MALVERN, Pa. -- Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. (www.siemens.com/healthcare) has announced a series of executive appointments to new roles and leadership positions in numerous strategic healthcare industry organizations.

Charlene Underwood, M.B.A., director of government and industry affairs for Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services, has been elected to serve on The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) board. HIMSS members provide global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems to optimize healthcare outcomes. A nationally recognized expert in the field of healthcare informatics, Underwood will use the breadth of her experience working collaboratively in diverse communities to develop and support HIMSS initiatives that leverage the value of current IT investments as the industry adopts emerging interoperability standards. This will be especially critical because of the current governmental push to increase access, improve quality and reduce the cost of care.

"Siemens remains dedicated to furthering the adoption of information technology in the healthcare industry," said Janet Dillione, chief executive officer, Health Services, Siemens Medical Solutions. "We are especially proud of Charlene for her recent nomination and election to the HIMSS Board by her industry peers and of all of our executives who continue to devote themselves to working collaboratively with organizations focused on improving the state of healthcare."

In addition to Charlene's election, many Siemens executives have been appointed to various industry committees, work groups and panels, including:

Donald Bechtel, chief privacy officer, Healthcare Data Exchange (HDX®), a service of Siemens Medical Solutions, was re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) to represent ANSI-Accredited Standards Committee X12. Bechtel is currently serving his second term as co-chairperson of the X12N Health Care Task Group, which develops and maintains the financial and administrative healthcare transactions used by the insurance industry for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other purposes.

Hans Buitendijk, M. Sc., senior product manager, was named as a 2007 Health Level Seven (HL7) Volunteer of the Year. The annual W. Edward Hammond, Ph.D. Volunteer of the Year Award was established in 1997 and recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to HL7's success. Buitendijk was also re-elected to the HL7 Board of Directors. HL7 is an accredited Standards Developing Organization (SDO) that provides standards for interoperability that improve care delivery, optimize workflow, reduce ambiguity, and enhance knowledge transfer among all stakeholders, including healthcare providers, government agencies, the vendor community, fellow SDOs and patients.

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