SUMMARY
For over 40 years, John D. Halamka, M.D., M.S., has been dedicated to the technology and policy that enable information exchange among clinical, educational and administrative stakeholders. In particular, Dr. Halamka is focused on bringing people together for multidisciplinary collaboration and career development at all levels. He works across government, academia and industry to form consortia that accelerate progress in informatics and patient care.
As president of the Mayo Clinic Platform, Dr. Halamka is currently collaborating with Young J. Juhn, M.D., M.P.H., on research addressing algorithmic bias. This work has profound implications for artificial intelligence (AI) research and health equity and is a high priority of the Mayo Clinic Platform and Mayo Clinic as a whole.
Dr. Halamka also is dedicated to educating the next generation of health care technology professionals. His expertise has given him the opportunity to teach extraordinarily diverse audiences, ranging from medical students to international policymakers. Before transitioning to Mayo Clinic, he served as a professor at Harvard Medical School for 25 years.
Dr. Halamka's research and clinical background, combined with his passion for teaching, have enabled him to implement innovative technologies in local, regional, national and international settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as co-leader of the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition and the national convalescent plasma effort, The Fight Is In Us. He also was an active participant in Harvard's Clinical and Translational Science Awards program and was the co-principal investigator of Harvard's i2b2 project and Harvard Catalyst efforts.
Focus areas
- Health record innovation. Dr. Halamka's work leverages the web to exchange medical records securely among regional hospitals. His innovations allow clinicians to deliver personalized care to each patient using specialized web applications. He has developed highly successful programs that allow patients to look up their test results and interact with their providers. At the same time, the programs serve as test beds for new personal health record innovations. The technologies developed by his team have been widely adopted throughout the United States.
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Developing federal health record standards. As chair of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel under President George W. Bush, Dr. Halamka focused on harmonizing the electronic data standards for personal health records, electronic health records, public health reporting, biosurveillance and medication management. In 2008, the standards developed by the panel became official requirements for federal procurement.
The panel's work served as the foundation for the data standards required in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed by President Barack Obama. As chair of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Committee under President Obama, Dr. Halamka led development of criteria for allocating $30 billion in ARRA stimulus incentives for health care information technology.
- International health care transformation. As International Healthcare Innovation Professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Halamka visited 40 countries, gave over 200 lectures, and provided strategic information technology reviews for governments worldwide, including China, Japan, Australia, England, Germany, France, Israel, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India and many others. His work continues to accelerate electronic health records, data exchange, decision support, clinical research and informatics innovations around the world.
Significance to patient care
As president of the Mayo Clinic Platform, Dr. Halamka is responsible for global digital businesses, including virtual care for patients with severe illnesses, big data analytics and unique infrastructure that brings telemetry together with AI algorithms to enhance access to specialty care.
Professional highlights
- Michael D. Brennan, M.D., President's Strategic Initiative Professor, Mayo Clinic, 2021.
- Elected to National Academy of Medicine, 2020.
- Chief information officer.
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 1998-2019.
- Harvard Medical School, 2002-2012.
- Harvard Clinical Research Institute, 2001-2007.
- Healthcare Information Management Systems Society.
- Most influential provider, health care executive, IT leader, 2016, 2017, 2018.
- Lifetime achievement award, 2015.
- 50 most influential technologists of the past 50 years, 2011.
- Hall of Fame honoree, CIO, 2018.
- Endowed Professor of International Healthcare Innovation, Harvard Medical School, 2016.
- Health Information Technology Standards Committee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Co-chair, 2009-2016.
- Chair, 2005-2009.
- Associate dean for technology, Harvard Medical School, 2000-2012.
- 25 Most Influential CIOs, Information Week, 2011.
- Leiter Lecture, National Library of Medicine, 2010.
- Executive director, Commissioning, Qualification and Validation, CareGroup, 1997-1999.