Independent Consultant
Chair, Organising Committee, medinfo2001
Vice-President (Membership) International Medical Informatics Association

Over twenty-seven years in Health Informatics latterly in consultancy since 1990, previously at Regional and District levels and with suppliers. Previous posts included data processing lecturing, application development in higher academic and public sectors.

Jean is an internationally known health informatician with extensive experience in strategic health initiatives, knowledge exchange, project input in informatics and business areas and marketing, communications and promotion. Key assignments to date have involved her in health informatics strategy, procurement, application solutions and training. International contributions through the International Medical Informatics Association and a lead role in IT EDUCTRA, a European Fourth Framework project on the effective dissemination of informatics tools and techniques for all health professionals typifies her enthusiasm for ‘spreading the word’ by knowledge exchange in informatics to support the health domain.

Her strengths are in :

• An in-depth knowledge of health informatics on a tactical & strategic level, from operational healthcare delivery, with an informatics vendor & from a consultancy perspective
• Extensive human networking across health informatics world-wide – from the professional society interactions, high level advisory work & outward missions
• Proven ability to convey health informatics messages – through design & delivery of multi-media learning materials, teaching & workshop facilitation, lecturing, authoring & writing of papers for a wide range of audiences
• Experience in the marketing communication of health experiences – applications products, research deliverables & key issue topics; through scientific, learning & journalistic means
• Broad knowledge of interworking of health informatics within the health & technological contexts
• An ability to critically appraise, technically edit, synthesis & generate an impact analysis of key issues & produce rapportage / guidance papers
• An ability to bridge the divides; for example - clinical to management; intra-professionally, between clinical groups, scientific & commercial, academic to operational
• A style which is approachable, contemporary, knowledgeable & is acceptable at all levels

She has given many health informatics service briefings on organisational issues, major systems and healthcare delivery models and culture to professional societies, informatics vendors and health agencies internationally and developed information briefings and publications for national meetings, international promotions and wide circulation / diffusion. She has participated fully in multi-national initiatives including being an Auditor and Evaluator for the European Commission Telematics Programme (Health Sector) for a number of years.

Her authoring portfolio includes open learning, telematics, informatics and quality issues in the health domain. She is active in promoting professional development of health informaticians and in gaining recognition of health informatics as a discipline.

She has presented and published internationally on many health management, informatics and trans-national issues and has significant professional participation in national and international initiatives in health informatics and management, notably the annual UK Health Computing series, MIE (Europe) and MEDINFO (world) Congresses and as a catalyst to (re) emerging nations. Her current focus is on promoting ‘The Route to Knowledge’ from many perspectives, including corporately, nationally and internationally through the medinfo2001 Organising Group that she chairs.

Submitted by Jean Roberts - 5 September 1999