iHEALTH ALLIANCE

Nancy Dickey, M.D.
Chair, iHealth Alliance
President, Texas A&M Health Science Center
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Texas A&M University System
Former President, American Medical Association, 1998-99

Dr. Nancy Wilson Dickey currently serves as president of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. Prior to her appointment as president, Dr. Dickey served as interim dean of the College of Medicine from June 2000 until December 31, 2001. She took office as HSC president on January 1, 2002. Dr. Dickey is a past president of the American Medical Association, the founding program director of the Family Practice Residency of the Brazos Valley and professor of Family and Community Medicine at the A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

In addition to serving as president of the AMA in 1998-1999, Dr. Dickey has participated in numerous other professional organizations, from the American Academy of Family Physicians and Texas Academy of Family Physicians to the Texas Medical Association. Among Dr. Dickey’s many honors are recognitions by the Texas Society of Pathologists, the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and five honorary doctoral degrees, including a Doctor of Science from the University of Massachusetts and a Doctor of Laws from the Medical College of
Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Dickey earned her undergraduate degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, followed by her M.D. in 1976 from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where she was a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. From 1987 to 1990, she was on the National Institutes of Health’s Advisory Council on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and in 2003 she was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Dickey has also been an active editorial advisor and reviewer for a number of professional publications and has contributed to general-interest periodicals as well. Currently, she serves as editor in chief of Medem, an Internet-based patient education company. Medem is a partnership of the AMA, medical specialty societies and several state associations. She has served as a reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and on the editorial advisory boards of Patient Care, Medical World News, Medical Ethics Advisor and Archives of
Family Medicine. She also is a frequent speaker at professional and civic organizations around the country.

Edward Langston, M.D.
Former Chair
American Medical Association

Dr. Edward L. Langston, a family physician in private practice in Lafayette, Ind., has been a member of the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees (BOT) since June 2003. In June 2007 he began serving as chair of the AMA-BOT for 2007-2008. He has served in the AMA House of Delegates since 1987, as alternate delegate and then delegate from Indiana. Most recently, he served as alternate delegate and delegate of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Also within the AMA, he has been a member and chair of the Specialty and Service Society, and a member of the Council on Medical Education (1997-2003).

Dr. Langston was chair of the Commission on Legislation and a member of the board of trustees of the Indiana State Medical Association before moving to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, where he was a family practice program director and associate professor (1993-1996). In 1996 Dr. Langston moved to Illinois to serve as vice president of medical affairs and medical education for the Trinity Regional Health System in Rock Island. Nominated by the Illinois Medical Society and appointed by the governor, Dr. Langston served on the state Medicaid Prescription Drug Advisory Committee until returning to Indiana in 2000.

Dr. Langston has been actively involved in his specialty-as president of the Indiana Academy of Family Physicians, as a member of the AAFP board of directors (1991-1993) and as vice president of the AAFP (1994). He was also chair of the AAFP delegation to the AMA (1999-2002).

Dr. Langston has served his other profession, pharmacy, as a member of the board of trustees of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (1995-2000). Currently he is an affiliate assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. After moving to Lafayette in 2000, Dr. Langston was appointed coordinator for the Lafayette Medical Education Foundation in 2001. He serves as part-time faculty at the Community Hospital Family Practice residency program, where he was previously director (1988-1992). He also served on the board of directors of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (1998-2003). Since January 2005, he has served on the board of commissioners of the Joint Commission.

Dr. Langston received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, medicine's honor society. He completed a family practice residency program at St. Mary's Graduate Medical Center in Evansville, Ind., and is board-certified in family medicine. He earned his BS degree in pharmacy from Purdue University.

Dr. Langston and his wife, Linda, have two daughters, three granddaughters and two grandsons.

David Troxel, M.D.
Medical Director
The Doctors Company

Dr. David B. Troxel is Medical Director of The Doctors Company, the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurance company. He also serves on the Board of Governors of The Doctors Company. Dr Troxel practiced pathology for 35 years in Concord, CA where he served as president of the Medical Staff at Mt Diablo Medical Center and as a member of the John Muir-Mt Diablo Health System Board.

He is Clinical Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley where he taught Principles of Human Pathology in the UCB-UCSF Joint Medical Program. He was a Trustee of The American Board of Pathology from 1994-2003 and served as board president in 2002.

Based on his experience as a reviewer of medical malpractice claims, Dr Troxel has published extensively on pathology risk management issues, particularly those relating to surgical pathology and cytology. He has spoken frequently at national specialty society meetings and university-sponsored educational programs and grand rounds. He has served on the editorial advisory boards of Cancer Cytopathology and the International Journal of Surgical Pathology.

Dr Troxel received his undergraduate education at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL where he graduated with highest distinction in economics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from Northwestern University Medical School in 1962 where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He received his residency training in surgical pathology at the Mayo Clinic and is Board Certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology.

Frank Opelka, M.D, FACS
Vice-Chancellor of Clinical Affairs
Professor of Surgery
LSU Health Sciences Center

Dr. Frank Opelka serves as the Vice-Chancellor of Clinical Affairs and Professor of Surgery for LSU Health Sciences Center. Dr. Opelka joined LSU in the spring of 2005, returning to New Orleans after spending time in Boston at one of the Harvard affiliate hospitals. Dr. Opelka is a physician executive and a recognized national leader in patient-centric health care. He also has expertise in healthcare patient safety, quality improvement and health care finance.

As the Vice-Chancellor of Clinical Affairs, Dr. Opelka is the LSU Health Science Center's advocate for improving patients' for improving patients' health through the e-health record, the personal health record, and e-prescription program entitled, eRxNow. He serves as the national co-chair for the e-RxNow program in hopes of providing safe, effective patient medication prescriptions.

Dr. Opelka serves on several national committees working for the US Secretary for Health and Human Services and for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Opelka works closely with the National Quality Forum, the National Center for Quality Assurance, the AQA (the national physician quality alliance), the Surgical Quality Alliance, and the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Opelka has also served in academic medicine for over 20 years and has authored several scientific works involved with surgical care. He is a recognized expert in disease of the colon and rectum. He has received awards and recognition for his efforts throughout the United States.

Dr. Opelka conducts seminars in practice management, patient safety, and quality improvement. He has over one hundred regional and national presentations on a broad array of surgical and medical topics.

Janet Woodcock, M.D.
Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Dr. Woodcock has served FDA as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer.  In these roles, she oversaw scientific and medical regulatory operations.   

Dr. Woodcock served as Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research from 1994-2005.  She previously held other positions at FDA including Director, Office of Therapeutics Research and Review and Acting Deputy Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.   

Dr. Woodcock received her M.D. from Northwestern Medical School, and completed further training and held teaching appointments at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of California in San Francisco.  She joined FDA in 1986.

Timothy T. Flaherty, M.D.
Former Chair, Board of Trustees
American Medical Association

Timothy T. Flaherty is a board certified radiologist and a Fellow of the American College of Radiology. He is a founding director and Past Chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). He has been active in organized medicine at the local, state and national level serving on the AMA Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2003, Chair 2001-2002.  He is a past President of the Wisconsin Medical Society and the Wisconsin Radiologic Society.

He is a Clinical Professor of Radiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin and at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He is a member of the Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

He is a founding Director and Past Chairman of the Physician’s Insurance Company of Wisconsin.  He also serves on the Board of Wisconsin Physician’s Service Insurance Corporation (WPS).  He served as a Commissioner to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) from 1994 to December 2004.  He is a member of the HHS Secretary’s Council on Public Health Preparedness. 

He is a retired Major General of the United States Air Force.

Thomas E. Menighan, BS Pharm, MBA, ScD, FAPhA
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
American Pharmacists Association

Thomas E. Menighan is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Pharmacists Association, assuming this position in July 2009.  Menighan received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSPharm) in 1974 from West Virginia University School of Pharmacy, a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 1990 from Averett College and an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree in 2010 from the University of Charleston.  Prior to rejoining APhA, Mr. Menighan was founder and president of SynTegra Solutions Inc., in Germantown, Maryland. The company provides supply chain and chargeback auditing and consulting in risk management, 340B Systems, anti-counterfeiting, and the technology of medication information. Menighan founded SymRx, Inc., and developed CornerDrugstore.com©.

Throughout his career, Menighan has served volunteer roles within the profession of pharmacy, including president of APhA from 2001 to 2002 and as a member of the APhA Board of Trustees between 1995 and 2003. He was a senior staff member of APhA from 1987 to 1992. While on staff as Senior Director of External Affairs, he managed state affairs, public relations, new business development and practice management issues. Other professional experiences include management of the PharMark Corporation, creator of RationalMed©, and licensed systems for states to conduct Drug Utilization Review for millions of state Medicaid enrollees. Menighan also founded and was a 20-year Medicine Shoppe owner in Huntington, West Virginia, and is a partner in Pharmacy Associates, Inc., a multi-state specialty pharmacy that today serves patients in much of the United States.

Deborah Hiser
Attorney
Brown McCarroll, L.L.P.

Deborah Hiser has a masters degree in social work and a law degree from the University of Texas. Prior to law school she practiced as a psychiatric social worker in Austin, Texas. In 1981 she became worked as a plaintiff's civil rights attorney with Advocacy, Incorporated, in the position of senior attorney for the Mental Health program handling systemic class action litigation.
In 1994, Ms. Hiser went into private practice as a health care attorney representing physicians, consumers, health care entities and governmental agencies in regulatory health care matters. She has extensive experience in health care privacy laws, including HIPAA, and has represented consumers and health care providers in litigation, administrative hearings, and HIPAA complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights.

Ms. Hiser served as a member on the Texas Legislative Task Force on Privacy, and on the Texas Attorney General's HIPAA Preemption Analysis Task Force. She has spoken in Texas and nationally on HIPAA, privacy of medical records, health care regulatory matters and compliance with health care privacy laws. In addition, she assisted numerous physicians, hospitals, health care clinics, community mental health centers and nonprofit health care entities in developing HIPAA privacy and security policies.

Her current clients include the Indigent Care Collaboration, Austin's RHIO, Healthcare Access San Antonio, the San Antonio RHIO, numerous private health care providers, clinics, mental health centers, and a Houston Hospital. She serves on the Board of Peoples Community Clinic.

Ms. Hiser's second job is taking care of her twin 16 year old boys!

Alan Lembitz, M.D., M.M.M.
Vice President, Patient Safety and Risk Management
COPIC

Dr. Lembitz, VP COPIC Patient Safety and Risk Management since 2002, risk management physician consultant since 1999. Graduated UCHSC MD 1984; Family Medicine residency 1984-1987. Graduated Masters in Medical Management Carnegie Mellon University 2001

COPIC provides professional liability insurance and services to 6000 physicians in CO, 1000 physicians in NE, and nearly 50 hospitals. Primary interests include physician education, communication including disclosure of unanticipated outcomes, physician management, patient safety, coordination of professional risk management activities, and incident and claims review. Author of COPISCOPE since 1999. Responsibilities include oversight of the 3Rs early intervention program and its medical director, oversight of the Practice Quality initiative, oversight of seminar development and CME of over 450 annual seminars in CO and NE, and oversight of COPIC residency training rotation reaching over 160 residents annually.

National speaking engagements and presentations have included National Patient Safety Foundation, National ASHRM meeting, National PIAA annual and section meetings (Legal section, Marketing section, and Claims and Risk sections), CO and American Academy of Family Physicians, National RPA meeting, Hospital Insurance Forum annual meeting and Crittenden Medical Liability Annual conference. Board Certified, ABFP. Work experience includes mostly community based emergency departments and hospital or large group practice based urgent care facilities. Past experience as Regional Medical Director of Prudential Health Plan.

Married to Theresa Ann Clark, father of Breanna, 20,  Ryan, 16, and AJ and Pearce, twins born 2009.

Diane Pinakiewicz, MBA
President
National Patient Safety Foundation 

Diane Pinakiewicz is President of The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), where she has served on the Board of Directors since its inception in 1997, the first five years as an officer. Her commitment to patient safety stems from her many years in the healthcare industry where her business background has been focused on systems to improve patient care. Pinakiewicz has held the positions of Senior Director of the Strategic Health Care Leadership Unit at a major pharmaceutical company; Chief Administrative and Financial Officer at a disease management company which she led through an acquisition; Vice President of Managed Care Programs at a major hospital system; Senior Consultant focused on mergers and operational improvement at a health care consulting firm; Director of Marketing and Planning at a major for-profit hospital chain; and Executive in a major oncologic teaching hospital in New York. She holds many appointments nationally on governance committees for a variety of patient safety and quality initiatives.  She has been on the faculty of Harvard's program for Executives in Managed Care, and she has lectured extensively and published on patient safety, financial and organizational implications of managed care, value-based partnering in healthcare and internet strategies for pharmaceutical companies. Pinakiewicz holds an MBA and Sloan Certificate in Hospital and Healthcare administration from Cornell University and a BA from Mt. Holyoke.

Jeffrey E. Shuren became the director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2010. He previously served as Acting Center Director, beginning in September 2009. The center is responsible for assuring the safety, effectiveness, and quality of medical devices; assuring the safety of radiation-emitting products (such as cell phones and microwave ovens); and fostering device innovation.

"Our center experts and programs help get safe and effective technology to patients and health care professionals on a daily basis," says Dr. Shuren. "Rapid technological advances enable us to approve such innovations as a diagnostic test for the H1N1 influenza virus, an expandable prosthetic rib for children with abnormal growth conditions, and a test that can help detect ovarian cancer."

Dr. Shuren received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from Northwestern University under its Honors Program in Medical Education. He completed his medical internship at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, his neurology residency at Tufts New England Medical Center, and a fellowship in behavioral neurology and neuropsychology at the University of Florida. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Shuren has held various policy and planning positions within FDA from 1998 to 2009, including acting deputy commissioner for policy, planning, and budget; associate commissioner for policy and planning; special counsel to the principal deputy commissioner; assistant commissioner for policy; and medical officer in the Office of Policy.

Dr. Shuren has served in a leadership role at FDA or on behalf of the agency on numerous initiatives, including

    * reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee Act, which dramatically shortens review times for device applications
    * creation of the Sentinel Initiative, which works toward a national electronic system for monitoring medical product safety
    * development of FDA’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Strategic Plan
    * development of FDA’s Counterfeit Drug Task Force Report
    * development of the Interagency Food Safety Working Report to the President
    * implementation of FDA provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act
    * development and implementation of the Interagency Import Safety Working Group’s Report to the President: Action Plan for Import Safety

From 1999 to 2000, Dr. Shuren served as a detailee on Senator Edward Kennedy's staff on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. From 1998 to 2003, he also was a staff volunteer in the National Institutes of Health’s Cognitive Neuroscience Section where he supervised and designed clinical studies on human reasoning.

As director of the Division of Items and Devices, Coverage and Analysis Group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Shuren oversaw the development of Medicare national coverage determinations for drugs, biologics, and non-implantable devices.