About the Speaker: James Cimino, MD
Dr. Cimino is an internationally recognized expert on the use of standardized terminologies in clinical information systems. He is currently the principal investigator on a National Library of Medicine Independent Investigator Grant to explore ways of addressing clinicians' information needs.  He has been principal investigator on a National Information Infrastructure (NII) contract and a National Heart Attack Alert Program contract, was co-principal investigator on a Digital Library Initiative grant from the National Science Foundation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics.

Abstract:
The frequency with which information needs arise in clinical practice has been well-documented. Distressingly, the high rate at which these remain unresolved is also well-documented, suggesting that many clinical decisions are either uninformed or delayed. The speaker will describe the evolution of "infobuttons", an automated method by which information needs can be anticipated and resolved. The presentation will cover methodologies classifying information needs, approaches to automated detection of these needs, and techniques for resolving these needs automatically. An emerging HL7 standard will be presented for integrating the infobutton approach into clinical information systems.