A consistent leader who prioritizes patient care with best use of IT, Colin Banas, MD, MSHA, selected as the recipient of the 2018 HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive of the Year Award
CHICAGO (January 18, 2018) – Colin Banas, MD, MSHA, is a board-certified internist, chief medical information officer and associate professor in internal medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University 
Medical Center (VCU). Dr. Banas also heads the Office of Clinical Transformation (OCT), a unique group of clinicians and support staff that drive innovation and optimization into the application of information technology at the point of care. His interests center on novel forms of clinical decision support – those that are outside of the realm of traditional rules and alerts – and include real-time dashboarding for the health system’s Safety Dashboard and Early Warning System and intuitive usability designs.
He is an active member of the American Medical Informatics Association, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Scottsdale Institute, American College of Physician Executives, HIMSS and AMDIS. In 2014, he was named a national Health IT Fellow by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and has testified before the ONC and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, tremendous success leveraging health IT and meaningful use to improve patient care.
Recognizing his many accomplishments, HIMSS and AMDIS named Dr. Banas as the recipient of the 2018 HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive Leader of the Year Award. The HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive Leader of the Year Award recognizes a physician leader who demonstrates significant leadership in optimizing health engagements and care outcomes through information technology.
“Dr. Colin Banas has been a major contributor to planning and execution of AMDIS educational events and has collaborated with us on regulatory and policy programs. His knowledge, experience and energy have help educate hundreds of informaticists for many years. Congratulations to Colin Banas…well deserved,” said Rich Rydell, MBA, CEO of AMDIS, and Howard Landa, MD, vice chair, AMIDS Advisory Board.
His colleagues nominating him for this award describe him as a “consistently reliable and dedicated resource who conveys impeccable standards and physician leadership regardless of the everyday chaos within a hospital setting.”
“Colin has gone above and beyond the call of duty in his demonstration of effective physician executive leadership, through optimized health engagements and improved care outcomes,” said Patricia B. Wise, RN, MS, MA, FHIMSS, COL (USA ret’d), vice president, healthcare information systems, HIMSS North America. “His passion for education has been a catalyst for promoting innovation and thought leadership in his various roles, and HIMSS recognizes the immense value he provides as a leader in the healthcare community and for his contributions as a HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 reviewer. Congratulations to Colin on this tremendous achievement.”
Dr. Banas will be honored at the HIMSS18 Awards Gala on Thursday, March 8, from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Wynn Hotel inside the Latour Ballroom, during the 2018 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition on March 5-9 in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Venetian-Palazzo Sands Center.
• Tickets for the HIMSS18 Awards Gala are available on the HIMSS18 registration page or by calling 1.866.229.2386 for more information.
• Learn more about HIMSS18 and the Physicians' IT Symposium.
About HIMSS
HIMSS is a global voice, advisor and thought leader of health transformation through health information and technology with a unique breadth and depth of expertise and capabilities to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health, healthcare and care outcomes. HIMSS designs and leverages key data assets, predictive models and tools to advise global leaders, stakeholders and influencers of best practices in health information and technology, so they have the right information at the point of decision. HIMSS drives innovative, forward thinking around best uses of information and technology in support of better connected care, improved population health and low cost of care. HIMSS is a not-for-profit, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with additional offices in North America, Europe, United Kingdom and Asia.
About Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS)
Founded in 1997, the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems is the premier professional organization for physicians interested in and responsible for healthcare information technology. AMDIS Members are the thought leaders, decision makers and opinion influencers dedicated to advancing the field of Applied Medical Informatics and thereby improving the practice of medicine.
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