AAMI Backs iHealth 2014 Conference

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 20 -- The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation issued the following news release:

To champion the application of clinical informatics into the daily care of patients, AAMI has announced its support for iHealth 2014, a conference convened by the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and cohosted by AcademyHealth.

The event, scheduled for Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2014 in Orlando, FL, will provide attendees with the opportunity to examine new ways to translate informatics into the clinical setting. Interest in this arena has grown recently as a result of the emergence of "big data" and a more robust health information technology (IT) infrastructure.

AAMI President Mary Logan said the association's support of the conference demonstrates AAMI's commitment to work with a wide variety of stakeholders in advancing the cause of safe and effective healthcare technology.

"We all want a healthcare system that supports patients with technology that helps clinicians and fosters quicker recoveries," Logan said. "The only way we're going to get there is by breaking down silos and talking to one another."

At the conference, a group of experts is scheduled to discuss the barriers in establishing effective governance of healthcare IT, as well as how to overcome them. Jennifer Daley, MD, senior strategy consultant at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care System, Marlon Priest, MD, chief medical officer at Bon Secours Health System, Stephen Glass, chief financial officer and treasurer at Cleveland Clinic, and Richard Tayrien, vice president of clinical information systems at HCA Healthcare, are expected to speak on this panel.

Attendees also will hear former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, director at the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, deliver the keynote address. In addition, a plenary panel will feature two former heads of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, MD, and Farzad Mostashari, MD. The two will have what's being billed as a lively conversation with David Brailer, MDchief executive officer of Health Evolution Partners, and Robert Kolodner, MD, president of Collaborative Transformations LLC.

"Clinical informatics holds a special place in the healthcare right now. There isn't a single stakeholder who isn't trying to map out ways to improve quality, rein in costs, and enhance health," AMIA President and CEO Kevin Fickenscher, MD, said in a statement. "Within that broader push for system-wide improvement, clinical informatics is what will open doors to achieving those goals."

To learn more about the conference, go to www.ihealthconference.org.

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