“What is IAIMS ?” I'm sure most of you have been asked that question. The most frequent response starts by saying that “I” stands for Integrated and “A” stands for advanced. It is interesting to visit different places and look at IAIMSs. In some ways, IAIMSs are the same everywhere, and, in other ways, they are very different as they take on some of the personalities of their home institutions. An IAIMS is a commitment. It is a connectivity of resources, people, and things. The IAIMS is a blender, bringing together implementers, builders, users, and supporters. The IAIMS itself is people, technology, and philosophy. It is both visual and visionary. One of the things that is most important about IAIMSs is excitement, and you are going to hear a lot about that today.
I recently looked through a report from the first IAIMS consortium meeting, which took place in Durham, North Carolina, in 1989. 1 People from six institutions came together with the stated purpose of sharing ideas, experiences, and resources. Bill Stead set the stage this morning. He has had the unique experience of going through the IAIMS process twice—being the principal investigator of the IAIMS grant at Duke University, and then moving to Vanderbilt and restarting the process there. We have the opportunity to look back at what he did while looking at what he is currently doing. The comparison is quite interesting. Vanderbilt has introduced a concept that will be reflected a great deal in the future, the model for a fast-track approach.
References
- 1.Stead WW, Roderer N, Zimmerman JL. Successful principles for collaboration : formation of the IAIMS consortium. Acad Med. 1991. : 66 ; 196-201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]