Fellows of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA): Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Abstract

Background Over the past 30 years, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) has played a pivotal role in fostering a collaborative community for professionals in biomedical and health informatics. As an interdisciplinary association, AMIA brings together individuals with clinical, research, and computer expertise and emphasizes the use of data to enhance biomedical research and clinical work. The need for a recognition program within AMIA, acknowledging applied informatics skills by members, led to the establishment of the Fellows of AMIA (FAMIA) Recognition Program in 2018.

Objectives To outline the evolution of the FAMIA program and shed light on its origins, development, and impact. This report explores factors that led to the establishment of FAMIA, considerations affecting its development, and the objectives FAMIA seeks to achieve within the broader context of AMIA.

Methods The development of FAMIA is examined through a historical lens, encompassing key milestones, discussions, and decisions that shaped the program. Insights into the formation of FAMIA were gathered through discussions within AMIA membership and leadership, including proposals, board-level discussions, and the involvement of key stakeholders. Additionally, the report outlines criteria for FAMIA eligibility and the pathways available for recognition, namely the Certification Pathway and the Long-Term Experience Pathway.

Results The FAMIA program has inducted five classes, totaling 602 fellows. An overview of disciplines, roles, and application pathways for FAMIA members is provided. A comparative analysis with other fellow recognition programs in related fields showcases the unique features and contributions of FAMIA in acknowledging applied informatics.

Conclusion Now in its sixth year, FAMIA acknowledges the growing influence of applied informatics within health information professionals, recognizing individuals with experience, training, and a commitment to the highest level of applied informatics and the science associated with it.

Keywords

professional - competence - informatics - AMIA

Background and Significance

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) has fostered a sense of community for biomedical and health informaticians for over 30 years. As a professional association, AMIA was formed by the merger of three organizations in 1988: the American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics; the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI); and the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care. AMIA brought together an interesting mix of people with clinical expertise and those with computer expertise as well as those very interested in how data can improve clinical work and biomedical research. Every year since the beginning of AMIA, conferences and working groups have allowed people to learn from each other, expand their professional networks, and develop their informatics skills.

After several years of discussion, AMIA's Board of Directors approved the launch of an Applied Informatics Recognition Program in 2018 to acknowledge members who apply informatics skills and knowledge within their professional setting, demonstrate professional achievement and leadership, and have a sustained commitment to the betterment of AMIA. This program led to the establishment of the Fellows of AMIA (FAMIA) Recognition Program in May 2018: to honor and support the professional advancement of AMIA members at all stages of their careers. The FAMIA program is inclusive of professionals from various fields, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, public and population health practitioners, and those working in clinical research, balancing the needs of those working within clinical informatics settings and other areas where informatics is applied to practice. In October 2018 the inaugural class was announced.[1]

Most Professional Associations Recognize Expertise through the Designation of “Fellow”

Professional associations are valuable educational and informational venues for their members and provide platforms to develop and increase visibility and awareness of professional excellence.[2] Professional association missions often include publishing professional journals, developing standards of professional excellence, raising public awareness, and making awards.[2] Professional associations also provide an opportunity for professional people to expand their professional networks and identify new partners and collaborators for research, practice, and policy development.

Most professional associations are discipline-specific and promote professional growth and advancement through the sharing and critiquing of knowledge and research within a discipline. As an interdisciplinary association, AMIA serves the needs of multiple disciplines whose members share a common interest in health information technology. Interdisciplinary associations are very important not only to further professional advancement of their members but also to advance science by providing a home for interdisciplinary topics and collaborative research. Often, professional associations have a greater ability to identify and promote trends sooner than government, academic, or funding organizations and agencies.[2]

In an online chat with Open AI's Chat GPT, the following definitions were found. “The designation of 'fellow' as a form of professional recognition within an organization's membership acknowledges and recognizes expertise by the organization and provides visibility of domain-specific expertise to others outside of an organization's members. Fellow is an honorary title or status indicating achievements, expertise, contributions, or alignment with the goals and values of a professional society or membership organization. Criteria for being named a fellow vary widely, are uniquely defined by each awarding entity, and depend on the nature and purpose of the organization.” (ChatGPT, personal communication, December 4, 2023).

“Professional advancements and promotions in academic institutions and other research organizations and health systems are often dependent on demonstration of external contributions and professional recognition. Common qualification criteria include demonstrated expertise and significant contributions to a given field, sustained leadership within an organization and the field, and demonstration of a strong commitment, both past and future, to the professional organization.” (ChatGPT, personal communication, December 4, 2023).

“Fellow designation also creates a community within an organization that can further promote science and professional advancement within the field. Depending on the organization, the designation may also carry additional responsibilities and expectations to actively contribute to the organization's activities, events, or initiatives. Overall, being a fellow of an organization is an honor that signifies recognition and respect, and it often comes with a sense of responsibility to continue contributing to the advancement of the organization and its goals.”

(ChatGPT, personal communication, December 4, 2023).

Origins of FAMIA

Precursors to Fellows in AMIA

Over the years various members have proposed methods of acknowledging AMIA members apart from ACMI. Some were discussed at the Board level including detailed point systems. A proposal was made to the board as early as 2013 but action was not yet widely supported.

Two main factors led to the swelling of support for a recognition of Fellows in AMIA. In 2013, the American Board of Preventive Medicine provided board certification for the first class of Practice-Pathway fellows. These board-certified fellows were eager to show their unity and have a means of identifying others in their new specialty. Yet, as other physician specialty associations established fellow status for diplomates who were trained appropriately and met high standards of practice, there was not such an opportunity for Clinical Informatics. In addition, a second group of new AMIA members was beginning to grow. In June 2017, the first cohort of physicians had graduated from 2-year programs officially accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This group was also looking for the appropriate acknowledgment, belonging, and career support. These applied informaticians recognized that publishing research would not be the culmination of their practice but understood that they were a strong part of the future of AMIA.

In the fall of 2017, requirements for fellow status from a variety of professional medical associations were informally collected and reviewed by various members of AMIA. This review unveiled a need to acknowledge not just the physician community but the various other disciplines comprising the AMIA membership such as nursing and nonclinical professionals. The idea of establishing a broad program of recognition within AMIA was quickly embraced, and in January, an advisory group of 12 leaders was appointed. Over the next 3 months, those leaders negotiated criteria and suggested the name “Fellows of the American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA).” The AMIA Board of Directors convened a Special Conference Call for discussion and later approved the eligibility criteria and name on 7 May 2018. In that same year, a newly created FAMIA review committee received member applications for the inaugural class, with Fellow status being bestowed the following year at the annual clinical informatics conference in Atlanta in May 2019.

In 2020, the AMIA Board created a task force of nine FAMIA members representative of the newly inducted membership to develop FAMIA's governing structure and documents within the AMIA organization, gaining Board approval for the initial FAMIA Governing Documents in January 2022. The FAMIA Executive Committee, whose initial members were elected by FAMIA members in the 2022 and 2023 AMIA election cycle, currently oversees FAMIA. AMIA maintains a listing of current leadership of FAMIA on their Web site.[3] See [Fig. 1] for an illustration of the timeline of FAMIA development.

Fig. 1 FAMIA timeline. FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

AMIA Advisory Group Determined the Eligibility Criteria

The initial advisory group appointed by the AMIA board carefully looked at current programs available at AMIA such as FACMI and other professional fellowship programs to have a good understanding of what was available to the AMIA membership for merit-based recognition. The initial advisory group also reviewed the broad purpose of merit-based recognition from other professional associations and the desire of AMIA membership for the program. Targeting a unique and meaningful program for the AMIA community, they worked to establish FAMIA eligibility criteria through a consensus process.

The main focus was on promoting inclusivity across various disciplines, aiming to make FAMIA accessible to individuals with diverse educational backgrounds, certifications, and work experiences. Additionally, the criteria included a “grandfathering” provision for individuals who had made significant contributions to the field prior to the establishment of formal informatics certifications. A long-term experience pathway aimed to qualify informaticians, both clinicians and nonclinicians, who had been actively engaged in applied work. However, the overarching plan was to transition to a requirement for certification (either clinical domain-specific or AMIA Health Informatics Certification [AHIC]) for all applicants once AHIC was fully implemented. As the intent of the program was to recognize and honor contributing members of the AMIA community, emphasis was placed on ongoing AMIA membership and active engagement to discourage short-term memberships pursued solely for credential acquisition. Representing the diversity of AMIA membership and the dynamic ways in which informatics knowledge has been acquired and applied to practice, FAMIA currently includes two pathways: the Certification Pathway and the Long-Term Experience Pathway. [Table 1] lists the eligibility criteria for both the Certification Pathway and the Long-Term Experience Pathway for FAMIA recognition.

Table 1 FAMIA eligibility criteria

Eligibility category	Certification pathway	Long-term experience pathway
Education	Advanced health degree	At least a bachelor's degree in any discipline.
Certification	Completion of approved informatics certification:	Not applicable
Applied informatics experience	2 years working experience in a position that has >25% applied informatics FTE duties after completion of approved informatics certification.	10 years of >25% applied informatics work, or equivalent effort AND Demonstration of Informatics Competency Qualifications (ICQs)
Peer recommendation	Completion of recommendation form	Completion of recommendation form
AMIA membership	Current member with history of membership for at least 3 out of the past 5 years	Current member with history of membership for at least 3 out of the past 5 years
AMIA engagement	At least one contribution to AMIA within past 5 years, participation on an AMIA committee, task force, or equivalent	At least one contribution to AMIA within past 5 years.
Future commitments	Commit to maintaining certification, AMIA membership, engagement, and code of ethics and conduct.	Commit to maintaining AMIA membership, engagement, and code of ethics and conduct.

Abbreviation: FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Note: Detailed information regarding eligibility criteria for FAMIA is available at https://amia.org/communities/famia/famia-eligibility-criteria.

At first having two pathways for eligibility might create confusion, but later it was determined that two pathways were more important to be inclusive for FAMIA membership. Rather than initiate a recognition pathway at AMIA that would discriminate against many highly experienced well-qualified long-time members, FAMIA allowed more people with long-time experience to apply. Certification in the field of health care informatics has not been consistently available to all disciplines. Limiting FAMIA designation to only those who are currently certified would have been short sighted in light of many well-deserving members whose careers may not have had the benefit of obtaining certification. Because of the availability of certification to all disciplines, it is expected going forward for certification to become commonplace and an equalizer in demonstrating competence.

Therefore, the Long-Term Pathway is a temporary, courteous option to recognize those AMIA members who have been applying informatics skills and knowledge for several years but are ineligible to sit for an approved informatics certification exam. Both pathways require demonstrated history with AMIA through recent, committed membership and engagement with membership activities. There is also a requirement to commit to maintaining AMIA membership, AMIA engagement, and abide by AMIA's code of ethics in both pathways. The Long-Term Pathway criteria aim to quantify work experience and demonstration of informatics competencies across the four domains of Individual/Population Health, Organizations, Informatics Tools and Methods and Team/Change Management to the education and certification required for the Certification Pathway.

Application Process for FAMIA

FAMIA recognition, an AMIA membership benefit, involves self-nominations and a required peer recommendation. Specific information regarding application to FAMIA is accessible on the AMIA Web site.[4] Each year, applications are accepted between May and July, with peer recommendations due by August and announcements of selected individuals in October, culminating in the induction ceremony at the annual AMIA Clinical Informatics Conference the following May. Currently, two pathways (certification and long term) for recognition are available—though the long-term pathway process will expire following the 2025 application period.

Current FAMIA Membership

Since its inception, FAMIA has welcomed five classes of inductees. The inaugural class, consisting of 132 members, was inducted in the spring of 2019. Subsequently. each year has seen the qualification of over 70 members for the FAMIA designation, resulting in a total of 602 currently inducted fellows. The largest number of inductees occurred in both 2020 and 2021, with 154 individuals in each class. [Table 2] shows the representation of degrees reported by FAMIA members to AMIA through their membership profile. Not surprisingly, most FAMIA members reported multiple degrees. To look at the spread of degrees across FAMIA membership, the degrees were grouped into clinical disciplines and nonclinical degrees. FAMIA membership is primarily held by physicians. When including all other members reporting a clinical degree, three quarters of FAMIA membership is composed of professionals with clinical training. This analysis is limited by the data reported by FAMIA members to the AMIA membership database, and the reporting of a clinical degree does not necessarily indicate clinical experience or current practice.

Table 2 Frequency of degrees designated by FAMIA members

Degree reported by FAMIA members	n	%
MD/DO/MBBS	347	62.1
RN/MSN/DNP	50	8.9
RPh/PharmD	12	2.1
MPH/DrPH (without other clinical degree)	7	1.3
BDS/DDS/DDM	3	0.5
PT/DPT	1	0.2
PhD (no clinical degree)	114	20.4
BS/MS/MBA (no clinical degree)	20	3.6
Other/not specified	5	0.9

Abbreviation: FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Note: n = 559.

In Healthcare Informatics, degrees obtained do not necessarily indicate the current roles held by FAMIA members. [Table 3] shows the frequency of professional roles FAMIA members report holding in their AMIA membership profile. Members are requested to report only one value for their professional role in the member database. However, there are 28 options on the data entry picklist and no limit of selections. With the various roles performed by Healthcare Informaticists, many combinations of roles available on the picklist are reported. Although interesting to review, the current data available through the AMIA membership database are inadequate to truly understand the meaning of the roles performed by FAMIA members. More research is required in this area and out of scope for this report.

Table 3 Frequency of professional role designated by FAMIA members

	n	%
Physician	114	21.8
Chief medical informatics officer/chief medical officer (CMIO/CMO)	83	15.8
Researcher	66	12.6
Educator	33	6.3
Other	21	4.0
Consultant	17	3.2
Management	14	2.7
Administrator	13	2.5
Computer scientist	11	2.1
Chief research informatics officer (CRIO)	10	1.9
Data scientist	10	1.9
Information technology (IT) professional	10	1.9
Nurse	8	1.5
Chief clinical informatics officer/chief information officer (CCIO/CIO)	5	1.0
Chief nursing informatics officer/chief nursing officer (CNIO/CNO)	4	0.8
Pharmacist	3	0.6
Student/trainee/fellow	2	0.4
Engineer	1	0.2
Project manager	1	0.2
Statistician	1	0.2
Other unique combinations	97	18.4

Abbreviation: FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Note: n = 524.

In terms of pathway applications, the number of Long-Term Pathway applications has consistently surpassed Certification Pathway applications, with the exception of 2020. In that year, only 74 Long-Term Pathway fellows qualified compared with 80 qualified Certification Pathway applicants. However, in recent years, the distribution between the two categories has evened out. The most recent class, to be inducted in 2024, again has more inductees from the Certification Pathway and may indicate the usefulness of the Long-Term Experience Pathway is waning ([Tables 4] and [5]). It is anticipated that Long-Term Pathway applications will continue to decrease leading up to the expiration of that pathway in 2025 application period. The class of 2024 has been selected and 84 AMIA members will be inducted to FAMIA at the 2024 Clinical Informatics Conference. [Fig. 2] shows the trends in application pathways and annual FAMIA applications overall. A listing of current FAMIA membership is maintained on the AMIA Web site.[5]

Fig. 2 Annual FAMIA applications submitted per application pathway, unsuccessful in being accepted into FAMIA, and the total inducted each year since the inception of FAMIA. FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Table 4 Frequency of FAMIA membership through each qualification pathway

	Class of
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Total
Certification pathway	51	80	65	42	34	47	319
Long-term experience pathway	81	74	89	50	36	37	367
Unsuccessful applications	19	20	9	3	4	2	57
Total applications per year	151	174	163	95	74	86	743
Total inducted per year	132	154	154	92	70	84	686

Abbreviation: FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Table 5 Percent of total FAMIA applications per pathway per year

	% of total applications
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Certification pathway	34	46	40	44	46	55
Long-term pathway	54	43	55	53	49	43
Unsuccessful applications	13	11	6	3	5	2
Inducted	87	89	94	97	95	98

Abbreviation: FAMIA, Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association.

Comparison of Fellow Recognition Programs

Many professional informatics associations provide recognition for expertise using fellow recognition. These recognitions, however, are unique and serve their unique communities. [Table 6] describes several of the most common clinical informatics fellow recognition programs.

Table 6 Fellow recognition programs

Organization	Length of service	Criteria	Nominated by	Selected by	Nomination requirements	Frequency of nomination/selection
American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Fellows of American Medical Informatics Association (FAMIA) https://amia.org/communities/famia	Mid-career	See [Table 1]	Self-nomination	Subgroup of FAMIA members	CV, evidence of education, OR completed ICQ Form, peer recommendation, application fee	Annual
The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) Fellows of the American College of Medical Informatics (FACMI) https://amia.org/communities/acmi-fellowship	10 years (minimum) documented, sustained contributions	Demonstrated major contributions in biomedical informatics; national or international recognition in the field; committed to advancing the charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes	Current ACMI fellow	Vote of ACMI fellows	Online nomination form	Annual
International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (FIAHSI) https://imia-medinfo.org/wp/iahsi-structure/	Minimum 10 years, and often for much longer.	Honorific, prestigious, and indicative of substantial achievements, generally with international impact	2 current IAHSI academy fellows	Vote of current academy fellows	CV, link to publication listings, photo of the nominee	Annual
Health Information Management Systems Society (FHIMSS) https://www.himss.org/membership-participation-member-advancement	Minimum 3 years continual national membership	Minimum of 100 HIMSS points and an overall minimum of 200 total points	Self-nomination	HIMSS North America Board of Directors	Online application and evidence of meeting criteria for points earned	Quarterly
European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) FEFMI https://efmi.org/members-2/honorary-fellows/	Late career	Awarded on the basis of merit on a scientist who was a member of medical community and has delivered long and distinguished service.
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) FAIMBE https://aimbe.org/college-of-fellows/about/	Late career	Outstanding leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in medical and biological engineering. AIMBE fellows represent the top 2% of medical and biological engineers.	Peer nomination	Subcommittee review followed by vote of current elected fellows.	Significant contributions, leadership, or innovation.	Annual
Australia's Digital Health Community (HISA) Australasian College of Health Informatics (ACHI) FACHI https://www.hinz.org.nz/page/ACHI	Mid-career	Substantial achievement and contribution within the health informatics discipline	Self-application	Fellowship and membership committee	Online application and evidence of meeting criteria for points earned	Annual
Health Level 7 (HL7) HL7 John Quinn Fellowship Program (FHL7) https://www.hl7.org/about/hl7fellows.cfm	15 years of voting members	To recognize outstanding commitment and sustained contribution	Staff determines eligibility	Annual list of qualified members voted on by current elected fellows	15 years of voting membership + sustained contributions serving in various leadership activities	Annual

Abbreviation: ICQ, Informatics Competency Qualifications.

FAMIA is a merit-based designation, extending recognition to members of AMIA who have demonstrated professional achievement and leadership, and who have a sustained commitment to the betterment of AMIA, without an emphasis on academic publication or research. The establishment of FAMIA was welcomed especially for targeting recognition of mid-career informatics professionals. FAMIA allows individuals to self-nominate and gain recognition of education, certification, and experience that may not always be through publication, scientific research, or other peer-related nomination-dependent processes. This path for recognition is especially useful for informaticians whose role and focus are much more on applied clinical and public health informatics.

ACMI is an honorific society at AMIA and has played a longstanding role at AMIA for recognition of significant contributions to the field of biomedical informatics, bestowing the designation of FACMI (Fellows of the Academy of Medical Informatics). These contributions are frequently in the form of research, publications, important technical innovations, prolific teaching, or sustained executive leadership. ACMI currently has a total of 558 members and inducts an average of 14 individuals per year.

International Medical Informatics Association offers the Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (FIAHSI) for very senior-level individuals who have contributions with international impact. HIMSS Fellow status (FHIMSS) recognizes individuals who have extensive portfolios of education, credentials, and engagement with the organization through various contributions. The European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) awards Fellow status (FEFMI) to long serving individuals with distinguished careers. Fellow status (FAIMBE) is awarded by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) to the top 2% of medical and biological engineers. Australia's Digital Health Community (HISA) and Australasian College of Health Informatics (ACHI) jointly award the designation of Fellow (FACHI) to mid-career individuals for substantial achievement and contribution. Health Level 7 (HL7) also recognizes their outstanding and committed members with Fellow status (FHL7). Although the moniker of Fellow is consistent across associations, differences exist. FAMIA, FHIMSS, FACHI, and FHL7 target professionals at mid-career; FACMI, FIAHSI, FEFMI, and FAIMBE are usually earned later in career journeys. FAMIA, FHIMSS, and FACHI status are initiated through self-nomination, while FACMI, FIAHSA, and FAIMBE are initiated by peer/currently established Fellow nomination. FHL7 nomination is initiated by association staff. All the fellow status designations included in this comparison have a confirmation of fellow status by a vote of current Fellow members except for FAMIA, which is confirmed by a subset of Fellow members and FHIMSS which is confirmed by the HIMSS board. The total number of members and average number of inductees in each of these non-AMIA programs are not openly available to be included in this report.

Conclusion

AMIA membership represents a wide variety of health information professionals. The AMIA Fellows program recognizes the growing influence of applied informatics among health professionals and health systems. Fellow status within AMIA acknowledges the subset of members who have experience, training, and commitment to the highest level of applied informatics, including the science of applied informatics. Now in its sixth year, with 686 fellows, the AMIA Fellow program has established an impressive group of applied informaticians committed to performing science-based, practical informatics. As a new merit based recognition program within the organization of AMIA, FAMIA and its long term benefits are not yet fully known to the organization or to individuals. Going forward, FAMIA members are poised to contribute leadership to AMIA, as well as mentor new informaticists and provide collegial support to others who are more seasoned in the field. The formation of FAMIA to not only recognize accomplishments of AMIA members but to also bolster networking and familiarity amongst members sets up endless possibilities.

Clinical Relevance Statement

Professional association recognition programs such as FAMIA may boost morale and feelings of well-being and accomplishment in members. It connects members to the organization and its community, which may result in elevated engagement and retention. Outwardly, recognition programs such as FAMIA could validate and signal a level of competence and peer respect.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. The American Medical Informatics Association Fellow (FAMIA) program was created

   • To provide alternative routes of recognition then what has traditionally been offered at AMIA, HIMSS, IMIA, and AIMBE.

   • For recognition of AMIA members with over 20 years of membership who have been highly engaged in AMIA activities and conferences.

   • For recognition of mid-career informatics professionals with a sustained commitment to AMIA without an emphasis of publication and research.

   • As a precursor to other recognition programs available later in an informatics career.

   Correct Answer: The correct answer is option c. For recognition of mid-career informatics professionals with a sustained commitment to AMIA without an emphasis of publication and research. Rationale: Section 5.0 Comparison of fellow recognition programs states, “FAMIA is a merit-based designation, extending recognition to members of AMIA who have demonstrated professional achievement and leadership, and who have a sustained commitment to the betterment of AMIA, without an emphasis on academic publication or research.”

2. Once FAMIA membership has been established, the credentials are available for an individual to use

   • Until the individual is awarded an additional recognition from AMIA or any other professional association.

   • For life. There are no other requirements to maintain and use the FAMIA credentials.

   • Indefinitely provided the individual applies for renewal of the credentials every 5 years.

   • Throughout their time of membership with AMIA provided the member remains an engaged member in good standing, and abides by the AMIA code of ethics.

   Correct Answer: The correct answer is option d. Throughout their time of membership with AMIA provided the member remains an engaged member in good standing, and abides by the AMIA Code of Ethics. Rationale: Section 2.2 AMIA Advisory group established the eligibility criteria inform the reader “There is also a requirement to commit to maintaining AMIA membership, AMIA engagement, and abide by AMIA's code of ethics in both pathways.”

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose regarding this study.

Acknowledgments

The conception, definition, refinement, and initial instantiation of FAMIA as a formal recognition of valued members of AMIA would not have happened without the commitment and dedication of numerous individuals. The authors express their gratitude to those who contributed to the establishment of the Fellows of the American Medical Informatics Association:

1. Idea Generators

Christoph Lehmann

Jeffrey A. Nielson

Jeffery Smith

Doug Fridsma

2. Initial Advisory Group

Jeffrey A. Nielson (co-chair)

Sarah Collins Rosetti (co-chair)

Lisa Masson

Lipika Samal

Bruce Levy

Mark Zhang

Karen Monsen

Deborah Ariosto

Dean Sittig

Catherine Staes

Justin Starren

3. Inaugural Nomination Review Committee

Sarah Collins Rosetti (co-chair)

Jeffrey A. Nielson (co-chair)

Bruce Levy

Petersen, Carolyn

Laura Heermann Langford

Saif Khairat

Masson, Lisa

Karen Monsen

Lipika Samal

Dean Sittig

Catherine Staes

Jonathan M. Teich

Mark Zhang

Paul Fu, Jr.

James Cimino

Tony Solomonides

Adam Wright

David Liebovitz

Susanne Arnold

4. Formalizing Task Force

Albert Lai (co-chair)

Laura Heermann Langford (co-chair)

Tara Borlawsky-Payne

Bruce Bray

Andy Gettinger

Adi Gundlapalli

Senthil Nachimuthu

Tom Payne

Sara Collins Rosetti

5. Inaugural Executive Committee

Laura Heermann Langford (chair)

Kate Fultz Hollis (chair-elect)

Allison McCoy

Eric Hall

Margo Edmunds

6. Data Analysis and Statistical Support

Jia-Wen Gao

7. AMIA Staff Support

Jeffery Smith

Michelle Martin

RaeLynn Gochnauer

Kara Matthews

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

The authors did not conduct a human subject study for this report and used anonymous data provided by AMIA from their membership database.

• References

• 1 Inaugural Class of AMIA Fellows Announced. Updated 31 October 2018 . Accessed 15 November 2023 at: https://amia.org/news-publications/inaugural-class-amia-fellows-announced
• 2 National Academy of Sciences. The role of professional societies. In: Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. Washington, DC:: The National Academies Press;; 2005: p.137-148
• 3 FAMIA Leadership and Governance. Accessed 6 December 2023 at: https://amia.org/communities/famia/famia-leadership-and-governance
• 4 Apply for FAMIA. Accessed 7 December 2023 at: https://amia.org/communities/famia/apply-famia
• 5 Fellows of AMIA Directory. Accessed 7 February 2024 at: https://amia.org/communities/famia/fellows-amia

Publication History

Received: 19 March 2024

Accepted: 29 May 2024

Article published online:
07 August 2024