Reed Gardner, Ph.D Closed Now

Dr. Reed M. Gardner is an American biomedical informatician and one of the early pioneers in clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and electronic medical records (EMRs). He dedicated the majority of his career to the University of Utah, where he was a central figure in developing one of the world’s most influential hospital information systems.

Trained in biomedical engineering and informatics, Dr. Gardner joined the Department of Medical Informatics at the University of Utah and became a collaborator in the HELP system (Health Evaluation through Logical Processing). The HELP system, developed in partnership with LDS Hospital (Intermountain Healthcare), became a landmark in clinical informatics by demonstrating how computers could be integrated into clinical workflows to assist physicians in diagnosis, treatment decisions, and patient monitoring.

As a professor and later Chair of the Department of Medical Informatics at the University of Utah, Dr. Gardner helped train a generation of leaders in biomedical informatics. His work emphasized the importance of integrating clinical data, health outcomes, and real-time decision support into hospital systems. Many of today’s widely used EMR platforms trace their conceptual roots to the innovations developed under Gardner’s leadership.

Beyond his contributions in system development, Dr. Gardner was an active voice in the professionalization of biomedical informatics. He was deeply involved with the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), where he served in leadership roles, and he contributed significantly to advancing education and research in the field.

Through decades of research, teaching, and leadership, Dr. Gardner’s impact on health data systems continues to be felt. His pioneering vision of data-driven healthcare has become the foundation of modern health IT and clinical informatics.