New HIMSS Board of Directors Chair Dr. Barry Chaiken will focus on long-term goals to ensure the Society’s membership is well positioned to improve the delivery of patient care

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society announced four new officers and four new members of the HIMSS Board of Directors, all who take office on July 1.

Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH, FHIMSS, assumed the one-year term as chair of the board, replacing Chuck Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CIO and director of information systems, Good Samaritan Hospital.  Liz Johnson, RN, MS, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, started her second term as vice chair.

Chair:  With more than 20 years experience in medical research, continuous quality improvement, risk management and patient safety, Dr. Chaiken established his own company, DocsNetwork Ltd. As chief medical officer, he provides thought leadership and offers clients his expertise in clinical transformation and quality improvement.

“It is a great honor to serve as board chair - especially during this exciting time with healthcare reform and the use of health IT as an enabler as top priorities,” he said. “This is such a key time for our industry and I will work very hard to continue to motivate staff, the board of directors, members and industry professionals to contribute and participate in this transformation.”

Over the past 15 years Dr. Chaiken provided expertise in quality and patient safety to provider and payer organizations helping them utilize IT to improve clinical and administrative activities. Dr. Chaiken said he hopes to further look at payers’ involvement in advancing the best use of information technology and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Additionally, he said he wants to explore how life science professionals can participate in leading healthcare transformation through health IT too.

Dr. Chaiken has also played a strategic role in HIMSS’ international efforts, serving as board liaison to HIMSS Europe for the past two years. “Internationally, there are great opportunities for HIMSS and its membership to transcend borders, languages and engender a truly worldwide dialogue,” he said.

Vice Chair:  Ms. Johnson is vice president of applied clinical informatics for Tenet Healthcare Corp. Her responsibilities include establishing the strategic vision and operations plan for provision of clinical systems used throughout the 52-hospital provider organization. With her leadership, Tenet is implementing a comprehensive clinical informatics vision and strategy in support of interoperability of data across the continuum of care.

Ms. Johnson's 30 years of experience and comprehensive knowledge of healthcare operations, quality measurement, and the role IT and clinical transformation play in enabling the deployment of leading clinical practice, has been important to HIMSS’ strategic planning and initiatives around healthcare reform.

“HIMSS recognizes that healthcare reform and ARRA are forefront in healthcare professionals’ minds and the Society will continue to educate and connect healthcare professionals through tools, resources, research and education to not only keep them update to date but prepare them for the future,” said Ms. Johnson, who was recently appointed to the HIT Standards Committee, Department of Health & Human Services. 

Chair Elect and Vice Chair Elect:  In recent elections by the board, C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS, was selected as chair elect, and John H. Daniels, CHPS, CPHIMS, FACHE, FHIMSS, as vice-chair elect. Dr. Harris is CIO and chairman of the Information Technology Division of Cleveland Clinic, and executive director of e-Cleveland Clinic, a series of e-health clinical programs offered over the Internet. Mr. Daniels is senior vice president and CIO for Evolvent Technologies Inc.

New Board Members: Beginning their three-year terms, the Society’s four new board members include: R. Scott Holbrook, MS, FHIMSS, executive vice president, Medicity; Willa Fields, DNSc, RN, FHIMSS, associate professor, San Diego State University; Jenifer Jarriel, MBA, vice president of IT and CIO, Baylor College of Medicine; Miriam Paramore, FHIMSS, senior vice president, corporate strategy and public relations, Emdeon.

New Nominating Committee Members: The following individuals began their two-year term on the Nominating Committee: Drexel G. Deford, FHIMSS, senior vice president and CIO, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center; Mark Jacobs, MHA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, director, technology services, WellSpan Health; Robin S. Raiford, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, director, government initiatives, Eclipsys Corp.

New Advisory Board Members: The two new Advisory Board Members are Kevin R. Hayden, senior vice president and president, state sponsored business, WellPoint Inc.; and Deb Bremer, vice president of oncology business technology, Pfizer Inc.

About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and other locations across the United States and the globe, HIMSS represents more than 20,000 individual members and over 350 corporate members that collectively represent organizations employing millions of people. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Visit www.himss.org for more information.                                                                                                                
For more information, contact: Joyce Lofstrom/HIMSS, 312-915-9237 - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Source: HIMSS