The Institute of Medicine recently honored Medical School Prof. Don Detmer with the Walsh McDermott Medal. The medal, IOM spokesperson Christine Stencel said, is awarded for distinguished service to the Institute of Medicine for an extended period of time.
Detmer, who accepted her honor Oct. 12, has worked for 37 years on a variety of projects for the IOM. He chaired the board on health care services for eight years, during which time he was very involved in researching quality and safety. In 1991, he chaired a landmark study of how computers could be used in health care to take care of patients, the report for which turned out to be "fairly influential," said Detmer, who now chairs the IOM membership committee.
Stencel added that Detmer, whose "unusually long period of service" dates back to the 1970s, has contributed to the institute in many ways and that he "certainly deserves this recognition."
In addition to his contributions to IOM, Detmer has been very involved with public health programs at the University.
Detmer is a "visionary leader," Medical Prof. Robert Carey said, adding that the public health department he and Detmer started was one of the first of its kind in any American medical school.
"The structure and orientation of the department was quite innovative and forward-looking and has proven to be so," professor emeritus Robert Reynolds said. This department, originally known as Health Evaluation Sciences, uses information systems tools, epidemiology and statistics to focus on the management and analysis of health information.
Detmer also served as vice president and provost of health sciences, a position at which he was "clearly outstanding," Carey said.
Reynolds, who has worked closely with Detmer for about eight years, noted that Detmer is now recognized as an international expert in his field. His experiences in national and international development of information systems have helped to influence the Medical Center and specifically the health sciences department.
Detmer said he has had a wonderful career in teaching, research and administration at the University, while at the same time being able to contribute to national health policy. He stressed the effect that biomedical and health research policy's real impact on the lives of patients has had on his goals.
"Research does make a difference, [and] if you can't get to the information to do research, research doesn't happen," he said, adding that he is interested in both the need to obtain access to medical data and to take care of data responsibly.
Although his colleagues all seemed to think Detmer without a doubt deserved the award, he said he feels lucky and fortunate to be honored. "A lot of people do a lot of work [and] sometimes don't get recognized," he added.
Detmer will take part in the Miller Center's Health Reform Panel next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Monroe 130.
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