Dr. Tamara Sunbul

• Renowned for delivering transformative initiatives, including HIMSS Stage 7 EMRAM, KLAS Pinnacle Award, CHIME Most Wired Level 9, and pioneering telemedicine strategies, AI integration, and data governance enhancements.

  An expert in healthcare informatics, value-based care, population health, personalized medicine, risk management, and global collaborations. A recognized global thought leader and changemaker, shaping global health policies through roles with UNECE and GDHP. Accomplished international keynote speaker and advocate for integrating healthcare and digital technology to redefine healthcare paradigms and drive operational excellence.

Recent Professional Expertise

Medical Director of Clinical Informatics – Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia  –  March 2007 – December 2024

• Health Informatics:
• Led the successful rollout and optimization of EMR systems (SAP & Epic), overseeing all phases of Epic implementation, including conceptualization, development, and execution. Achieved HIMSS Stage 6 and Stage 7 certifications, KLAS Pinnacle Award, and CHIME Most Wired Level 9 for Physician EMR Experience within weeks of go-live.
• Managed compliance with CBAHI and JCIA standards, contributed strategic guidance as part of JHAH’s IT Steering and Utilization Committees, and directed digital health projects, including integrating third-party systems and deploying telemedicine solutions for virtual care.
• Developed and implemented patient and staff engagement platforms as part of the Person-Centered Care Committee, which contributed to the successful Planetree accreditation. Led the design and deployment of telemedicine solutions, such as virtual wards and CHF programs.
• Spearheaded IT disaster recovery planning and execution, initiated process improvement projects, and conducted HIMSS assessments, enhancing JHAH’s global reputation in health informatics and optimizing clinical workflows.

• Data Science, Analytics, and Visualization:

• Directed compliance initiatives, implementing Saudi PDPL guidelines, conducting gap analyses for NDMO, and developing data protection strategies. Led the creation of AI governance frameworks for ethical use of AI technologies in diagnostics and decision support.
• Chaired the Data and Documentation Governance Committee (DDGC), overseeing data lifecycle management, coding standards, and change control processes.
• Established and chaired the Data Trust Committee, introducing robust data governance policies and report standardization practices.
• Led the development of JHAH’s data strategy, conducted assessments and gap analyses in collaboration with consulting firms, and implemented a comprehensive data warehousing initiative.
• Standardized data definitions in alignment with best practices (NQA, HEDIS, Adaa) and led performance reporting using Power BI and Epic’s analytics tools, driving actionable insights and organizational performance measurement.
• Championed the integration with NPHEIS (Saudi HIE), collaborating with the Saudi Health Council on interoperability standards.
• Developed digital platforms for capturing and analyzing Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROM) and Experience Measures (PREM), embedding them into care policies to enhance patient-centric services.
• Led data governance and legal compliance efforts, creating data maps, RACI charts, and policies, while collaborating with legal and clinical teams to ensure accurate reporting and robust data management frameworks.

• Population Health, Value Based Care, and Personalized Medicine
• Designed and implemented initiatives focused on population health, using data analytics for risk stratification, care gap analysis, and proactive care management.
• Established integrated care pathways aimed at improving cost efficiency and patient outcomes, facilitating the shift to value-based care models.
• Developed strategies that combine genomic and clinical data to create personalized treatment approaches, advancing precision medicine.
• Contributed significantly to the Population Health Steering Committee, overseeing digital health solutions, including registries, workflows, care scoring, and program performance management.
• Reviewed and adjusted payment systems to align with risk and performance-based metrics, ensuring the financial sustainability of population health and value-based care programs.

Additional Roles and Leadership Contributions

Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) – Chair, Evidence & Evaluation Workstream                                                                          March 2022 – Present

• Chaired the GDHP Evidence and Evaluation Workstream, leading the development of evidence-based frameworks and guidelines for assessing digital health technologies, emphasizing scalability, equity, interoperability, and ROI, advancing evidence-based strategies for digital health adoption globally.

International Digital Health Workforce Development Association (ZIMAM) – Co-founder and Partnership Lead                            March 2023 – Present

• Co-founded ZIMAM to address global workforce challenges, with a focus on capacity building in emerging markets. This includes Establishing partnerships with international organizations to align workforce initiatives with global digital health priorities, address skill gaps & foster collaboration.
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Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) – Chair, HIMMS Middle East Community Steering Committee & HIMSS Analytics Maturity Surveyor                                                                                                                                                                                                                        January 2020 – Present

• Directed strategic initiatives fostering collaboration & advancing digital health innovation.
• Evaluated healthcare organizations’ digital maturity for EMRAM and AMAM certifications, ensuring alignment with HIMSS standards
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United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) – Core Drafting Team Member – Digital Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)       2023 – 2024

• Authored the digital health segment of the international policy guidance for digital transformation projects within the public-private partnership (PPP) framework “Guidelines on Public-Private Partnerships in Digital Infrastructure: Diagnostics in Healthcare (Telemedicine) and Other Digital Public Services,”, emphasizing sustainable and inclusive digital healthcare solutions.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) – Drafting Team Member – UNECE Guide on Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through PPPs for the SDGs                                                                                                                                                           February 2024 – Current

• Contributed to the UNECE Guide, addressing women’s underrepresentation in PPPs and promoting intelligent quotas and training programs with actionable recommendations and included case studies to highlight best practices across sectors.