James J. Cimino, M.D. Closed Now

James J. Cimino, M.D., is a pioneering physician–informatician internationally recognized for his work in clinical decision support, medical terminologies, and electronic health records (EHRs). His research has focused on building intelligent systems that enhance the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

Early in his career, Dr. Cimino collaborated with Edward H. Shortliffe and other pioneers in biomedical informatics to advance knowledge-based medical systems. He became a central figure in the development of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a foundational tool that allows interoperability among medical vocabularies. This work has been instrumental in enabling healthcare systems to share and analyze patient data consistently across institutions.

Dr. Cimino also co-developed the concept of the “infobutton”, an innovative feature in EHRs that provides clinicians with context-specific information at the point of care. This practical application of informatics principles is widely implemented today, supporting clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice.

Over the years, Cimino has held leadership roles in academic medicine and informatics research. He served as Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University and later became the inaugural Director of the Informatics Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). His scholarship continues to influence informatics education, data standards, and the integration of AI-driven decision-support systems into healthcare workflows.

Through his teaching and mentorship, Dr. Cimino has helped train a generation of biomedical informaticians, extending the legacy of Shortliffe and other early leaders. His work represents a bridge between medical knowledge representation and real-world clinical application.