Deborah Levy, MD, MPH, was presented with a leadership award by the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) on November 12, during the Opening Session of the AMIA 2023 Annual Symposium in New Orleans. Levy is a postdoctoral research fellow at Connecticut VA and a lecturer in the Section of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science at Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how clinicians engage with technology, especially issues of electronic health record (EHR) burden.
Levy was recognized for outstanding volunteer service advancing the vision, mission, and goals of AMIA 25x5 to reduce clinician documentation burden. Documentation burden refers to the stress clinicians face in generating and managing large amounts of clinical records, including recording, retrieving, and reviewing documentation. This stress can lead to clinician burnout and suboptimal patient care.
For her contributions, Levy was honored as an "instrumental contributor and champion" alongside nine other 25x5 Burden Reduction Task Force Workstream Leads. The task force's mission is to "spread impactful solutions across the health system that decrease non-value-added documentation and leverage partnerships and advocacy with health systems, professional societies, and public/private sector organizations."
"I am so honored to receive this recognition of several years of work leading initiatives in support of the 25 x 5 mission," said Levy. "Sharing the stage with pioneers, now colleagues, in our work to reduce documentation burden is a defining moment in my career. I particularly appreciate the recognition by AMIA of our interdisciplinary team led by Dr. [Sarah] Rossetti, and the ongoing need to work together on solutions to mitigate documentation burden. I can hope this recognition also amplifies the need to improve the experiences of health professionals at point of care."
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of AMIA and the secret to our success as a professional community of informatics research and practice leaders. It is my honor to recognize the outstanding contributions of members who offered countless hours sharing expertise, shaping thought leadership, and strengthening the breadth and depth of our collaborative volunteer groups,” said Gretchen Purcell Jackson, AMIA Board Chair and President. “These exceptional professionals have demonstrated a commitment to the mission and vision of AMIA—elevating the organization and the profession. We applaud their tremendous achievements.”
AMIA is the leading professional association for informatics professionals, comprising 5,600 informatics professionals from more than 65 countries.