Chicago Celebrates First Informatics Week, Co-Chaired by Intelligent Medical Objects and Northwestern University

CHICAGO, Aug. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel has declared October 30 to November 7, 2012 Informatics Week in Chicago. 

"I urge all Chicagoans to make an effort to participate in the activities highlighting the role of informatics in improving the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of health care in Chicago and the United States," said Emanuel in his Proclamation. 

The Mayor notes that, "informatics-based tools are important for improving both the quality and efficiency of healthcare for the citizens of Chicago and the nation." He continues that, "Chicago is the home to thousands of health care providers that use informatics-based tools and numerous corporations that provide informatics solutions and hire informatics professionals."  Further in his Proclamation, he notes that, "Chicago is a center for informatics research and education."

This event is the first of its kind in Chicago and highlights the rapidly growing importance of healthcare informatics to the region.  It coincides with the world's premier scientific meeting for biomedical and health informatics, the AMIA 2012 Annual Symposium, being held in Chicago for the first time since 2007.

Biomedical informatics is the interdisciplinary field that focuses on the collection, organization and application of information to answer questions, solve problems, and improve human health and the delivery of healthcare services.

The discipline intersects information science, computer science, biomedical research and health care. Informatics has been identified as a growing job field. A recent study by Burning Glass for Credentials that Work noted job postings for Health Care Informatics increased by 36 percent from 2007 to 2011. 

Co-chairs for Informatics Week are Justin Starren, MD, PhD, FACMI, chief of the Division of Health and Biomedical Informatics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Frank Naeymi-Rad, PhD, MBA, chairman and chief executive officer of Intelligent Medical Objects, the leading developer of medical terminology solutions for medical records systems.

According to Dr. Starren, the two primary goals are to raise awareness of biomedical and health informatics throughout the Chicago area, and to showcase the breadth and depth of Chicago-based informatics activities to international visitors who will be in town for the AMIA Symposium.  Starren also noted, "Since moving to Chicago, I have been amazed by both the quality and volume of informatics activity in this city. I have been equally amazed by how unaware my colleagues outside of Chicago are of this activity. Informatics Week is a great way to highlight all the great informatics activity happening in Chicago."

"Chicago is home to thousands of healthcare informatics professionals, numerous medical societies and associations, and many leading companies involved in developing informatics products for the health care industry," said Dr. Naeymi-Rad. "Our city is a major hub in the development of products that enable the meaningful electronic exchange of clinical data. Having AMIA's annual conference here is significant in recognizing the advances being made in health informatics that will transform health care right here in Chicago." AMIA programs cover core topics at the intersection of technology and biology. This intersection presents a major opportunity for ground breaking innovation according to Steve Jobs.  "If you are involved in health informatics, research, analytics, or are an investor in these areas, I encourage you to attend, send your staff, and sponsor this event," said Naeymi-Rad. "As Steve Jobs said regarding opportunities for innovation, 'A new era is beginning' and Chicago is the host."

Numerous academic centers, corporations and professional organizations have already signed on as sponsors.  More information on Informatics Week is available at chicagoinformaticsweek.org.

About AMIA

AMIA, the leading professional association for informatics professionals, serves as the voice of the nation's top biomedical and health informatics professionals and plays an important role in medicine, health care, and science, encouraging the use of data, information and knowledge to improve both human health and delivery of healthcare services. More about AMIA is online at www.amia.org.

About IMO

IMO develops, manages, and licenses medical vocabularies and software applications that standardize medical terminology at healthcare organizations. IMO enables clinicians to find diagnoses and procedures in terms they are familiar with. This accelerates workflow, increases clinician utilization and satisfaction, and assures "first time right" billing, shortening the revenue cycle. IMO's simple yet sophisticated terminology database includes over 260,000 terms expressing clinical intent. Over 1,500 hospitals and 300,000 physicians use IMO content daily. IMO is headquartered in suburban Northbrook and is a Host City Sponsor of the event. Learn more at www.e-imo.com.

About Northwestern University

Northwestern University combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries. It provides students and faculty exceptional opportunities for intellectual, personal and professional growth in a setting enhanced by the richness of Chicago. Informatics at Northwestern University includes a wide range of research activities and educational opportunities. Learn more at informatics.northwestern.edu.

Burning Glass article citation: http://www.jff.org/publications/education/growing-jobs-sector-health-informatics/1432.

SOURCE Intelligent Medical Objects