Highlight: American Medical Informatics Association and SBM Liaison

Shelagh A. Mulvaney, PhD, Scientific and Professional Liaison Council Member

The Behavioral Informatics SIG and the Cancer SIG have jointly developed a pre-conference course at the SBM meeting in Seattle, April 7, 2010. Informatics, eHealth, & Behavioral Science - Creating Synergy for Best Implementation & Outcomes will highlight opportunities to bridge the gap between health informatics and behavioral science. The session, generously supported by the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), will also be a liaison between the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). This is the first collaboration between organizations that increasingly share a focus in health information technology, health behaviors, organizational change and health outcomes. Programming has been spearheaded by SBM members Susan S. Woods, MD, Deborah J. Bowen, PhD, Tom K. Houston, MD, Rita Kukafka, DrPH, Shelagh A. Mulvaney, PhD, and Abdul R. Shaikh, PhD, MHS and Brad Hesse, PhD from NCI. The course will include speakers representing both organizations, from academia, industry and government. The half-day session will highlight real-world experience based on the use of personal health technology applications, the intersection between personal health records and electronic medical records, and cyberinfrastructure for population health. Sessions feature innovative collaborations and projects bridging industry, behavioral scientists and informaticists. For additional information, please contact Sue Woods, MD PhD (susan.woods@va.gov) or Deborah J. Bowen, PhD (dbowen@bu.edu).