HIMSS Announces 2022 Changemaker in Health Award Recipients

HIMSS proudly recognizes six 2022 Changemaker in Health Award recipients.

The HIMSS Changemaker in Health Awards recognize inspiring senior healthcare executives who rigorously challenge the status quo in their journey to build a brighter health future. The awards celebrate innovative senior executives as they lead change in their relentless pursuit to improve care by harnessing the power of information and technology.

Recipients are determined by public voting, making the HIMSS Changemaker in Health Awards uniquely powerful and a true representation of the voice of health information and technology.

2022 HIMSS Changemaker in Health Award Recipients

Atif Al Braiki

Chief Executive Officer
Abu Dhabi Health Data Services

Atif Al Braiki is the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, where he played an instrumental part in the establishment and implementation of Malaffi, the Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange (HIE). Under his leadership, Malaffi has become known as one of the fastest rolled-out HIEs globally, and the first platform of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. Today, Malaffi is connecting 100 percent of the hospitals in Abu Dhabi and 99 percent of the episodes from all hospitals, clinics, centers and pharmacies in Abu Dhabi.

Prior to joining Malaffi, Al Braiki was the Director of Strategic Projects at Injazat. He was responsible for developing and incubating strategic public-private partnership (PPP) projects with key government clients, in addition to defining business models that satisfied client requirements and building relevant business cases, partnerships and financial models. During this time, he undertook the role of General Manager of Hassantuk, a PPP between the Ministry of Interior and Injazat.

Al Braiki holds a master's degree in Computer Engineering and completed a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and Information Management and Technology from Syracuse University, New York. In 2021 he was selected as part of the HIMSS Future50 Health IT Leader Class of 2021.

Zahid Ali

Founder
TECHMEDO 

Zahid Ali, Digital Health Transformation and Innovation thought leader, is the Founder at TECHMEDO, where he is leading digital transformation and innovation programs for countries and states. He had more than 20 years of experience in building strategy, program design and creating innovative technology solutions.

Ali is certified in Project Management, HL7, Data Analytics, AI, Information Security and Data Center Design. He contributed to digital health strategy and transformation plans for multiple countries. He is the winner of Siemens Innovation Think Tank, he worked with Harvard, Stanford, CSU (California State University), GHSA (Global Health Security Agenda), NHS and NIH on digital footprint, future of care delivery and AI in adoption health. He orchestrated a unique and intelligent primary healthcare EMR to serve large populations, virtual care model of care using AI, IoT, telemedicine and robotics.

At HIMSS, Ali was a 2021 Future50 Health IT Leader, a member of the Heath Apps Guidelines Workgroup, a member of the Task Force on Social Determinants of Health, a member of Job Analysis Task Force, an item writer and on the exam committee for CPDHTS (Certification Program Digital Health Transformation Strategist). 

Pat Flanders

Deputy Assistant Director for Information Operations (DAD IO/J-6) and Chief Information Officer
(CIO)Defense Health Agency 

Thomas Patrick "Pat" Flanders is the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Deputy Assistant Director for Information Operations (DAD IO/J-6) and Chief Information Officer (CIO).  Flanders provides leadership for the continued development of an affordable, innovative, robust and secure health information technology environment in support of the Combatant Commands, service members, veterans and their families. 

Flanders is a computer scientist and Department of Defense (DoD) certified acquisition professional with 32 years of system automation, personnel, finance and logistics experience. Prior to joining the DHA, he served as the Deputy Program Executive Officer for Defense Healthcare Management Systems; the Senior Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; and the Deputy Director of Investment for the United States Army. Pat has full lifecycle project management experience across a variety of DoD systems, including the Military Health System's (MHS’s) new electronic health record (MHS GENESIS) and two of the Army's major Enterprise Resource Planning initiatives: the Global Combat Support System Army (GCSS-Army) and the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP), as well as, the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Transportation Command’s, Integrated Data Environment/Global Transportation Network Convergence program.

Flanders holds master of science degrees in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School and in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He received his master of arts in procurement and acquisition management from Webster University and a bachelor of science in electrical and computer engineering from Clarkson University.

Sherri Hess, MS-IS, BSN, RN-BC, FHIMSS

VP, CNIO
HCA

Sherri Hess, MS-IS, BSN, RN-BC, FHIMSS, is VP, CNIO at HCA, and she teaches in the master’s program at the University of Denver. She has more than 38 years of experience in healthcare, with her career starting as a NICU nurse prior to moving into healthcare information technology (HIT) 22 years ago. She spent seven years at McKesson in software development, combining a nursing background and HIT knowledge to help develop electronic health records. After leaving McKesson, Sherri built and led multiple informatics teams for several organizations.

Hess currently serves as the strategic liaison between clinical leaders and IT. She is leading the charge when it comes to nursing informatics, addressing information and knowledge needs of healthcare professionals and patients to improve outcomes in quality, safety and patient satisfaction.

Hess focuses on improving efficiency for the clinical staff to give them more time with patients and less with paperwork, with the goal of decreasing the documentation burden. Sherri has a proven track record focusing on ensuring technology increases efficiency for clinician and improves patient outcomes. She puts customers at the forefront of all decision making. She was bestowed the coveted Nightingale Luminary Award in 2017.

Camila Murga, MD

Senior Health Informatician
Globant 

Camila Murga, MD, is Senior Health Informatician at the LifeSciences studio at Globant, where she utilizes a combined understanding of healthcare delivery and clinical information systems, with a focus on managing organizational change. Murga is the focal point of the studio for matters related to health informatics and patient journey. She helps plan, design, develop and implement digital health solutions that add value to the different actors in the ecosystem by fulfilling a facilitating role between clients, their needs and technical teams.

After getting her medical degree, she began her career path at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, where she applied for a health informatics residency, advocating on behalf of clinical needs. During her residency, she participated in two HIMSS certifications. She was selected to be Chief residents between 2017-2018.

After that experience, Murga covered an on-ground consultancy for the Guyanese Ministry of Public Health, coordinated by PAHO. During this consultancy, Murga participated in the design of the change management strategy for an EMR pilot study.

In 2018, Murga was hired as Chief Medical Informatics Officer of one of the most important oncology facilities in Argentina. From 2018 to 2021, she helped the organization go through a quick digital transformation by joining the company’s strategic planning.

In 2021, she decided to jump in the industry. She now represents the LifeScience studio at Globant, where she is the focal point of the studio for matters related to health informatics and patient journey.

Alan Weiss, MD, MBA, FACP

Chief Medical Information Officer, Vice President        
BayCare Health System 

Alan M. Weiss joined the BayCare Health System as CMIO in August 2018. He has primary responsibilities over all clinical systems, their associated governance as well as over providing executive leadership of data and analytics.

Prior to BayCare, Weiss spent 5 years in the Memorial Herman System in Houston, Texas, as its first Ambulatory CMIO. In that role, he had responsibilities over GE Centricity, Cerner and eClinicalWorks EHRs. Central to that role was EHR optimization efforts as well as the conversion of GE Centricity to Cerner.

Before Memorial Hermann, Weiss was the Associate Medical Director of Inpatient Systems at Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles, where he helped develop and implement its EHR, Epic.

A general internist by training, Weiss spent 10 years practicing at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He also reported directly to its CIO to assist on EHR implementation and optimization efforts, was the head of its business informatics group in primary care, head of main campus internal medicine operations and also was an internal medicine section head. Furthermore, Weiss spent time teaching medical students and residents while providing both ambulatory and inpatient care.

Before medical school, Weiss worked for Eli Lilly as a clinical information analyst, helping to develop data entry systems for clinical trials as well as analyzing that data for FDA reporting and for medical journals. Weiss earned a bachelor of science from the University of Michigan with a double major in computer science and philosophy. He also has both an M.B.A. and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. His M.B.A involves a double focus on healthcare management as well as the management of information systems.

Weiss is passionate about patient care and advocates for the proper use of data and analytics to refine EHR development toward the inclusion of evidence-based medicine.