All of us in the medical informatics area know that these are times of rapid change, great challenges, and considerable opportunity. Major portions of the health care community are now coming to realize that informatics is one of the most critical elements in total systems success for clinical care, research, and teaching.

As the importance and visibility of medical informatics rise, there is increased need for rethinking, better defining, and more clearly communicating the foundations of the discipline and its role within the broader health care community.

In recognition of these trends, this year the AMIA Annual Symposium program emphasizes an integrated view of informatics and is organized around four cornerstone areas—Representing Knowledge, Acquiring and Presenting Data, Managing Change, and Integrating Information. While each of these cornerstones is vital to the success of a total system, they are interconnected, supporting each other and the total systems approach. Regardless of where one’s personal interests or specialization may lie within any of these areas, it is important for all of us to see the complex linkages involved in the big picture.

Our keynote speaker, Peter Keen, is internationally recognized for his insights and strategies regarding integrated information systems. He will set the stage for us by talking about the requirements for system success and some strategies to ensure the long-term success of the systems that we develop.

I am very excited about the AMIA 1999 Annual Symposium program. We are offering tutorials, workshops, paper and panel sessions, demonstrations, posters, and exhibits. Also, for the first time, we will have a two-day Cancer Informatics Technology Expo sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

This program is a team effort, reflecting the inputs and energies of many people—the four cornerstone chairs, all the other members of the Scientific Program Committee, the AMIA officers, the AMIA staff, and many individual AMIA members. We hope that you will be as excited as we are with “Transforming Health Care Through Informatics: Cornerstones for a New Information Management Paradigm.”

I look forward to seeing you at the AMIA 1999 Annual Symposium.