Medical Device Link.

Originally Published MX November/December 2005

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Tim Gee is the principal of Medical Connectivity Consulting (Beaverton, OR), a firm that specializes in the application of technology and process reengineering for hospitals and medical product manufacturers. For more than two decades he has focused on hospital connectivity, creating products to automate work flow for cardiology, the emergency department, radiology, and most patient-care areas. Gee is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS; Chicago) work group on medical device security and has contributed to several past articles in the MX series on IT in Healthcare. He can be reached via tim@medicalconnectivity.com.

Lori Hack is executive director of the Health Technology Center (San Francisco), a nonprofit research and education organization that develops technology forecasts and decision-making tools for the benefit of its partner organizations, including healthcare systems, hospitals, safety-net providers, and government agencies. Hack has more than 17 years of operational and management experience in hospital, health plan, and independent physician association settings. Before joining HealthTech, she served for more than six years as executive director of Alta Bates Medical Group (Berkeley, CA). She can be reached via lhack@healthtech.org.

David Lansky, PhD, is the health program senior director and executive director of the personal health technology initiative at the Markle Foundation (New York City), which works to realize the potential that emerging information and communication technologies have to improve people's lives. Prior to this position, Lansky served as president of the Foundation for Accountability from its inception in 1995. For more than 20 years, Lansky has been a proponent of a more responsive and accountable healthcare system. He can be reached via dlansky@markle.org.

Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, has been medical director at HIMSS since December 2003. He is actively engaged in a number of national initiatives to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable electronic health records to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare. His most recent appointment is as chair of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. He can be reached via mleavitt@himss.org.

Thomas N. McCausland has served as chief executive officer of Siemens Medical Solutions USA (Malvern, PA) for six years, during which time sales have increased by more than 40%. At the same time, McCausland has also made over much of the Siemens Medical product line from mechanized to digital products. In addition to his work at Siemens, McCausland is chair of the health information technology sector for industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC). His goals for 2005 include the advancement of finance policies and demonstration projects that will encourage innovation in "smart" medical technologies. He can be reached by phone at 888/767-8326.

David Merritt is a project director at the Center for Health Transformation (Washington, DC), a collaboration of public- and private-sector leaders working to transform health and healthcare in the United States. He works extensively with congressional offices, the administration, the media, and private-sector leaders. Prior to joining the center, Merritt was with the national trade association America's Health Insurance Plans (Washington, DC), where he spent nearly five years directing the association's educational programs, with a primary focus on federal legislative and regulatory issues. He can be reached via dmerritt@gingrichgroup.com.

Rod Piechowski is vice president for technology leadership at the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT; Chicago), a role in which he is responsible for managing all standards-related activities of the organization. Before joining NAHIT, Piechowski was the new product project manager at Heidrick & Struggles Inc. (Chicago), a global executive search firm, where he helped to globalize the company's database operations. He can be reached via rpiechowski@nahit.org.

Jay Srini is founder and president of Strategic Consulting Solutions, a consulting group focused on the integration of healthcare, technology, and business operations for established institutions and start-up ventures. She also serves as vice president of emerging technology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Previously, she was a managing director for e-health initiatives at Internet Venture Works (Pittsburgh) and the interim COO of Medical Archival Systems Inc. (Pittsburgh), where she led technology and industry assessments of opportunities presented by strategic partners, investors, and external sources. She can be reached via srinij@upmc.edu.

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