Eric G. Poon, M.D., Hannah Galvin are 2003 Recipients of the Massachusetts Medical Society's Information Technology Award

Contact: Richard P. Gulla
rgulla@mms.org
781-434-7101
pager 877-820-9023

Waltham, Mass. -- Eric G. Poon, M.D. and Hannah Galvin have been named the 2003 recipients of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s annual Information Technology Award. The awards were presented at the Society’s Annual Meeting of its House of Delegates May 2 at the Hyatt Regency, Cambridge.

Awarded to one student and one intern, resident, or fellow from Massachusetts annually, the honor recognizes the creation of new information technology designed to assist physicians in the practice of medicine, teaching, or the pursuit of clinical research. Each award winner receives a $2,500 stipend.

Poon, who took honors in the intern/resident/fellow category, won for his design and implementation of a comprehensive electronic tool for outpatient test results.  The tool, called Results Manager (RM), allows clinicians to manage all outpatient test results from one place, acknowledge their receipt, and generate result letters and set reminders for follow-up with patients. RM has been released and will eventually serve the needs of 1,500 physicians in the Partners Healthcare Network. The program allows clinicians to meet the pressing needs of automated tracking of test results and efficient patient communication

Dr. Poon, serving in the division of General Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, was the software analyst, software designer, and project manager for the effort.  

Galvin, a student at Harvard Medical School, was honored for her project, entitled Child Abuse Internet Education Initiative, a comprehensive website to be used by providers, families, teens, and young children to gain information on child abuse and neglect and their specific role in addressing the problem.  The project was developed to educate and inform health care providers, who are mandated by law to report abuse and neglect, about how to recognize abuse and what to do if they suspect a child is in danger. 

Galvin has committed to using her award of $2,500 to put back into the project, to be used to pay for the translation of the website into Spanish to reach more families.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with 18,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians and patients of Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, the MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. The Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters, AIDS Clinical Care, and produces HealthNews, a consumer health publication.