--Dr. Louis Diamond will chair the HIMSS Patient Safety, Quality and Outcomes Committee and serve as vice chair of the eHealth Initiative Policy Steering CommitteeANN ARBOR, Mich., May 19, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Dr. Louis Diamond, vice president and medical director of the Healthcare and Science business of Thomson Reuters, was recently named chair of the HIMSS Patient Safety, Quality and Outcomes Committee and vice chair of the eHealth Initiative Policy Steering Committee. Both committees will have an important advisory and advocacy role in determining the direction of healthcare reform in the United States.

The HIMSS Patient Safety, Quality and Outcomes Committee focuses on leveraging healthcare information technology to enhance patient safety and quality outcomes. In the coming months, the 11-member committee will work to influence the development of regulations and legislation as federal stimulus funds are deployed for healthcare information technology. Dr. Diamond will serve a one-year term as chair of the committee.

"Dr. Diamond understands the landscape of quality initiatives, key players, and the confluence of factors that impact healthcare quality," said David Collins, director of healthcare information systems for HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society). "This combination of insight and experience provides his ability to drill down to the heart of the matter to provide the most pragmatic tools to inform the industry.

"Dr. Diamond will continue to lead the work established over this past year on clinical decision support, e-prescribing, and medical devices," Mr. Collins said, "and lead HIMSS efforts on informing regulation, replying to public comment, and highlighting key lessons from the HIMSS Davies Awards of Excellence, to shape the impact of HIT on patient safety and quality."

The eHealth Initiative Policy Steering Committee makes recommendations on health information technology legislation and regulations derived from policy positions that represent a consensus of the eHealth Initiative's 165-plus member organizations, which work in every sector of the healthcare industry. The 14-member committee meets regularly to address healthcare issues as they arise, address government policy in an advisory role, and make recommendations on upcoming legislation. As vice chair of the committee, Dr. Diamond will preside in the absence of the chair and will assume the chairmanship when the present chair's term ends.

"For several years now, Dr. Diamond has been a key voice on the eHealth Initiative's Policy Steering Committee," said Jennifer Covich Bordenick, chief operating officer and interim chief executive officer of the eHealth Initiative. "We have always turned to him for his deep experience in healthcare and health IT, but also because he has a seemingly tireless ability to engage in substantial discussion that actively supports the eHealth Initiative's mission of using health information and health information technology to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare. We look forward to Dr. Diamond taking on a leadership role within our organization."

Dr. Diamond has long been involved in the development of public policy focused on patient safety, health system financing, physician payment reform, and quality measurement and reporting. He currently serves as chair of the Physicians Consortium for Performance Improvement's Planning Advisory Committee, and chair of the National Quality Forum's Quality, Measurement, Research and Improvement Council. He also has served in leadership roles on the National Patient Safety Foundation, the American College of Medical Quality, DC Medical Society, and Renal Physicians Association. He is an expert in the use of analytic methodologies for measuring and improving quality.

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