Banner, UA Med School Earn Accreditation for New Fellowship Program

PHOENIX, March 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A two-year Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program, sponsored by Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix (formerly Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center), is being launched following the creation of a new clinical subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

The American Council on Graduate Medical Education has accredited the program, which is scheduled to begin later this year, said program director Howard Silverman, MD, MS. Two physician fellows will be admitted in July in the first program cohort.

The program will be overseen by Dr. Silverman, chairman of the department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. Biomedical Informatics faculty from all major teaching affiliates will be actively involved in this innovative training program.

Biomedical informatics is the emerging field of optimizing data, using technology, to improve patient care and research.

"This fellowship is meant for the physician trying to pursue a more effective use of biomedical data to improve health," said Dr. Silverman. "This represents another way we are training the next generation of physicians to thoughtfully utilize information technology to improve the quality and safety of clinical care."

The American Medical Informatics Association has defined the fellowship as one in which physicians will pursue the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving, and decision making, motivated by efforts to improve human health. Notice of accreditation was received on Feb. 25.

The fellowship is a community-based initiative with a diversity of settings, projects and approaches and is open to physicians of all specialties following completion of a primary residency. Fellows will take on rotations, projects and electives, as well as eight online core content courses from Oregon Health and Science University, totaling 24 credits, and resulting in a Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Informatics from the Oregon school. The major teaching sites are Banner Health, Dignity Health, Maricopa Integrated Health System, Phoenix Children's Hospital, the Phoenix VA Medical Center and the State of Arizona Office of Public Health Statistics.

About the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix admitted its inaugural class of first-year medical students in August 2007 and now has 301 students training to be physicians. The UA College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains individuals to become exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders who are life-long learners and inquisitive scholars and who will embrace professionalism, innovation and collaboration to optimize health and healthcare for all.

About Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix (formerly Banner Good Samaritan) is a large teaching hospital that has provided medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. The hospital specializes in heart care, cancer care, high-risk obstetrics, neurosciences and stroke care, organ transplants and Emergency care including a Level 1 trauma center. Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 28 hospitals in seven states.

Contact: Al Bravo, (602) 827-2022

SOURCE Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix