 
The Smith School’s newest research center, the Center
for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS), will focus on the
use of advanced information technologies in business processes and
management systems within the health care industry.
CHIDS is a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of the
Decision and Information Technologies (D&IT)
department at the Smith School, the University of Maryland Medical Center,
University Hospital, and other resources in the University of Maryland
network. CHIDS will work to improve the delivery of health care with
researched solutions that impact safety, quality, access, efficiency, and
return on investment.
 “The
potential savings and other benefits of fully moving the health care
industry into the digital age are substantial but so are the challenges,”
said Howard Frank, dean of the Smith School. “The Smith School’s Center for
Health Information and Decision Systems comes at a critical time and answers
significant gaps in current health information technology education and
research.”
“Health care is multi-billion dollar industry,” said Ritu Agarwal,
director of the center and Dean's Chair of Information Systems. “There is
tremendous potential for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the
health care delivery process through the application of advanced information
and decision technologies. CHIDS is currently working on research related to
the adoption of electronic medical records, privacy issues and the
transformation of physician work practices through mobile technologies.”
Improving health care technology has been a national priority for the
Bush Administration, which supports the formation of a national electronic
health record system within the next 10 years that would assist in tracking
and sharing information on every U.S. citizen. According to the federal
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, an
agency created by President Bush in April 2004, such a system would produce
efficiencies saving $140 billion a year.
|
 Finance
guru Warren Buffett, the world’s second wealthiest man, met with Smith
students on May 22 as part of a trip organized by the Finance and
Investment Society, an undergraduate student group. Buffett answered
questions for several hours at his office in Nebraska.
“Warren Buffett provided some
great insights to the students about to embark on their professional
careers,” said Asher Epstein, managing director of the Dingman Center
for Entrepreneurship, who accompanied the students. “‘Get on the right
train early,’ Buffett said. ‘Don’t go into the buggy whip business.’ He
encouraged students to show passion for their work and stressed the
importance of desire, energy and integrity to be a success,” said
Epstein. |
Smith senior Anna Kroupnik was a recipient of the
R. Gene Richter Scholarship for 2005, a $5,000 award from the
Institute for Supply Chain Management. It is the only national award in
this field. Kroupnik, who is majoring in both international business and
logistics, feels the two are a natural fit. “Much of logistics is
international, especially with recent increases in globalization and
outsourcing,” she says. “Logistics becomes even more exciting when it
mixes into the international arena.” |
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