LIMSWiki:Resources/Organizations

About this list

While this arguably may not be an authoritative list of organizations and not-for-profits relating to laboratory informatics, bioinformatics, and other forms of informatics, an attempt has been made to make it thorough.

Additional tools for finding scientific organizations:

• Japanese Academic Societies in Medicine and Related Fields

Organizations, not-for-profits, and special interest groups

A through D

• African Networks for Health Research & Development: AFRO-NETS; a coalition of networks dedicated to the "exchange of information among different networks active in health research for development in Anglophone Africa"

• AHIMA Foundation: "improves health information management by supporting the people, research and resources that advance the HIM profession;" 501 (c)(3) charitable child organization of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)

• Alliance for Nursing Informatics: ANI; a collection of organizations which aims to "advance nursing informatics practice, education, policy and research"

• American Association of Integrated Healthcare Delivery Systems: AAIHDS; "a non-profit organization dedicated to the educational advancement of provider-based managed care professionals responsible for accountable and integrated healthcare delivery"

• American Health Information Management Association: AHIMA; a collaboration of other associations and individuals involved in health information management

• American Medical Informatics Association: AMIA; a professional scientific association which "aims to lead the way in transforming health care through trusted science, education, and the practice of informatics"

• American Nursing Informatics Association: ANIA; a professional organization which aims "to advance the field of nursing informatics through communication, education, research and professional activities"

• American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors: ASCLD; a volunteer not-for-profit organization "dedicated to providing excellence in forensic science through leadership and innovation"

• American Society of Health Informatics Managers: ASHIM; "a non-governmental organization that acts in public interest by fostering professional standards in health IT professionals through its setting and enforcement of the education, examination, experience, ethics, and other requirements for CHISP certification"

• American Telemedicine Association: ATA; a non-profit organization dedicated to "promoting the deployment of telemedicine throughout the world"

• ANSI National Accreditation Board: ANAB; "a non-governmental organization that provides accreditation services and training to public- and private-sector organizations, serving the global marketplace," including laboratories. The ASCLD Laboratory Accreditation Board was merged into ANAB.

• Armenian Association of Telemedicine: AATM; a non-governmental, non-profit professional organization "interested in exploring and developing the field of telemedicine and eHealth in Armenia as well as worldwide"

• Association for Information Science and Technology: ASIS&T; a professional association which aims to discover "new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information"

• Association for Information Systems: AIS; a non-profit organization and "professional association for individuals and organizations who lead the research, teaching, practice, and study of information systems worldwide"

• Association of Clinical Scientists: a non-profit scientific and educational corporation "dedicated to the advancement of research and learning in laboratory science"

• Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems: AMDIS; a "professional organization for physicians interested in and responsible for healthcare information technology"

• Association of Public Health Laboratories: APHL; a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization promoting public health laboratories

• Australasian College of Health Informatics: ACHI; a "professional body for health informatics in the Asia-Pacific region"

• Australasian Telehealth Society: ATHS; an incorporated association that acts as "a forum for all of those involved in telehealth in Australia"

• Australian Health Informatics Education Council: AHIEC; a professional organization which aims to "ensure a coherent, comprehensive approach to quality health informatics education and training in Australia"

• Automation and Analytical Management Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry: AAMG; a special interest group of the analytical division of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

• Belgian Medical Informatics Association: MIM; a not-for-profit association which aims "to promote and develop medical information science and technology in Belgium"

• BioInfoBank Institute: a non-for-profit research and development organization which aims "to generate, incubate and inspire innovative ideas" and "productive research conducted by highly motivated excellent young scientists in Poland"

• Bioinformatics Institute of India: BII; registered under the Confrere Educational Society, aims "to promote excellence in biotech, life sciences and pharma education"

• Bioinformatics Organization: an incorporated non-profit organization which aims to "develop and maintain computational resources to facilitate world-wide communications and collaborations between people of all educational and professional levels"

• British Computer Society Health: BCS; an international organization actings as "the chartered institute for IT;" aims "to promote new thinking, education and knowledge sharing" in the industry

• British Computer Society Health Scotland : the Scottish branch of the BCS

• Canadian Health Information Management Association : CHIMA; a national membership-based organization which aims to act as a "change leader in health information management"

• Canadian Nursing Informatics Association: CNIA; a national membership-based organization which aims "to be the voice for nursing informatics in Canada"

• Child Health Informatics Center: CHIC; an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) effort "to support and prepare pediatricians for the many changes that will be occurring over the next few years in regard to health information technology"

• Chinese Health Information Standardization Society: CHISS; "a national academic organization of China engaged in producing and advocating the adoption of national standards relevant to health information"

• Clinical Informatics Research and Development: CIRD; "responsible for leading the development of clinical systems strategy for Partners Healthcare"

• College of Healthcare Information Management Executives: CHIME; a non-profit "professional organization for chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders"

• Commission on Office Laboratory Accreditation: COLA; "an independent, non-profit accreditor whose education program and standards enable clinical laboratories and staff to meet U.S. CLIA and other regulatory requirements"

• Computers in Cardiology: an incorporated non-profit and international society of scientists and professionals focused on examining the "methods and results of computation" in the study and application of cardiology and cardiovascular physiology

• Council on Clinical Information Technology: COCIT; an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) sub-group dedicated "to support the development of health information technology"

• Czech Society for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics: ČLS; a voluntary independent association of "physicians, pharmacists and other personnel in healthcare and affiliated fields" and other entities

• Czech Society for Cybernetics and Informatics: CSKI; a society focused on the "support and promotion of cybernetics, informatics and related fields"

• Digital Health Canada: DHC; a professional association dedicated to advancing the field of health informatics (formerly known as COACH: Canada's Health Informatics Association)

E through J

• Ear-Nose-Throat Informatics Society: ENTIS-J; a Japanese society dedicated to information management in the ENT field

• eHealth Initiative: eHI; a national organization attempting "to drive improvement in the quality of healthcare by promoting the use of technology and information"

• EMBnet - The Global Bioinformatics Network: EMBnet; an initiative of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) that acts as "a pioneer and a provider of bioinformatics services, expertise and training, across Europe and beyond"

• Emergency Informatics Association: EIA; "to propose, track, publish, and promote projects in the emergency informatics domain in support of the EIA vision"

• Eucomed: a membership-based European association attempting "to make modern, innovative and reliable medical technology available to more people"

• European Federation for Medical Informatics: EFMI; "a nonprofit organisation concerned with the theory and practice of information science and technology within health and health science in a European context"

• European Health Telematics Association: EHTEL; "a pan European multi-stakeholder forum providing a leadership and networking platform for European corporate, institutional and individual actors dedicated to the betterment of healthcare delivery through eHealth"

• European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics: ERCIM; a consortium that "aims to foster collaborative work within the European research community and to increase co-operation with European industry"

• European Society for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: AIME; attempts to "foster fundamental and applied research in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to medical care and medical research"

• EUROREC Institute: "an independent not-for-profit organisation, promoting in Europe the use of high quality electronic health record systems (EHRs)"

• FHI360-SATELLIFE: a non-profit organization dedicated "to play[ing] a leadership role in responding to the needs of health care providers in the developing world, employing cutting-edge solutions to expand access to health and medical knowledge"

• Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society:FHTS; an Indian association of "professionals from diverse backgrounds" attempting "to work in collaboration and to utilize accessible technologies as a medium to facilitate improvement in overall population health"

• Global Observatory for eHealth: GOE; a WHO-backed initiative "dedicated to the study of eHealth [and] its evolution and impact on health in countries"

• Global Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education & Training: GOBLET; a European coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated "to coordinate world-wide bioinformatics training activities" in a shared and mutually respectful way

• Health Informatics in Africa: HELINA; a pan-African health informatics association dedicated to developing education, research, and strategic plans related to health informatics in Africa

• Health Informatics New Zealand: HINZ; a professional association that "seeks to facilitate improved health care outcomes through the dissemination and utilisation of information, knowledge and technology"

• Health Informatics Society of Australia: HISA; "a not-for-profit membership organisation for health informaticians and those with an interest in health informatics"

• Health Information Management Association Australia: HIMAA; an association turned national company that "seeks to promote and support [its] members as the universally recognised specialists in information management at all levels of the healthcare system"

• Health Level Seven International: HL7; "a not-for-profit, ANSI-accredited standards developing organization dedicated to providing a comprehensive framework and related standards for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information that supports clinical practice and the management, delivery, and evaluation of health services"

• Health On the Net Foundation: HON; a non-governmental organization that "promotes and guides the deployment of useful and reliable online health information, and its appropriate and efficient use"

• Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland: HISI; incorporates the Healthcare Informatics sections of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland and of the Irish Computer Society; strives to develop knowledge and promote research in healthcare informatics

• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society: HIMSS; a "not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare"

• HIMSS EHR Association: HIMSS EHRA; "a trade association of electronic health record (EHR) companies, addressing national efforts to create interoperable EHRs in hospital and ambulatory care settings"

• IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society: IEEE EMBS; an international society of biomedical engineers "focused on the development and application of engineering concepts and methods to provide new solutions to biological, medical and healthcare problems"

• IEEE Technology Management Council: IEEE TMC; an international organization that "provides information and services to IEEE members and the worldwide audience of practitioners and researchers engaged in the profession of engineering, technology, and innovation management"

• IHE International: IHE; "an initiative by healthcare professionals and industry to improve the way computer systems in healthcare share information"

• IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics: an extension of IMS Health dedicated "to strengthen the vital role of information in advancing healthcare globally"

• Indian Association for Medical Informatics: IAMI; an Indian association dedicated to medical specialists using informatics "into a common thread for the benefit of the patients and provoking an interdisciplinary research"

• Information Institute, The: a non-profit policy research and educational organization comprised of academics and industry representatives dedicated "to further[ing] understanding of intricate relationships between information science and technology"

• Initiative for Parallel Bioinformatics: IPAB; a Japanese initiative to accelerate the use of technology for performing information processing in the field of bioinformatics

• Institute for Laboratory Automation: ILA; a non-profit corporation dedicated to "helping people learn how to plan, implement, evaluate and use the products technologies available to them" in the laboratory and beyond

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: IEEE; a "professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity"

• Institute of Electronic and Information Technology: IEIT; "an independent academic organization specializing in providing high-quality academic services"

• Institute of Health Records & Information Management: IHRIM; an educational body dedicated "to provide qualifications at different levels as well as career and professional assistance for members" from "the fields of health records, information management, clinical coding and information governance"

• International Council on Archives: ICA; a non-governmental, member-funded organization "dedicated to the effective management of records and the preservation, care and use of the world's archival heritage"

• International Council on Medical and Care Compunetics: ICMCC; "an international foundation operating as the knowledge centre for medical and care compunetics ... making information on medicine and care available to patients using compunetics as well as distributing information on the use of compunetics in medicine and care to patients and professionals"

• International Federation for Information Processing: IFIP; "a non-governmental, non-profit umbrella organization for national societies working in the field of information processing"

• International Federation of Health Information Management Associations: IFHIMA; a non-profit organization affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a non-governmental organization that "supports national associations and health record professionals to implement and improve health records and the systems which support them"

• International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation: IHTSDO; the not-for-profit association that owns and maintains SNOMED CT, a comprehensive and multilingual set of clinical terminology

• International Medical Informatics Association: IMIA; an "association of associations" which acts as a bridge between constituent organizations and their members to better "enable the transformation of healthcare in accord with the world-wide vision of improving the health of the world population"

• International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories: ISBER; a division of the American Society for Investigative Pathology, "promoting harmonized high quality standards, ethical principles and innovation in the science and management of biospecimen collection, processing, storage, distribution and use"

• International Society for Clinical Biostatistics: ISCB; a professional organization dedicated "to [stimulating] research into the principles and methodology used in the design and analysis of clinical research and to increase the relevance of statistical theory to the real world of clinical medicine"

• International Society for Computational Biology: ISCB; a non-profit corporation "addressing scientific policies, providing access to high quality publications, organizing meetings, and serving as a portal to information about training, education, employment and news" for those in the field of bioinformatics and computational biology

• International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering: ISPE; an international society of scientific and technical personnel in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, "committed to the advancement of the educational and technical efficiency of its members through forums for the exchange of ideas and practical experience"

• IZIP - Internet Access to Patient Health Information: IZIP; a Czech organization promoting electronic health records

• Japan Association for Medical Informatics: JAMI; a Japanese professional association dedicated to sharing academic research related to medical informatics

• Japan Association for Medical Informatics - Nursing Informatics: JAMI-NI; the JAMI subcommittee on nursing informatics

• Japan Society for Clinical Laboratory Automation: a Japanese professional association dedicated to promoting clinical automation for the benefit and preservation of the health of the people

• Japan Society of Health Information Management: JHIM; a Japanese scientific organization dedicated to "establishing, implementing, and promoting the science of health information (record) management in Japan" ([ http://www.jhim.jp/ original Japanese site])

• Japanese Society for Bioinformatics: JSBi; a Japanese professional association dedicated "to develop[ing] the discipline of bioinformatics in Japan" as well as "the promotion of the technology and related business" aspects of bioinformatics

• Japanese Society of Drug Informatics: JASDI; a Japanese professional association dedicated to "contributing to the improvement and advancement [of] pharmaceutical medicine ... as well as the improvement of science education and research on drug information"

• JISC: a registered U.K. charity dedicated to promoting "the innovative use of information and communication technology to support education, research and institutional effectiveness"

K through Z

• Kenya Health Informatics Association: KeHIA; a professional association dedicated "to further[ing] the health and biomedical agenda in Kenya to support the government's initiatives to improve and sustain quality health services for all Kenyans"

• KDD: a sub-group of the Association for Computing Machinery, promoting the "advancement and adoption of the 'science' of knowledge discovery and data mining"

• Laboratory Robotics Interest Group LRIG; a "special interest group focused on laboratory automation"

• Markle Foundation: a private foundation with the goal of helping others "realize the potential of information technology to address previously intractable public problems, for the health and security of all Americans"

• Medical Computer Society of India: MCSI; a professional society dedicated to promoting the use of computer technology to better patient outcomes

• Medical Library Association: MLA; a nonprofit, educational organization "committed to educating health information professionals, supporting health information research, [and] promoting access to the world's health sciences information"

• Medical Software Industry Association: MSIA; a membership-based professional association representing "the interests of the Australian commercial software industry which develops, supplies and services information management products and services for healthcare practitioners, healthcare service providers and healthcare organisations"

• Middle East Association for Health Informatics: MEAHI; a not-for-profit organization "trying to use regional as well as global potentials to provide a collaborative environment, in which requirements are discussed, solutions are provided, and resources are allocated to tackle healthcare issues of this vulnerable part of the world"

• National Academies: a collection of U.S. "private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world," including sciences, engineering, medicine, and research

• National Association of Health Data Organizations: NADHO; a U.S. "non-profit membership and educational association dedicated to improving health care data collection and use"

• National Institutes of Health Informatics: NIHI; a Canadian not-for-profit corporation "dedicated to fostering health informatics (HI) innovation, research and education"

• National Medical Information Education: NMIE; a national project dedicated to putting a prominent focus on the clinical application and teaching specifications of medical informatics, technical medical vocational skills, and clinical IT systems

• The NELAC Institute: TNI; a "non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality through an open, inclusive, and transparent process that is responsive to the needs of the community"

• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations: NDLTD; "an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations"

• Nursing Specialist Group: NSG; a British Computer Society-related "U.K. organisation for nurses and therapists interested in the management and use of information and communications technology to improve the quality, delivery and recording of care"

• Ontario Nursing Informatics Group: ONIG; a professional group attempting "to provide a forum for nursing professionals to communicate and disseminate current developments in health care information systems"

• OpenClinical: "a not-for-profit organisation created and maintained as a public service," promoting tools, methodologies, "and other knowledge management technologies in patient care and clinical research"

• openEHR Foundation: a not-for-profit company that develops specification, clinical model, and other medical programs and also supports health informatics education

• OSCAR Canada Users' Society: OCUS; a not-for-profit society dedicated to promoting the education and use of OSCAR, "a suite of open-source applications including an electronic medical record"

• Public Health Informatics Institute: PHII; a non-profit organization acting "as a neutral convener of public health professionals and their stakeholders, transforming health practitioners' ability to apply information effectively in order to improve health outcomes worldwide"

• Public Library of Science: PLOS; a not-for-profit "publisher, membership, and advocacy organization with a mission to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication"

• Red Internacional de Enfermería Informática: RIEI, translates to International Network of Nursing Informatics; an international association of nurses and other professionals from Latin American and Caribbean countries seeking "the voluntary development and exchange of experience, information, and knowledge" related to the field of nursing informatics

• Regenstrief Institute: RI; an informatics and healthcare research organization dedicated to "improving quality of care, increasing efficiency of healthcare delivery, preventing medical errors and enhancing patient safety"

• Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition: SPARC; "an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to correct imbalances in the scholarly publishing system"

• SIGCOMM: a special interest group of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) dedicated to finding answers to "systems engineering and architectural questions surrounding computer communication"

• Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening: SLAS; "a global organization that exists to provide forums for education and information exchange to encourage the study of, and improve the science and practice of, laboratory automation and screening"

• Sowerby Centre for Health Informatics at Newcastle: SCHIN; a not-for-profit company in the Clarity Informatics Group that leads many health informatics initiatives for the NHS in the U.K.

• Swedish Association of Health Informatics: SFMI; a professional association that strives "to promote the development of informatics in health care ,in particular through the organization of meetings with scientific lectures and discussions"

• Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics: SIB; an academic, non-profit foundation that "coordinates research and education in bioinformatics throughout Switzerland and provides high quality bioinformatics services to the national and international research community"

• UK Council for Health Informatics Professions: UKCHIP; a "voluntary registration body for health informatics professionals, established to promote professionalism in health informatics and the certification of those who work in the profession"

• Ukrainian Association for Computer Medicine: UACM; an independent non-governmental non-commercial organization dedicated to furthering the use of computers and other technology in medicine

• University hospital Medical Information Network: UMIN; "a cooperative organization for national medical schools in Japan"

• URAC: an independent, nonprofit organization "promoting health care quality through its accreditation, education and measurement programs"

• Vancouver Bioinformatics Users Group: VanBUG; "an association of researchers, other professionals and students in the B.C. Lower Mainland who have an interest in the field of bioinformatics"

• Workflow Management Coalition: WfMC; "a global organization of adopters, developers, consultants, analysts, as well as university and research groups engaged in workflow and BPM"

Defunct organizations

These organizations used to exist but appear to no longer operate:

• Association for Informatics Professionals in Health and Social Care: ASSIST; "a professional association for those working in and for informatics in healthcare and social care"
• Center for Health IT at the AAFP: aims "to promote and facilitate the adoption and optimal use of health information technology by [American Academy of Family Physicians] members and other office-based clinicians"
• Chinese Hospital Information Management Association: CHIMA; "a branch of the Chinese Hospital Association, a non-profit national industry and academic association focused on Health IT"
• Collaborative Research Into Exascale Systemware, Tools, & Applications: CRESTA; a coalition of supercomputing centers, vendors, and more aiming to "explore how the exaflop challenge can be met"