HIMSS, AMDIS develop new physician community

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) have jointly formed the HIMSS Physician Community. The community’s purpose is to “articulate a cohesive voice for HIMSS physicians and to provide leadership, guidance and domain expertise to HIMSS’ activities, industry initiatives, and collaborations with physicians societies across the country,” the organization stated in the agreement.

The alliance between the two organizations formalizes all efforts for a more focused strategy within HIMSS for physicians engaged in health IT and management systems.

HIMSS and AMDIS have offered the Physician Community IT Symposium for several years at the annual HIMSS conference. This effort builds on those annual events. Major community focus areas and resources include:

• Providing tools, resources, education, research and professional development for physicians engaged in the development, implementation, and/or use of IT and management systems;
• Informing public policy initiatives that can impact the quality, safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of patient care;
• Informing private-sector initiatives that can impact the way in which physicians interact with their patients, clinical administrative staff and other physicians and insurance companies; and
• Informing standards and interoperability initiatives that can impact physicians’ workflow and improve access to information.

The new member community will be governed by a 10 member committee with both organizations jointly staffing and providing volunteers. The initial meeting of the HIMSS Physician Community Committee is July 24 at the 16th Annual Physician-Computer Connection Symposium at the Ojai Valley Inn, Ojai, Calif.