Gail E. Latimer, RN, MSN,
vice president, chief nursing officer
Photography courtesy of
Siemens Medical Solutions
vice president, chief nursing officer
Photography courtesy of
Siemens Medical Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions Executives Assume New Industry Leadership Roles and Key Appointments
August 15, 2007
by Barbara Kram, Editor
MALVERN, Pa. -- Siemens Medical Solutions (www.usa.siemens.com/medical) has announced that several members of the company's executive leadership team have been selected for industry positions and appointments in key healthcare industry organizations, such as the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHITSM) whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology.
"Siemens is committed to active participation in industry initiatives that will drive greater interoperability of systems and needed alignment among key healthcare stakeholders," said Janet Dillione, president, Health Services, Siemens Medical Solutions Healthcare IT Division. "We look forward to contributing our experience and expertise to organizations, such as the Certification Commission, that share our commitment to creating more efficient and cost-effective healthcare."
Gail E. Latimer, R.N., M.S.N., vice president, chief nursing officer, was reappointed as a member of the CCHIT Inpatient Electronic Health Record (EHR) Work Group. The group is responsible for refining and finalizing the criteria surrounding inpatient EHR functionality.
Donald Bechtel, chief privacy officer, Healthcare Data Exchange (HDX®), a service of Siemens Medical Solutions, was selected to participate in the CCHIT Privacy and Compliance Expert Panel. The panel advises and supports a variety of work groups in the development of the criteria surrounding privacy and compliance requirements governing the use of EHR products.
David Tao, D.Sc., senior key expert of Soarian Enterprise Systems, was appointed as co-chair of the CCHIT EHR Foundation Work Group. In this role, David will lead discussions and initiatives related to universal EHR requirements applicable to all care settings, including ambulatory, inpatient and emergency department systems. He was also selected as a member of the CCHIT Interoperability Expert Panel which enables standards-based data exchange among EHRs, in all care settings, and between EHRs and other systems. Recently, David was featured in the CCHIT Volunteer Spotlight which honors individuals who have contributed significant time and expertise.
Eric Ringle, R.N., M.S., product manager, was appointed as a member of the CCHIT Emergency Department EHR Work Group. In this role, Eric will assist with refining and finalizing the criteria surrounding core emergency department EHR functionality.
"Our achievements to date reflect the dedication of our volunteers - commissioners, work group co-chairs and members," said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., CCHIT's chair. "With their commitment and contributions of time, we will be able to build on our success to date, and expand the benefits of certification to more areas of healthcare."
In addition to the recent CCHIT appointments, many Siemens executives have been asked to serve on other industry committees, work groups and panels, including:
Charlene Underwood, M.B.A., director, government and industry affairs, is currently serving as a member on the American Health Information Community's (AHIC) Quality Workgroup and Quality Expert Panel. The workgroup makes recommendations to the AHIC so that healthcare IT can be used to provide the data needed for the development of quality measures that are useful to patients and others in the healthcare industry, automate the measurement of a comprehensive current and future set of quality measures, and accelerate the use of clinical decision support that can improve performance on those quality measures.
Terry Jacobs, director, electronic health records and emerging initiatives, was appointed as a steering committee member to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Enterprise Information Systems Steering Committee. The Committee strives to lead the profession, the industry and other key stakeholders in solving challenges and affecting change, as related to the aspects of administrative, clinical, financial and technical IT foundations that span the continuum of patient care in the enterprise setting.
Floyd Eisenberg, M.D., M.P.H., senior physician consultant, clinical informatics, was elected as co-chairperson of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise's (IHE) Quality Domain Technical Committee. This committee focuses on infrastructure necessary to share information relevant to quality improvement in electronic patient care and healthcare records. In addition, Floyd was named to Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel's (HITSP) National Quality Forum Expert Panel on Identifying Core Data Elements for Electronic Healthcare Information Systems.
Susan Matney, R.N., M.S., clinical informatics, was elected to serve a two-year term on the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO®) Quality Assurance Committee. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the U.S. member of the newly-formed IHTSDO. Matney was one of three U.S. nominations to the Quality Assurance Committee selected by NLM, in consultation with the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Chairs of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and HITSP. IHTSDO seeks to improve the health of humankind generally by owning, distributing, operating and developing suitable health terminology products, including SNOMED CT®.
Glen Marshall, standards and regulations manager, was elected as co-chairperson for the HITSP Security and Privacy Technical Committee. This committee is responsible for the selection of standards to protect patient privacy and healthcare information and system security in the U.S.
Joe D'Antonio, M.Eng., M.B.A., senior manager for Soarian® HIM product development, was elected vice chairperson of American Health Information Management Association's (AHIMA), Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) Board. FORE is the 501(c)(3) charitable affiliate of AHIMA, providing the financial and intellectual resources to support continuous innovation and advances in health information management through research, education and public awareness initiatives.
Denise Dunyak, M.S., R.H.I.A., leader of global marketing efforts for Soarian HIM and EDM solutions, was appointed as the chairperson of the AHIMA Program Committee for the 2007 meeting, which will be held in Philadelphia. She has been a member of AHIMA since 1981, and has served on the AHIMA Program Committee for the past three years. Recently, she served on an AHIMA work group developing a practice brief for EHR RFP development.
About Siemens Medical Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Recent acquisitions in the area of in-vitro diagnostics - such as Diagnostic Products Corporation and Bayer Diagnostics - mark a significant milestone for Siemens as it becomes the first full service diagnostics company. Employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and operating in over 130 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 8.23 billion EUR, orders of 9.33 billion EUR and group profit of 1.06 billion EUR for fiscal 2006 (Sept. 30).
"Siemens is committed to active participation in industry initiatives that will drive greater interoperability of systems and needed alignment among key healthcare stakeholders," said Janet Dillione, president, Health Services, Siemens Medical Solutions Healthcare IT Division. "We look forward to contributing our experience and expertise to organizations, such as the Certification Commission, that share our commitment to creating more efficient and cost-effective healthcare."
Gail E. Latimer, R.N., M.S.N., vice president, chief nursing officer, was reappointed as a member of the CCHIT Inpatient Electronic Health Record (EHR) Work Group. The group is responsible for refining and finalizing the criteria surrounding inpatient EHR functionality.
Donald Bechtel, chief privacy officer, Healthcare Data Exchange (HDX®), a service of Siemens Medical Solutions, was selected to participate in the CCHIT Privacy and Compliance Expert Panel. The panel advises and supports a variety of work groups in the development of the criteria surrounding privacy and compliance requirements governing the use of EHR products.
David Tao, D.Sc., senior key expert of Soarian Enterprise Systems, was appointed as co-chair of the CCHIT EHR Foundation Work Group. In this role, David will lead discussions and initiatives related to universal EHR requirements applicable to all care settings, including ambulatory, inpatient and emergency department systems. He was also selected as a member of the CCHIT Interoperability Expert Panel which enables standards-based data exchange among EHRs, in all care settings, and between EHRs and other systems. Recently, David was featured in the CCHIT Volunteer Spotlight which honors individuals who have contributed significant time and expertise.
Eric Ringle, R.N., M.S., product manager, was appointed as a member of the CCHIT Emergency Department EHR Work Group. In this role, Eric will assist with refining and finalizing the criteria surrounding core emergency department EHR functionality.
"Our achievements to date reflect the dedication of our volunteers - commissioners, work group co-chairs and members," said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., CCHIT's chair. "With their commitment and contributions of time, we will be able to build on our success to date, and expand the benefits of certification to more areas of healthcare."
In addition to the recent CCHIT appointments, many Siemens executives have been asked to serve on other industry committees, work groups and panels, including:
Charlene Underwood, M.B.A., director, government and industry affairs, is currently serving as a member on the American Health Information Community's (AHIC) Quality Workgroup and Quality Expert Panel. The workgroup makes recommendations to the AHIC so that healthcare IT can be used to provide the data needed for the development of quality measures that are useful to patients and others in the healthcare industry, automate the measurement of a comprehensive current and future set of quality measures, and accelerate the use of clinical decision support that can improve performance on those quality measures.
Terry Jacobs, director, electronic health records and emerging initiatives, was appointed as a steering committee member to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Enterprise Information Systems Steering Committee. The Committee strives to lead the profession, the industry and other key stakeholders in solving challenges and affecting change, as related to the aspects of administrative, clinical, financial and technical IT foundations that span the continuum of patient care in the enterprise setting.
Floyd Eisenberg, M.D., M.P.H., senior physician consultant, clinical informatics, was elected as co-chairperson of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise's (IHE) Quality Domain Technical Committee. This committee focuses on infrastructure necessary to share information relevant to quality improvement in electronic patient care and healthcare records. In addition, Floyd was named to Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel's (HITSP) National Quality Forum Expert Panel on Identifying Core Data Elements for Electronic Healthcare Information Systems.
Susan Matney, R.N., M.S., clinical informatics, was elected to serve a two-year term on the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO®) Quality Assurance Committee. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the U.S. member of the newly-formed IHTSDO. Matney was one of three U.S. nominations to the Quality Assurance Committee selected by NLM, in consultation with the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Chairs of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and HITSP. IHTSDO seeks to improve the health of humankind generally by owning, distributing, operating and developing suitable health terminology products, including SNOMED CT®.
Glen Marshall, standards and regulations manager, was elected as co-chairperson for the HITSP Security and Privacy Technical Committee. This committee is responsible for the selection of standards to protect patient privacy and healthcare information and system security in the U.S.
Joe D'Antonio, M.Eng., M.B.A., senior manager for Soarian® HIM product development, was elected vice chairperson of American Health Information Management Association's (AHIMA), Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) Board. FORE is the 501(c)(3) charitable affiliate of AHIMA, providing the financial and intellectual resources to support continuous innovation and advances in health information management through research, education and public awareness initiatives.
Denise Dunyak, M.S., R.H.I.A., leader of global marketing efforts for Soarian HIM and EDM solutions, was appointed as the chairperson of the AHIMA Program Committee for the 2007 meeting, which will be held in Philadelphia. She has been a member of AHIMA since 1981, and has served on the AHIMA Program Committee for the past three years. Recently, she served on an AHIMA work group developing a practice brief for EHR RFP development.
About Siemens Medical Solutions
Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Recent acquisitions in the area of in-vitro diagnostics - such as Diagnostic Products Corporation and Bayer Diagnostics - mark a significant milestone for Siemens as it becomes the first full service diagnostics company. Employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and operating in over 130 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 8.23 billion EUR, orders of 9.33 billion EUR and group profit of 1.06 billion EUR for fiscal 2006 (Sept. 30).