CHIME and AMDIS Sign Management Services Agreement, Appoint New Executive Vice President of Medical Informatics and Patient Safety for CHIME

ANN ARBOR, MI, March 9, 2015 – Today, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) the healthcare industry’s leading professional organization for CIOs and senior IT executives, announced it has a new agreement to provide management services to the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS), the nation’s largest professional association for physicians dedicated to and responsible for health information technology.

Under the terms of the management services agreement, CHIME will provide operational, administrative, and staff support to AMDIS in the areas of educational programming, event management, public policy, marketing/communications and industry relations. The new agreement will also provide the CMIO and senior informatics executive members of AMDIS access to CHIME affiliate-level membership and professional development opportunities.

As part of the agreement, CHIME has appointed William F. Bria, MD as its new Executive Vice President of Medical Informatics and Patient Safety, who will serve as the liaison between both organizations and assist in providing strategic direction to AMDIS. Dr. Bria will retain his role as Chair of the AMDIS Board of Advisors.

The agreement, approved by both boards, follows the formation of a strategic alliance announced in July of last year, intended to enhance collaboration between the two industry associations and provide cross-lateral support to their respective members in the progression of healthcare IT adoption and implementation.

“We have tremendous admiration for AMDIS and its members, and view this as a way to bring the industry’s physician IT leaders the added support to thrive in this momentous era of transformation,” said Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO, CEO and President of CHIME. “Physician leadership is a critical success factor for health information technology initiatives, and both boards are dedicated to providing the resources to help them facilitate collaboration between IT and the medical community and achieve the clinical objectives of their organizations.”

“CHIME plays a significant role in the advancement of digitized healthcare and has been extremely successful in generating quality education programs, communicating with lawmakers, and working with industry vendors and service providers,” said AMDIS CEO Richard L. Rydell, FACHE, LFHIMSS. “By fusing the exceptional leadership teams already in place, and utilizing CHIME’s professional and operational support, AMDIS will be better positioned to further its role in the industry and help physician IT professionals meet the challenges ahead. We remain committed to our members and want them to have confidence that we have the vision, scale and resources to best serve them.”

CHIME and AMDIS will remain separate non-profit organizations, while continuing to work collaboratively. AMDIS will continue to serve as the primary physician informatics advisor to and for CHIME, while CHIME will continue to serve as the primary health IT advisor to and for AMDIS.

“This is a mutually beneficial opportunity to bring a vast amount of talent and thought leadership together from both sides,” said Dr. Bria. “I am honored to serve in this new and rewarding role and look forward to contributing to the exciting development opportunities this arrangement provides. I truly believe AMDIS’ best years are ahead of us.”

“Bill is an exceptional individual known throughout our industry for his straightforward and innovative leadership, as well as his unwavering commitment to AMDIS and the members it serves,” said CHIME Board Chair Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, LCHIME, CHCIO. “We feel extremely fortunate to have him on board and are confident Bill’s outstanding success and deep industry knowledge will help drive our vision, growth and value-creation initiatives moving forward.”

About AMDIS
Founded in 1997, the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems is the premier professional organization for physicians interested in and responsible for healthcare information technology. AMDIS has over 2,800 physician members worldwide, 250 associate members and 40 provider organization members. AMDIS members are the thought leaders, decision makers and opinion influencers dedicated to advancing the field of Applied Medical Informatics and thereby improving the practice of medicine. For more information, visit www.AMDIS.org.

About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,400 CIO members and over 140 healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve.

To serve the education and professional development needs of healthcare executives in senior information security, technology and applications roles, CHIME recently launched the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS) for chief security officers, the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Technology (AEHIT) serving chief technology officers, and the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Applications (AEHIA) representing chief application officers (CAOs).

Contact
Stephanie Fraser
Director of Communications and Corporate Relations, CHIME
734.665.0000
[email protected]