help clinicians manage key health indicators associated with diabetes mellitus.  The IDEATel project, funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and carried out in New York State, focused specifically on elderly Medicare recipients living in federally designated medically underserved areas who had difficulty managing their personal health.  To examine the clinical utility of a combined home telemedicine and informatics intervention with associated nursing care, the study followed 1,665 diabetic patients over a five-year period.  The study compared outcomes in the telemedicine group to similar diabetic patients who received traditional clinical care.

Click here to view this news release in its entirety.

Bethesda, MD, July 14, 2009 – The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) announced today that it had submitted additional written comments to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the HIT Policy Committee about meaningful use and electronic health record certification. The HIT Policy Committee and its Certification/Adoption Workgroup is meeting and holding public hearings in Washington, D.C. on July 14-16, 2009. 

Click here to view this news release in its entirety.

Click here to review the AMIA statement.

Bethesda, MD, July 8, 2009 – The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) announced that Dr. Ted Shortliffe has joined the staff succeeding Don E Detmer, MD, as AMIA’s President and Chief Executive Officer.  Shortliffe, a leader in biomedical and health informatics for four decades, brings extensive experience and knowledge to AMIA.  The organization is an interdisciplinary and diverse group of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting the effective organization, analysis, management, and use of information in health care in support of patient care, public health, teaching, research, administration, and related policy.

Click here to view this news release in its entirety.

May 13, 2009 - AMIA applauds the recent appointments to the Health Information Technology (HIT) Standards Committee, a federal advisory body, which is charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health information.  The first meeting of this committee is scheduled for Friday, May 15, 2009. 

Members appointed by HHS include a number of active AMIA leaders, volunteers, and members: Jonathan Perlin, M.D., Chair; John Halamka, M.D., Co-Chair; Dixie Baker, Ph.D.; Christopher Chute, M.D.; Janet Corrigan, Ph.D.; Douglas Fridsma, M.D., Ph.D.; C. Martin Harris, M.D., M.B.A.; Stanley M. Huff, M.D.; David McCallie, Jr., M.D.; Judy Murphy, R.N.;J. Marc Overhage, M.D., Ph.D.; and James Walker, M.D. Other committee appointees were: Anne Castro; John Derr, R. Ph.; Linda Dillman; James Ferguson; Steven Findlay, M.P.H.; Kevin Hutchinson; Elizabeth O. Johnson, R.N.; John Klimek, R.Ph.; Gina Perez, M.P.A.; Wes Rishel; and Sharon Terry, M.A..

Read the full media alert.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On April 29, 2009, Don E. Detmer, AMIA's President and CEO submitted comments to the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) as part of their public hearings to help define and clarify the term "meaningful use."  The comments are available on the Association's web site at: www.amia.org.

AMIA noted that given the funding being made available to implement electronic health records through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the nation has a valuable opportunity to improve care delivery and health outcomes.  AMIA noted that while the volume of health data collected and stored in electronic health records (EHRs) will dramatically increase, EHRs have the potential both to support and enhance clinical care and decision-making and at the same time to foster public health activities such as surveillance, measurement of outcomes and performance, research, and public policy.   However, AMIA noted that implementing an EHR does not necessarily equate with effectively using the systems' available functions, nor does simple adoption necessarily achieve actual changes in either clinical practice or patient outcomes.  AMIA's comments offered specific recommendation in four major areas:

• "Meaningful use" Focuses on Process and Care Improvements over Time
• Develop and Implement a Robust Definition and Application of "Meaningful Use"
• EHRs Functionality and Capability
• Establish Approaches to  and Measures of Meaningful Use

Read the full media alert.

Click here for AMIA's Comments on Meaningful Use.

The National Committee on Vital and Heath Statistics (NCVHS) Executive Subcommittee will hold a special meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29, 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008.

Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) include Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs for "meaningful users" of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems.  These incentive programs are scheduled to begin as early as January 1, 2011.  Because of the short time period, it is critical to develop criteria for the "meaningful use" of certified EHR technology for 2011 and succeeding years of the program.  The NCVHS has been asked to address these key topics over the next four (4) weeks.  The Executive Subcommittee is convening this hearing to obtain stakeholder input on this important concept, which is the basis for many of the provider incentive considerations under the ARRA.

Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS Vice President, Information Services Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI has been invited to testify as a panelist before the Executive Subcommittee, "Panel 6: The 'Glide Path' to Meaningful Use for 2011 and Beyond for Providers", is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 4:15 p.m EASTERN.  Each panelist will have approximately 8-10 minutes to present comments, followed by a Q&A session conducted by Executive Subcommittee members. 

Go to http://www.va.gov/audiohhs.htm to listen to a live webcast of the hearings or to the NCVHS homepage: http://www.ncvhs.hhs.gov/  

Schedule listed below of additional AMIA members who will be testifying:

Tuesday, April 28

9:45 a.m.       

Panel 1: Vision of Health and Health Care Transformed; Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

4:15 p.m.  

Panel 6: The "Glide Path" to Meaningful Use for 2011 and Beyond for Providers Judy Murphy, R.N., FACMI, FHIMSS Aurora Health

Wednesday, April 29

9:30 a.m.       

Panel 7: Meaningful Use and Population/Public Health; Leslie Lenert, M.D., M.S., Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; Martin LaVenture, M.D., M.P.H., Minnesota Department of Health

2:15 p.m.       

Panel 10: Measuring Meaningful Use; Floyd Eisenberg, M.D., M.P.H., National Quality Forum (NQF)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 3, 2009 - Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) is working to help the United States realize its 10-year goal of electronic health records for all its citizens. TIGER, which started as a grass-roots initiative, now involves over 70 professional nursing organizations, vendors, and governmental entities.

The TIGER Initiative aims to enable practicing nurses and nursing students to fully engage in the unfolding digital electronic era in healthcare. The purpose of the initiative is to identify information/knowledge management best practices and effective technology capabilities for nurses. TIGER's goal is to create and disseminate local and global action plans that can be duplicated within nursing and other multidisciplinary healthcare training and workplace settings.

For the full media alert please click here.

Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), today announced the appointment of 13 members to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, a new advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The committee will make recommendations on creating a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information.

David W. Bates, MD, MSc, AMIA Chairman; Connie Delaney, RN, PhD, AMIA Board Member; and AMIA Members, Arthur Davidson, MD, Paul Tang, MD, and David Lansky, PhD, were among the 13 appointees.

For the full media alert click here.

March 24, 2009 - The 2009 AMIA Summit on Translational Bioinformatics, held in San Francisco on March 15-17, 2009, reported a 10% increase in attendance over last year's meeting. Given the current condition of the economy, attendees considered this a very positive sign.

"We are very pleased that the genuine excitement generated from our first annual AMIA summit carried over into an even larger meeting this year," commented Don E. Detmer, AMIA President and CEO. "The growth in attendance and quality of the summit validates our board's commitment to this critical growth area of informatics.  It is a clearly needed educational offering and contributes to the importance of translational bioinformatics in biomedical research, genetics, education, and diagnostic and therapeutic discovery.  Yves Lussier and his Scientific Program Committee did outstanding work."

"The AMIA Summits take place during this pivotal moment in history when computational discoveries of molecular underpinnings of diseases are poised to improve the care of complex diseases," said Yves A. Lussier, MD, Director for Informatics, UC Cancer Research Center Director, Center for Biomedical Informatics Associate Professor of Medicine, Section of Genetic Medicine, The University of Chicago. "Indeed, the past success of clinical informatics in transforming the care of patients is merely a glimpse into the remarkable promises that the field of translational bioinformatics holds in for targeted molecular therapy." 

Read the full media alert.

The announcement by the Obama administration on March 20, 2009, of David Blumenthal’s appointment as national coordinator of health information technology brought positive comments from AMIA members and the industry.

"Dr. Blumenthal is one of the nation's leading health policy experts, and has recently done important work evaluating the adoption of electronic health records both outside the hospital and inside it,” remarked David W. Bates, MD, MSc, AMIA Chairman.  “His expertise and leadership will be extremely useful in this next period, as the nation makes it's largest investment ever in health information technology."

“We’re extremely pleased with the appointment of Dr. Blumenthal.  He has the full support of President Obama as became clear in his comments on the Presidential campaign at our Annual Symposium in November 2008.   David is a very capable person who is also quite aware of AMIA.  I’ve already offered our support to him,” commented Don E. Detmer, MD, MA, AMIA President and CEO.  Detmer added, “AMIA owes a sincere thank you to Dr. Robert Kolodner as well for his many accomplishments in moving HIT forward.  Rob built upon David Brailer’s work and has paved the way for David Blumenthal to move swiftly and effectively.” 

As the national coordinator, Blumenthal will lead the implementation of a nationwide interoperable, privacy-protected, health information technology infrastructure as called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

March 24, 2009 - AMIA is pleased to announce the formal partnership of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing (UMN) in the AMIA 10x10 program.  Bonnie Westra, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Nursing Minimum Data Set Knowledge Discovery will serve as the Director of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing 10x10 offering.

 "The University of Minnesota has adapted its tried and true graduate level informatics course required of all our masters and DNP students to a self-paced online continuing education course," remarked Dr. Westra. "This course offers the opportunity to gain an understanding of workflow processes, standards for the electronic health records, and how nurses can participate to assure systems support their work in providing safe and effective patient care. Nurses need to be prepared to advocate for technology to match and support their workflow as part of an interdisciplinary team."

Read the full media alert.

March 19, 2009 - AMIA is pleased to announce the formal partnership of Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU) in the AMIA 10x10 program. The AMIA 10x10 at NSU course offering will start on March 30, 2009, with the in-person session taking place during the AMIA 2009 Spring Congress in Orlando, Florida, May 27-30, 2009.  The registration deadline is March 23, 2009.  Complete course description and registration is available on the AMIA Web site at: https://www.amia.org/nsu-course-description.

Read the full media alert.

Greetings AMIA members and friends,

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to appoint members to a Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee. This Committee is to make recommendations on the implementation of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. For more information about the Act and the GAO request for nominations, visit https://www.amia.org/public_policy.

David W. Bates, AMIA Board Chairman and I received an e-mail from the GAO late last week to provide nominations to the HIT Policy Committee by a deadline date of March 6, 2009. We jointly agreed on the importance of responding quickly to this opportunity. We met the deadline through the supportive efforts of our nominees along with AMIA staff members, Meryl Bloomrosen and Charlotte Ott. The depth of leadership across our membership made the decision process challenging. During the vetting process to identify qualified AMIA members, we learned that a number of individuals were being nominated by other organizations or were self-nominated. Ultimately, we submitted a well-qualified roster on behalf of AMIA for the HIT Policy Committee in most but not all of the categories.

Click here to obtain the list of nominees and read the full-text of this message.

What:    The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) will be holding hearings to gather information on how to improve the processes for developing, selecting, and implementing health care informatics standards. 

 Who:   AMIA President and CEO, Don Eugene Detmer, MD, MA will provide testimony on a panel entitled “HIT Thought Leaders” during a hearing of NCVHS Subcommittee on Standards. The NCVHS was established by Congress to serve as an advisory body to HHS on health data, statistics, and national health information policy. Don is also past chair of NCVHS; he currently chairs the Board of MedBiquitous, and co-chairs the Blue Ridge Academic Health Group.

 Rosemary Kennedy MBA, RN, will be testifying on behalf of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI) in Panel 3 “Enhancing Standards Adoption by Users”.  Kennedy will be joined by representatives from the American Association of Family Physicians, American Clinical Laboratory Association and the American Hospital Association.

When:  Panel 2, featuring Dr. Detmer “HIT Thought Leaders” will be held Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 10:15 am (ET).

Panel 3, featuring Rosemary Kennedy, “Enhancing Standards Adoption by Users” will take place later in the afternoon at 1:35 pm (ET).

oth hearings will be held in Washington, DC at the Humphrey Building.

How:   Join and Watch this live broadcast at:  http://www.va.gov/audiohhs.htm.  The purpose of this page is to support the live audio broadcast of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) NCVHS meeting being held in Washington DC.  More information is available at: www.ncvhs.hhs.gov.

Read the full media alert. 

AMIA applauds the recent release of two significant informatics reports.  Within the span of just over one month, the National Academy of Sciences via the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) has released two highly relevant reports. Of significant interest to AMIA is the January 2009 National Research Council report entitled, "Computational Technology for Effective Health Care: Immediate Steps and Strategic Directions" edited by William W. Stead and Herbert S. Lin, Committee on Engaging the Computer Science Research Community in Health Care Informatics (www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12572).  The report finds that "current efforts aimed at the nationwide deployment of health care information technology (IT) will not be sufficient to achieve medical leaders' vision of health care in the 21st century and may even set back the cause".  The report concludes "that greater emphasis should be placed on information technology that provides health care workers and patients with cognitive support, such as assistance in decision-making and problem-solving."  One of AMIA's ongoing initiatives is the fostering of a healthcare system that uses best evidence to support the health and healthcare services for individuals and populations and has several initiatives underway to help foster this commitment.

In February, 2009 the IOM report entitled, "Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research" (www.iom.edu/CMS/3740/43729/61796.aspx) concludes that "the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule does not adequately protect the privacy of people's personal health information and hinders important health research discoveries.  AMIA's previous work on uses of health data identified data stewardship as key to furthering discussions about the ongoing, legitimate and appropriate use of health data (www.amia.org/public_policy/conferences). 

"These are very important and timely reports that AMIA will continue to track at its 2009 meetings, says AMIA President & CEO, Don Eugene Detmer, MD, MA.  As the professional home for biomedical and health informatics, the findings of these reports resonate among our members. Dr. Detmer continues, "These reports will help spur ongoing dialogue and action to assure a proper balance among health including personal health care delivery, quality, safety, ongoing research, and public health; freedom and privacy." 

January 12, 2009

AMIA has sent a letter to President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team applauding and encouraging efforts to assure a genuine transformation of our nation's healthcare system.  The letter emphasizes that system transformation requires more than merely investing in hardware and software. Sustained transformation depends on the application of information science to manage change over time so that Health Information and Communications Technology (HICT) systems are implemented safely and successfully and then continue to evolve within the organizations in which they are deployed.  

AMIA, based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, is dedicated to promoting the effective organization, analysis, management, and use of information in health care in support of patient care, public health, teaching, research, administration, and related policy. With over 4,000 members, AMIA represents an interdisciplinary and strong union of clinicians that include physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, as well as researchers, educators and their students, government officials and policy makers, and private sector organizations.

The letter calls on the new Administration and Federal leadership to augment the rapid expansion of a well-trained workforce sufficiently skilled in the effective use of information and communication technology tools and applications.  Such training must emphasize the use of informatics to support health and healthcare delivery and evaluation by implementing electronic health records (EHRs) and effective information management, and assuring their stability and rigor over time. 

AMIA offers its support of and recommendations for:

• Mechanisms, including grants, loans and financial incentives for clinicians and healthcare organizations to deploy, implement successfully, and widely disseminate EHRs;
• Widespread implementation of training and continuing education programs for clinicians, health information managers, informaticians, and others to address the need for a prepared health information and technology workforce;
• Effective ways to address the health needs of underserved populations, including providing equitable access to health information and communications technology;
• Compliance with standards, policies and practices that support sharing of health information, local, regional and national health information exchange, terminologies and classifications and appropriate and secure integration between EHRs and public health systems;
• Mechanisms for authentication of the identity of individuals and caregivers and any others authorized to access identifiable health information and means to link information related to individuals to ensure the validity and integrity of health data used to inform care and research;
• Support the development of decision-making and other knowledge-management tools in order to permit the delivery of individualized, evidence-based care and secure web-portals to link individuals to their caregivers and ensure genuinely patient-centered care;
• Provide appropriate funding for the development and ongoing maintenance of a robust national health information strategy, with support for continued HICT and informatics research and innovation.

Don E. Detmer, MD, MA, AMIA's President & CEO notes," Because we are serious about transforming our system of healthcare to be safe, efficient, timely, patient-centered, equitable, and effective, we must invest not only in technology, but also in the education and training of individuals to ensure our workforce is poised to meet this challenge. All healthcare provider and related organizations will in some way utilize communications and information technology solutions in the coming years and we need a workforce well versed and trained in informatics to assist with the design, development, implementation, use, and maintenance of these systems."

AMIA is poised to ramp up its existing 10x10 training programs (see https://www.amia.org/10x10) and other workforce capacity building efforts. Investing in health informatics education and training will help the Obama team create desirable and essential jobs and produce clinical champions to assure that EHR investments work, a key to achieve transformation of the healthcare enterprise and delivery system.

The full text of the letter can be read at: https://www.amia.org/files/ObamaLetter_January2009.pdf

Bethesda, MD, December 5, 2008 - AMIA is delighted to announce that it has received a $1.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support the development of a blueprint for a program to support global biomedical and health informatics education and training with a focus in low resource countries.

Through the Fellowship Program, AMIA will lead a team of experts to develop scalable approaches to biomedical and healthinformatics education and training, and help AMIA address the growing global workforce shortage. We envision the program will train leaders in low resource nations by linking them and their institutions to partner institutions affiliated with AMIA to build capacity for managing and improving high-quality, low cost health care in the less developed economies. Training will emphasize the use of informatics to support health and health care delivery and evaluation by implementing electronic health records (EHRs) and effective information management, and assuring their stability and rigor over time through a local, trained, health informatics workforce.

Low-income countries have limited health budgets, and eHealth tools - crossing the "digital divide" - can help them provide the most cost-effective care. One of the biggest challenges to eHealth capacity building is the growing demand for and shortage of qualified health care professionals and technicians trained to support eHealth tools. The Fellowship will help overcome the almost complete lack of eHealth training in low-income countries for physicians and other health care professionals, medical records personnel, computer scientists, medical librarians, and others.

Click here to read the full-text of the press release.

Bethesda, MD, December 4, 2008 - Robert A. Greenes, MD, PhD, was awarded one of the highest honors in the field of biomedical informatics, as the recipient of the 2008 Morris F. Collen Award of Excellence. In honor of Morris F. Collen, a pioneer in the field of medical informatics, this prestigious award is presented by the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) to an individual whose personal commitment and dedication to medical informatics has made a lasting impression on the field. To Read the Entire News Release Click Here

Bethesda, MD, December 4, 2008 - The AMIA Open Source Working Group today released a white paper: Free and Open
Source Software in Healthcare 1.0 which examines Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and its unique properties that can solve multiple difficult problems of HIT. The paper defines pertinent terminology, references important works in the field and has data on the number of current deployments and patients that use Free and Open Source Software systems such as Webreach, ClearHealth, and Veterans Affairs VistA-based systems in both the public and private sectors. Click Here to Read Full News Release.

Bethesda, MD - December 4, 2008 - AMIA announces the winner of the 2008 Harriet H. Werley Award from the Nursing Informatics Working Group (AMIA NI-WG). The winner was awarded by AMIA Awards Committee Chair, Jaap Suermondt during the Closing Session of the AMIA 2008 Annual Symposium. To Read Entire News Release Click Here

Bethesda, MD, December 2, 2008 -We are pleased to announce the AMIA 2008 Leadership Award Winners. AMIA Leadership Awards are given by the Chairman of the Board and the President and CEO for outstanding volunteer leadership and service to the association. The awards are presented at the AMIA Annual Symposium. For a list of Leadership Award Winners Click here.

Bethesda, MD, December 2, 2008 – AMIA announces the four submissions chosen as winners of the AMIA 2008 Distinguished Poster Awards. The winners were chosen among finalists presented during poster sessions at the AMIA 2008 Annual Symposium. The four distinguished poster awards were presented by AMIA Awards Committee Chair, Mark Musen during the Closing Session of the AMIA 2008 in the International Ballroom Center, Concourse Level of the Hilton Washington and Towers Hotel in Washington, DC. Click here for full News Release. Click here to read the full-text of the news release.

Bethesda, MD – December 2, 2008 – AMIA announces the six submissions chosen as winners of the AMIA 2008 Distinguished Paper Awards. The winners were chosen among eleven finalists of papers presented during sessions at the AMIA 2008 Annual Symposium. The six notable and distinguished papers were awarded by AMIA Awards Committee Chair, R. Scott Evans during the Closing Session of the AMIA 2008 in the International Ballroom Center, Concourse Level of the Hilton Washington and Towers Hotel in Washington, DC.

Bethesda, MD, December 2, 2008 – AMIA announces the finalists for the 2008 Diana Forsythe Award. This award honors either a peer-reviewed AMIA paper published in the Proceedings of the Annual Symposium or peer-reviewed article published in JAMIA or other journals publishing medical informatics-related content. The winning article best exemplifies the spirit and scholarship of Diana Forsythe’s work at the intersection of informatics and social sciences. To Read the Entire News Release Click here!

Bethesda, MD, November 26, 2008 –We are pleased to announce the results of the 2008 AMIA Board of Directors Election. The results were announced at the State of the Association meeting held Tuesday, November 11, 2008 in conjunction with the AMIA 2008 Annual Symposium at the Hilton Washington and Towers in Washington, DC. Members cast their ballots on-line, electing the officer position for Chair-Elect and four director positions, all elected to serve terms beginning January 1, 2009.

AMIA Chair-Elect
Nancy M. Lorenzi, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Informatics (School of Medicine); Clinical Professor of Nursing (School of Nursing); Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. Vanderbilt University

Dr. Lorenzi offers the following statement: “As Chair of the AMIA Board I will synergistically work to connect people, process and technology in support of informatics as an enabler of the needed changes and on behalf of AMIA members so that our roles are better understood and more highly valued.”

For the position of Board Director(s)

Atul Butte, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Medical Informatics) and Pediatrics, and Computer Science (by courtesy), Stanford University, Director, Center for Pediatric Bioinformatics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital

Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI
Professor and Dean, School of Nursing and Medical School, University of Minnesota

Gilad Kuperman, MD, PhD
Director, Quality Informatics, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital;  Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, Weill-Cornell Medical College; Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Board Chair and Executive Director, NYCLIX, Inc. (New York Clinical Information Exchange)

Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, FACP, FACMI, FHIMSS
Corporate Director, Clinical Informatics Research & Development, Chairman, Center for Information Technology Leadership, Partners HealthCare System

Click here to read the full-text of the press release. 

November 8, 2008

The Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI), a national coalition of more than 25 distinct nursing informatics groups in the United States, announces the appointment of Bonnie L. Westra, PhD, RN, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, as its new Co-Chair. Westra will represent AMIA and joins Joyce Sensmeier MS, RN, BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, who represents HIMSS as the other co-chair of ANI. The co-chairs are responsible for the management of the property and business of ANI and work closely with the ANI Governing Directors and Steering Committee. Westra replaces Carole A. Gassert, RN, PhD, FACMI, FAAN, associate professor and associate dean for information & technology, University of Utah College of Nursing, who had served two years on the steering committee.

Westra accepted her new role at the ANI Governing Director's Meeting [at the AMIA 2008 Annual Symposium] on Friday, November 7, 2008 with a sincere appreciation of what has been accomplished to date, and a positive outlook toward the future.

Click here to see Westra's bio and read the complete press release.

By: Jean DerGurahian / HITS staff writer

AMIA's Vice President, Meryl Bloomrosen is featured in a new Modern Healthcare article outlining an EHR core competencies matrix tool, a broad foundation of technical and IT skills employees should master before using electronic records.

"This is not an IT issue. It's the workers who are using the IT once it's deployed, said Bloomrosen. "The goal is to generate basic principles that apply across the range of health professions and encourage the industry to think about EHR functions from the employee's perspective."

The industry is moving toward electronic records but there are few resources that help healthcare workers or employers learn how to use them, Bloomrosen continued. "We thought this would be particularly innovative."

Click here to read the full article.

AMIA and AHIMA Press Release (Click here to read the full-text release)
Click here to download the report

Bethesda, MD, October 20, 2008 -AMIA and AHIMA today announced the release of a report addressing issues related to work force needs in the era of the electronic health record.  The report, Health Information Management and Informatics Core Competencies for Individuals Working with Electronic Health Records (EHRs), is a product of the Joint Workforce Task Force and provides a useful resource for training all health workers who use EHRs. The workforce taskforce report introduces a model for potential use across various health and allied health disciplines and can be used to guide education and training for individuals working with EHRs.

The report is comprised of information and materials geared for a diverse array of employers, academic facilities and professional societies.   Building on their collaborative work, the two associations convened the joint task force to define basic competencies for those who use EHRs in their daily work. The report and the proposed competencies are available for download and public review here. 

Unique Platform Offers Comprehensive Training Solution for Healthcare Professionals to Master Effective Use of the EHR
Bethesda, MD, October 14, 2008 - AMIA announced today the forthcoming launch of DPRC ^TM - Digital Patient Record Certification exam and study guide tailored specifically for healthcare workers and novice clinicians who must input, retrieve, and understand digital patient records that are contained in a health information system (HIS).

With concerns about patient safety and privacy at an all-time high and faced with the demands of an increasingly technology-driven healthcare environment, AMIA provides an opportunity to help health care organizations rather inexpensively train entry-level staff with the essential knowledge and skills needed to approach any electronic records having person-specific health data.

The launch of the DPRC certification exam emphasized the necessity for additional training resources and study materials for healthcare workers preparing for the exam. To meet this growing need, AMIA developed a study guide, A Study Guide for Current and Future Healthcare Workers, as a companion piece designed to familiarize candidates with the content areas covered on the exam. The study guide includes competency-specific learning objectives, a detailed overview of knowledge areas, sample questions, and exam reference information. Brian Gugerty, DNS, MS, RN, Gugerty Consulting, LLC, Don E. Detmer, MD, MA, AMIA President & CEO, and John Poikonen, PharmD authored the study guide. An AMIA team provided expertise for the exam/certification.

Product demonstrations and pilot testing requests can be submitted at the DPRC Certification Web site, www.DPRCertification.com. Information concerning examination criteria, costs, fees, and other questions should be sent by e-mail at: info@drpcertification.com or by phone at: 301-657-1291. Read the full announcement here.

Dear AMIA members and friends,

All of us lost a wonderful friend and advocate for health as well as biomedical and health informatics yesterday.  Paul Rodgers was simply an amazingly gifted person and Dr. Zerhouni, Director of NIH, put it well in a release sent out yesterday.  I attach it here so that all of us who have been touched by Mr. Rodgers life's work and/or knew him personally as many of us did, can celebrate the life of this great human being and tireless advocate for health while also mourning his passing from our midst.  We extend our personal sympathies to his wife, Becky, and the entire Rogers' family.

Don E. Detmer, MD, MA
President and CEO

Sign Paul Rogers' Guest Books

October 22nd, 2008

Wish to make your own tribute? Visit The Palm Beach Post's Web site or The Washington Post Web site to leave a message for Mr. Rogers' family. While there, you can read what others are saying as we remember the life and legacy of our chair emeritus, "Mr. Health," The Honorable Paul G. Rogers.

Posted in Research!America

Bethesda, MD, October 6, 2008 - Clinical research informatics is a focus area for AMIA.  As part of the organization's strategy to advance CRI activities, the AMIA board established the Clinical Research Informatics Steering Task Force. 

For the last two years, the task force has solicited comments from AMIA  members and other stakeholders on task force activities.  The task force is now soliciting comments on another public report.  We invite you to comment on the clarity and comprehensiveness of the document. Click here to read the full member announcement.

Bethesda, MD, October 2, 2008 -AMIA is pleased to announce the formal partnership of the University of Cincinnati (UC) with the 10x10 program. Peter J. Embi, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director of the UC Center for Health Informatics (CHI), and Director of Clinical and Translational Research Informatics for the UC Medical Center, will serve as the director of the UC 10x10 offering.

Don E. Detmer, President and CEO, notes that "AMIA is delighted that the University of Cincinnati will offer this survey course examining the key issues and challenges facing the rapidly emerging field of clinical research informatics. The timing is ideal, especially in light of the Clinical Translational Sciences Awards (CTSAs) and AMIA's ongoing efforts to facilitate the goals of Dr. Zerhouni's NIH Roadmap and the National Center for Research Resources. Further, it echoes nicely the goal of AMIA's Board when it created the Clinical Research Informatics Task Force. Dr. Embi's course will add a terrific new perspective to the 10x10 program." Click here to read the full press release.

AMIA’s Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD, MACP, FACMI as its President and CEO-elect. Ted will assume the President and CEO role in July 2009.

Shortliffe will succeed Don E. Detmer, MD, MA, who led AMIA since 2004, fostering excellence, growth, and innovation in the profession and the association.

On behalf of the AMIA Board of Directors and the Nominating Committee, we present an outstanding group of nominees for the upcoming Board of Directors election. Click the above link to read more.

Bethesda, MD, August 9, 2008 - AMIA is pleased to announce the successful completion of a conference on Informatics and e-Health Capacity Building.

The session was a key component of a month-long conference series entitled "Making the e-Health Connection: Global Partnerships", convened by the Rockefeller Foundation and its partners at the Rockefeller Foundation Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy.

The e-Health Capacity session engaged international private and public sector health leaders in developing a vision to improve health in the developing world. Participants included practitioners, philanthropies, academicians, researchers, policy makers and informatics professionals from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Bethesda, MD, June 10, 2008 - AMIA announced today that it has received a grant award from the Commonwealth Fund to further explore the current and future implications of electronic health records (EHRs) incorporated with clinical decision support (CDS) systems. The project will draw on experts in the field of biomedical and health informatics, clinical decision support, and EHR/CDS development and implementation.

Bethesda, MD, June 5, 2008 - A $500,000 grant has been awarded to AMIA from the Rockefeller Foundation to help convene a conference in collaboration with the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) on "capacity building in health informatics". The conference is part of the Foundation's "Making the eHealth Connection" conference series to be held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Italy, beginning in July 2008.

Event Attracted More than 2,000 IT Practitioners, Researchers and Academicians

Program to address a broad range of topics covering research-related issues and best practices in bioinformatics and computational biology

Key Legislation will provide federal funding for health information/informatics academic and training programs

Academic Informatics Training Programs Join Forces to Create a Shared Professional Home