Morris Collen, MD, founding director of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente's Department of Medical Methods Research and one of the earliest leaders in the medical informatics field, passed away Saturday at the age of 100.
Dr. Collen began exploring the use of computers in medicine in the 1960s, predicting the computer would have "the greatest technological impact on medical science since the invention of the microscope." His work led to the creation of Kaiser Permanente's first patient records database and EHR system, spurring the organization's early work in medical informatics and population health research.
"His vision, particularly around technology and informatics, truly moved our nation forward much more rapidly," Robert Pearl, MD, executive director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, told the San Jose Mercury News. "One could say there are people alive today that would not be alive had Morris Collen not made the contributions he had over his career.''
One of Dr. Collen's most recent projects was the creation of a national research database that would aggregate all 13 million patient records in the Kaiser Permanente network. "I'm most proud of being able to have been a part of the current electronic patient record that we have," he said in a Kaiser Permanente video marking his 100th birthday, according to the Mercury News. "If you ask me what's the most remarkable part of my life, I just feel I was the luckiest person.''
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