The American Health Information Management Association said on Tuesday that its members elected Diann Smith as President and Chair of the 2018 Board of Directors.

Smith is vice president of health information management services and clinical documentation improvement at Texas Health Resources in Arlington, Texas, an integrated health system with 29 hospitals.

In that role, Smith develops and executes system-wide standardization, efficiencies, and strategies that support performance and quality improvement for Texas Health.

Smith has served as chair on the AHIMA Professional Ethics Committee, a director on the AHIMA board, president of the Texas Health Information Management Association and commissioner on the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education.

Smith will work with the board to provide strategic direction to AHIMA, a nonprofit for health information management professionals who are responsible for protecting the accuracy of patient health information as well as safeguarding and preserving its privacy. The Chicago-based association represents more than 103,000 professionals.

AHIMA members also selected a President/Chair-elect, speaker of the house, and three members of the board of directors, who each will serve three-year terms.

Valerie Watzlaf, an associate professor in the department of HIM at the University of Pittsburgh, is the President/Chair-elect, while
Catherine Porto, executive director of health information at the University of New Mexico Hospitals, will serve as Speaker of the House.

The new directors: Seth Katz, associate administrator of information management at Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, Missouri; Kim Theodos, assistant professor of health studies at the University of Louisiana Monroe; and Melinda Wilkins, a professor of health informatics and health information management programs at Arkansas Tech University.

As the new President/Chair, Smith will work with the board to provide strategic direction to AHIMA, a nonprofit for health information management professionals who are responsible for protecting the accuracy of patient health information as well as safeguarding and preserving its privacy.

The Chicago-based association represents more than 103,000 professionals. 

Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com