HEALNet Welcomes New Board Chair

HEALNet, a federal Networks of Centres of Excellence Program in health information research, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kathryn Hannah as Chair of the Board of Directors, effective April 1, 1999. As a charter member of HEALNet's Board of Directors, Dr. Hannah has witnessed the Network's evolution from its inception in 1995. She replaces HEALNet's founding Board Chair, Mr. Ron Yamada, Senior Vice-President, Information Strategies & Corporate Affairs, MDS Inc. who has completed his second two-year term.

Dr. Hannah is Vice President, Sierra Systems Consultants Inc., and a senior Health Information Management Consultant. Dr. Hannah specializes in information integration in health care environments. Her breadth of experience ranges from strategic planning to implementation of information systems.

HEALNet's research focuses on the improved use of research evidence in health decision-making and has developed an integrated research agenda relevant to the needs of health care decision makers. According to Dr. Hannah "HEALNet develops and maintains research partnerships and collaborations that not only cross academic disciplines but bridges the cultural gap between academe and the user sector. With a research mission aimed at improving the use of research evidence in health decision-making, we need the support of decision makers in the user sector in order to produce results which will be of value to them."

Dr. Hannah has long been active in promoting the use of information systems in health care, having more than 20 years of experience in health information management and technology. During her career she has taught and conducted research in the rapidly evolving field of health informatics, served as consultant to numerous computer hardware and software vendors, and has assisted hospitals and health care agencies in selecting and implementing computer based hospital information systems.

She is also an internationally respected facilitator with extensive experience in knowledge transfer as an educator, seminar leader and consultant. Her contribution to health care informatics was honoured by election to Fellowship in the American College of Medical Informatics in 1989, and by the awarding of the "Maestro Illustre" by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science at Mexico's University of Guadalajara, in 1993.

Dr. Hannah has authored several textbooks and numerous articles on computers in health care, nursing informatics and health informatics, and serves as coeditor of the Health Informatics Series (formerly Computers in Healthcare) published by Springer-Verlag. She maintains an academic appointment as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary.