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AMIA recognizes excellence in the use of informatics in practice with new Fellows program

BETHESDA, MD – The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) announced today the launch of the Fellow of AMIA (FAMIA) Applied Informatics Recognition Program – a new program meant to recognize members who apply informatics skills and knowledge within their professional setting, who have demonstrated professional achievement and leadership, and who have contributed to the betterment of AMIA.

The use of health IT and EHRs is now ubiquitous across U.S. hospitals and physician offices. Clinical and translational research increasingly depend on high-throughput computing and vast quantities of data. Consumers increasingly use tools and apps on their personal computers and mobile devices to collect and manage health-related information. And public health professionals must leverage a growing number of sensors and other data points to understand, monitor and manage disease and social determinants of health across populations.

The field of informatics began as a science, dedicated to evaluating the use of information and communications systems in clinical care. In the intervening 60 years, informatics has grown to include a wide array of professions that leverage IT and data systems as point-of-care interventions for patients, facilitators of clinical and health services research, and how data-driven discovery of all kinds must depend.

“For the past 30 years AMIA has been the professional home for the scientists and practitioners who invented, implemented, and tested biomedical and health informatics innovations,” said Peter J. Embi, MD, MS, FACP, FACMI, AMIA Board Chair, and President and CEO, Regenstrief Institute. “Today, many informatics professionals work on the front lines, translating and implementing these innovations to enhance health care, population health, and personal health. The FAMIA designation recognizes those professionals who are leading such efforts to operationalize and optimize state-of-the-art data, information and knowledge solutions that improve care and our entire health system.”

FAMIA was established in May 2018, following several months of deliberation by an interdisciplinary Advisory Group of AMIA members to define the FAMIA Eligibility Criteria. These deliberations reaffirmed that the FAMIA Applied Informatics Recognition Program be inclusive – balancing the needs of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and others within clinical informatics, with the needs of public health, clinical researchers, and others who apply informatics to their practice.

FAMIA is open to any AMIA member who directly impacts and improves health care, biomedical research, public health, and personal health through the practice of informatics. FAMIA candidates must demonstrate their eligibility across the following core areas:

  1. Education
  2. Certification
  3. Applied Informatics Experience
  4. Peer Recommendation
  5. AMIA Membership
  6. AMIA Engagement
  7. Future Commitments

FAMIA recognizes professionals who apply informatics skills and knowledge towards the goals of enhanced personal and population health, improved organizational performance and learning, and individual empowerment in their health, care, and research.

“The establishment of FAMIA marks a watershed moment for the profession of health informatics,” said Douglas B. Fridsma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACMI, AMIA President and CEO. “For years to come, this credential will signal to patients, employers, and colleagues that this Fellow is steeped in evidence-based practice and engaged with a community of life-long learners who strive to apply the latest advances in the science of informatics on their behalf. FAMIA recognizes excellence now, and sets the bar for generations to come.”

Applications for the inaugural class of FAMIA opened today. Notifications are expected to be sent in October with a formal announcement of the new class at the AMIA 2018 Annual Symposium in November. The class will be inducted at the AMIA 2019 Clinical Informatics Conference in May 2019.   

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AMIA, the leading professional association for informatics professionals, is the center of action for 5,400 informatics professionals from more than 65 countries. As the voice of the nation’s top biomedical and health informatics professionals, AMIA and its members play a leading role in assessing the effect of health innovations on health policy, and advancing the field of informatics. AMIA actively supports five domains in informatics: translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, clinical informatics, consumer health informatics, and public health informatics.