The principal of Dak Systems Consulting, Deborah Kohn, has thirty years of healthcare provider organization management and information technology experience. This includes several years in hospital management positions, in systems design and marketing positions with one of the nation's leading suppliers of healthcare information systems, and in information technology advisory and strategy consulting.

Since founding Dak in 1985, Ms. Kohn has earned a national reputation for her expertise in strategically architecting component technologies of Electronic Health Record systems. She has published numerous articles on healthcare delivery and information systems. Also, she is a sought-after speaker on EHR systems as they relate to health information exchange initiatives, document management technology, diagnostic image management technology, Internet technologies, and other healthcare information technology applications.

Ms. Kohn is a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) with undergraduate degrees from The Ohio State University and a graduate degree from UCLA in Health Services and Hospital Administration.

She is board certified in healthcare management and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). She is certified in healthcare information systems (a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems - CPHIMS) and a Fellow of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). She is an active member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the Association for Information and Image Management International (AIIM).

In 1995 Ms. Kohn received AHIMA's prestigious CPR Advancement Award for her efforts in promoting and implementing component technologies of Computer-based Patient Record systems. In 2007 Deborah received AHIMA's prestigious eHIM Triumph Award for her efforts in "pushing the envelope" in the transition to electronic health information management and advancing the "state-of-the-art" through her work. At AIIM Ms. Kohn was a member of the Emerging Technology Advisory Group (EmTAG) and is a recipient of AIIM's Master and Laureate of Information Technology designations, recognizing achievement in the area of document management.

Currently Deborah serves as a Senior Editorial Associate on the editorial advisory board of Healthcare Information Technology Strategies Newsletter, and she served on the editorial advisory board of Healthcare Intranet Report.

Deborah serves on several AHIMA and HIMSS committees and is a member of AIIM / ASTM's PDF Healthcare Working Group. For two years Deborah served as a "resource" to CalRHIO, the umbrella organization bringing together common governance, operational process, technology, and financing elements required for forming and sustaining RHIOs in California. From 1998-2001, Deborah served on the State of California's Committee to Advance Patient Safety, Privacy and Care. Currently she serves on the State of California's Privacy and Security Advisory Board (CalPSAB) as a member of CalPSAB's Security Committee.

General Information

Deborah has over 25 years of direct experience with departmental and enterprise-wide healthcare information systems. She has evaluated and assisted in the planning of well over 100 healthcare information systems. As such, she is an expert in the full range of project requirements for acquiring, implementing, and maintaining healthcare information technologies.

Deborah is thoroughly knowledgeable in the capabilities offered by the information technology solution vendors for the healthcare industry. This ensures that project undertakings are practical, properly timed, reasonable in scope, and attainable. In addition, Deborah has the passion and patience to support successful healthcare information technology initiatives. Her ability to collaborate and teach as well as her well-developed leadership skills provide strong project foundations for her clients.

She was the founder of both the national patient medical record and patient financial record Document Imaging Users Groups. These groups promote the exchange of implementation information among users of Electronic Document Management Systems in healthcare organizations.

Deborah has been quoted in numerous articles and publications.