Skip to main content
Share

Fellows of AMIA to recognize leading professionals who apply informatics tools and methods to improve practice

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) announced today the establishment of the Fellow of AMIA (FAMIA) Professional Recognition Program – a new program meant to recognize applied informatics professionals who directly impact and improve health care, biomedical research, public health, and personal health through the practice of informatics. The announcement was made by AMIA President and CEO Douglas B. Fridsma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACMI, during the opening session of the https://www.amia.org/cic2018">AMIA 2018 Clinical Informatics Conference, following formal approval by the AMIA Board of Directors on May 7.
 
This program will confer a merit-based credential to applied informatics professionals who have (1) obtained a high-level of education; (2) committed a certain amount of time to their practice; (3) contributed meaningfully to the field of applied informatics; and (4) demonstrated a sustained commitment to AMIA.

In January 2018, the AMIA Board of Directors established an Advisory Group to develop eligibility criteria for members who apply informatics skills and knowledge within their professional setting, who have demonstrated professional achievement and leadership, and who have a sustained commitment to the betterment of AMIA. The resulting eligibility criteria and recognition program will confer FAMIA status to all AMIA members who qualify.

“Today, AMIA recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of professionals who are experts in deploying, configuring, and evolving the use of informatics tools and methods in practice,” said AMIA Board Chair and Regenstrief Institute CEO Peter J. Embi, MD, MS, FACP, FACMI. “Whether they are physician or nurse informaticians working to improve clinical care, research informaticians deploying systems to efficiently enable the generation of new evidence, or public health informaticians leveraging systems to monitor disease, AMIA supports their important work and celebrates their accomplishments with this new Fellow credential.”

For nearly three decades, AMIA has led the recognition of individuals making sustained and high impact contributions to the broad field of informatics through its partner organization, the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI). https://www.amia.org/acmi-fellowship">Fellows of ACMI are recognized for their distinguished careers and scientific contributions to the field.

In turn, FAMIA provides a complementary recognition program for individuals whose impact concerns the implementation and use of informatics, and whose contributions are evident in the settings in which they work.

“Across a spectrum of professions, including nurses, pharmacists, epidemiologists, physicians, and clinical researchers, the application and implementation of informatics has become an essential component of health and of care,” said Fridsma. “Leadership titles such as, Chief Medical Information Officer, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, Clinical Research Informatics Officer, and Chief Health Informatics Officers, underscore the emerging importance of applied informatics.”

AMIA is the professional home and led the development of the ABMS-recognized https://www.amia.org/clinical-informatics-board-review-course/history">S... Certification of Clinical Informatics, and is developing an https://www.amia.org/ahic">Advanced Health Informatics Certification (AHIC) program, upon which the FAMIA Recognition Program will rely. Eligibility will span seven core areas including:

  1. Education;
  2. Certification;
  3. Applied Informatics Experience;
  4. Peer Recommendation;
  5. AMIA Membership;
  6. AMIA Engagement; and
  7. Future Commitment to the Field

“These eligibility criteria represent the first iteration of a program that will help broaden the field of applied informatics for years to come,” said Jeffrey Nielson, MD, MS, FACEP, Chair of the Eligibility Advisory Group. “FAMIA is an important milestone in the maturation of the field, and I look forward to watching this program evolve and grow.”

AMIA plans to introduce its first class of Fellows at the https://www.amia.org/amia2018">AMIA 2018 Annual Symposium, and the organization expects to begin accepting FAMIA applications by July. AMIA will establish a Review Committee and a Governance Body to oversee the Recognition Program’s maintenance and updates.

Those who are interested in learning more can subscribe to receive updates via this https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FAMIA">form.
/>
Additional information will be forthcoming over the next several weeks.

###

AMIA, the leading professional association for informatics professionals, is the center of action for 5,000 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.