eHealthStrategies

I am a physician with basic and clinical research background and specialization in emergency and intensive care services. Early interest in digital systems led me away from clinical practice and into a three-decade career in biomedical systems and technology and health information and telecommunication systems. Last three years were dedicated to the investigation and implementation of knowledge sharing and communication networks.

What I Offer

I offer qualifications and the experience acquired during three decades of national and international work in institutional, community, philanthropic, academic, and government health and healthcare organizations, including management positions in public, private, international technical cooperation agencies, and social sector organizations encompassing project and program design, operation, and management. I have expertise in technical writing and editing and practice as author, reviewer, and editor of scientific and technical reports and peer-reviewed journals. I speak and write English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and can read French. My strongest assets are: a broad and solid biomedical and health system background; critical and analytical thinking; the ability of successfully carrying out complex multidisciplinary projects -- from design to evaluation; to effectively deal with issues related to multiprofessional teams; and the implementation and documentation of projects.

Academic and Technical Background

I am a 1964 graduate from the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, Brazil. During medical studies participated in research program in cell biology and pharmacology and published independent investigation. Was a Resident at the Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine for 1965-1966. From 1967 to 1970 I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State. From 1967 to 1974 was a Resident at the Jewish Memorial Hospital, New York, and at the Beth Israel Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, where I was progressively Chief Resident in Surgery, Fellow, and Physician-in-Charge of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. In 1974 I was a Visiting Researcher at the Medical Informatics Department, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm. Established and chaired postgraduate courses on Health Information Systems at the Health Services Administration Specialization Course, University of São Paulo School of Public Health; courses on Information Systems in Health Care Administration at the PROAHSA/Fundação Getúlio Vargas, São Paulo; and on Computer Sciences at the Microcomputer Laboratory, PROAHSA/Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo. Adjunct Faculty position at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore and, in 2002-2003, at the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program (STIA), School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. I have eighty publications in the following fields: health informatics and information and communication systems and technologies (61); management (4); clinical medicine (13); pharmacology (1); and military medicine (1). I am active in national and international scientific and professional societies and a speaker at national and international technical meetings, conferences, and symposia.

Professional Career: Period 1974-1990

I left clinical practice in the early 80’s and became fully dedicated to the area of information and communication systems and technology in clinical, educational, and administrative settings, and as support to diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.During my professional life I occupied leadership positions in the design and deployment of health sector information and communication technologies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Those national and international projects included pioneer work in the design, management, and implementation of clinical and administrative applications of information systems. Starting in 1974, I was responsible for the design and implementation of pioneer clinical and administrative information systems in public and private hospitals and care systems in Brazil. Worked in public (Technical Support Services, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo School of Medicine; Hospital Care Coordination Office, Secretary of Health, Government of the State of São Paulo; Department of Informatics, Secretary of Planning, National Social Security Health Care Administration/INAMPS, Rio de Janeiro), private and intergovernmental institutions in Latin American. Worked as consultant for international and private organizations, multilateral agencies, and technical cooperation agencies.I have extensive know-how about policy development; project formulation and deployment issues related to information and communication and knowledge management systems; and working with international and national agencies and organizations. Held positions of responsibility coordinating teams charged with health project and program requirements specification, solution design, and implementation. Organized and conducted large international meetings including preparation of scientifc agenda, logistical aspects of meetings, management of invited speakers, review and selection of contributions, and preparation and publication of conference reports.

Professional Career: Period 1991-2003

From 1991 to 2003, I was a full-time staff professional with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, Washington DC and responsible for technical cooperation with WHO Member States in the Region of the Americas in the area of health services information technology applications, policy, strategy, and project design and development. During this time successfully organized or assisted the preparation and conduction of many large global and regional conferences.

Professional Career: Last 4 Years

I retired from the Pan American Health Organization in January 2003. Since then have worked as advisor and consultant on health information and communication technology, project management and evaluation, knowledge systems, and corporate change for the World Health Organization, INTECH Inc., Fonemed, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization of the American States, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In the past four years I worked in the development and implementation of knowledge management methodologies and enabling technologies in the context of a United Nations technical cooperation organization. Recent work (2003-2007) as consultant for PAHO/WHO involved participating in the design and implementation of the Area of Information and Knowledge Management (DD/IKM) including organization and governance, personnel, content management, methodologies and enabling technologies with the goal of making PAHO/WHO an authoritative source on health information and knowledge, an effective collaboration-based organization, a learning organization, and a partnership- and network-building organization. Achievements include:

• Conducting the scoping exercise, tentative work plan, early discussion and surveys, and the extensive consultations to respond to PAHO’s Executive Management directive to define the issues, strategy, priorities, and plan of action required to establish PAHO as a more efficient and effective knowledge-based organization. This resulted in recommendations about the human and organizational resources required to support the organizational-wide knowledge sharing strategy and decisions on the methodological and technological aspects required to support knowledge sharing and collaborative work within the Organization and between its customers and partners. The identified gap between the then existing state and the desired future resulted in a work and personnel plan that guided the orderly definition and execution of the DD/IKM Area technical activities.

• Participating in the deployment of SharePoint throughout the Organization. After three years of experimentation and use, SharePoint is a well-established PAHO organizational resource with great potential.

• Evaluation, testing of options, and the deployment and operation of corporate web conferencing resources, leading to unprecedented impact in the day-to-day work of the staff and technical cooperation processes.

• Requirement analysis, specification, and management of an Expertise Locator, an application aimed at supporting the identification and selection of professionals for fixed-term contracts.

• Requirement analysis and specification of the Staff Travel, Consultant and Meeting Report System, an application designed to manage the massive amount of information and knowledge generated by staff and consultant technical cooperation activities.

• Requirement analysis, specification, and testing of the Lessons Learned System, a product that facilitates the capture and reuse of tacit knowledge throughout the Organization.• Conduction of in-depth evaluation, deployment, and support of a number of methodologies and enabling technologies of importance for knowledge sharing and collaborative work including cognition mapping, content management, and communities of practice.• Preparing Request for Proposals, evaluation, contracting, and coordinating external consultants and their technical activities.

• Contributing to the ongoing studies and development of e-Health in PAHO and WHO.