Announcement: Dr. Charles Safran Honored with IMIA François Grémy Award for Lifetime Achievement in International Medical Informatics

The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) has named Dr. Charles Safran, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and longtime faculty member at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as the recipient of the 2025 François Grémy Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medical Informatics.

This distinguished recognition honors Dr. Safran’s profound international contributions to the field of biomedical informatics, policy, and education. Notably, he is the first Harvard faculty member to be awarded both of the most prestigious lifetime honors in the field:

• The Morris F. Collen Award (2014) from the American College of Medical Informatics, for his transformative impact on informatics and healthcare in the United States.
• The François Grémy Award from IMIA, honoring his outstanding international leadership and pioneering contributions to medical informatics across the globe.

A Global Pioneer in Clinical Informatics

Dr. Safran has dedicated over four decades to advancing clinical informatics and improving patient care through technology and systems innovation. His most enduring contributions include:

• Creation of the Online Medical Record (OMR): Developed in the 1980s under his leadership, OMR became the electronic health record (EHR) system still used by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center today, supporting over a million patient visits annually. It served as a model for numerous commercial EHRs and influenced national policy through meaningful use incentives.
• Architect of a New Medical Subspecialty: As President and Chair of AMIA, Dr. Safran led the national campaign to establish Clinical Informatics as a recognized subspecialty. He played a central role in defining training requirements and helped launch the certification exam, becoming one of the first board-certified Clinical Informaticians in 2014.
• Trusted Advisor to Policymakers: Dr. Safran has testified before the U.S. Congress and advised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CDC on critical issues such as EHR interoperability, secondary use of health data, and public health surveillance.
• International Impact: He chaired IMIA Medinfo programs, led WHO consultations, and organized major conferences in Europe and Africa to harmonize global health data policies and promote health informatics in resource-limited settings. His leadership extended to countries including Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Switzerland.

Legacy of Mentorship and Innovation

A prolific investigator with more than two dozen NIH and international grants, Dr. Safran mentored over 30 informatics fellows who now lead major academic, healthcare, and industry institutions globally. His innovations include:

Career Accomplishments Summary

• Pioneering Clinical Informatics Leadership – Widely recognized as a global leader in medical informatics, Safran has built lasting bridges between clinicians, technologists, and policymakers to advance health IT worldwide.

• Foundational Contributions to AMIA and IMIA – Served in leadership roles within the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), influencing international health informatics policy and collaboration.

• International Capacity Building—Played a key role in developing HELINA, the African Chapter of IMIA, supporting the growth of health informatics in Africa and fostering a professional network across the continent.

• Innovation in Clinical Decision Support and Health IT —Lead pioneering work in clinical decision support systems and electronic health records, emphasizing user-centered design, workflow integration, and safe, effective use of patient data.

• Developer of Influential Health IT Systems –

  • ClinQuery: One of the earliest self-service clinical data retrieval systems for research and quality improvement.

  • CareWeb: One of the first web-based electronic health record, enabling secure access to patient data via the internet.

  • Baby CareLink: A telemedicine platform connecting neonatal intensive care units with parents and community providers.

  • InfoSAGE: A digital health platform supporting elder care coordination among families and healthcare providers.

• Mentorship and Collaboration—Collaborated with renowned leaders, mentoring new generations of health informaticians and supporting global research exchange.

• Global Health Engagement—Contributed to initiatives in developing countries through Geneva-based foundations and WHO-affiliated programs, helping bring medical knowledge and informatics tools to underserved regions.

• Human-Centered Approach: Advocate for diversity, openness, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in informatics, focusing on improving decision-making for clinicians and empowering healthcare teams.

• Scientific Editor: He also served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Medical Informatics for 20 years and held leadership roles in IMIA, AMIA, and WHO-related initiatives.

A Legacy That Transcends Borders

The François Grémy Award affirms Dr. Safran’s status as a global trailblazer who has not only shaped the foundations of clinical computing but also inspired an entire generation of informatics leaders. His vision—that technology should empower both clinicians and patients—remains a cornerstone of global digital health innovation.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Charles Safran on this extraordinary achievement.