UAB’s Berner Appointed to Board of American Medical Informatics Association

Eta S. Berner, Ed.D., professor of health informatics in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Health Services Administration and director of biomedical informatics for the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science, has been elected to a second term on the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Board of Directors.

January 21, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eta S. Berner, Ed.D., professor of health informatics in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Health Services Administration and director of biomedical informatics for the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science, has been elected to a second term on the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Board of Directors.

"Leadership in AMIA places Dr. Berner in a crucial position of influence as we embark on an ambitious program of selecting, implementing and using health-information technology in our nation's hospitals, clinics and physicians' offices," said Gerald L. Glandon, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Services Administration and interim director of the Health Informatics Program. "As we seek improved access to care for more of our population through health-care reform, it is essential that we maximize the potential that health-information technology has to reduce medical errors, improve health-care quality and control costs.

"I can think of no one more capable of guiding AMIA in this endeavor than Dr. Berner," Glandon said.

The federal government frequently calls upon AMIA as a source of informed, unbiased opinions on policy issues relating to the national health-information infrastructure, uses and protection of personal health information and public health considerations. AMIA, a 4,000-member organization, regularly sponsors professional meetings along with education and research programs.

"This appointment further demonstrates the national prominence of the UAB Department of Health Services Administration in health informatics and health-care-management education and research," said Harold Jones, Ph.D., dean of the UAB School of Health Professions.  "It indicates the high regard the program and its faculty enjoy among both academic institutions and within the industry."

About the UAB Department of Health Services Administration

The Department of Health Services Administration is housed in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Health Professions. The department offers five top-ranked academic programs, from baccalaureate to doctorate, and a variety of continuing-education opportunities for health-services executives and a national case competition for health administration graduate students.