2024 Healthcare Forum
Biographies of our Speakers
Kathleen Fear, PhD, Senior Director, Digital Health & AI and Director of Data & Analytics, Health Lab, UR Medicine
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Dr. Kathleen Fear is the Senior Director for Digital Health and AI at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She also serves as Director of Data & Analytics at the UR Health Lab, the health system's digital health incubator. Dr. Fear holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in information science from the University of Michigan School of Information, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Yale University.
Sara Fraser, CPC, CRC, CPC-I, Senior Director, Coding Operations & Strategic Development at Cognisight, LLC, and GRIPA
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With 19 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Sara is responsible for managing all aspects of Cognisight’s coding department. Working with a large Blues health plan prior to joining Cognisight, Sara played a variety of roles including provider coding education, managing HEDIS submissions, and overseeing risk adjustment vendor quality. Receiving her Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Brockport, Sara is a Certified Professional Coder, Certified Coding Instructor, and Certified Risk Adjustment Coder.
Kristina Haralambides, FNP-C, Lead Director Provider Informatics, UR Medicine
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Kristina has practiced clinically with UR Medicine’s Department of Otolaryngology for the past 10 years. As the Lead Director of UR Medicine’s Provider Informatics Team, she focuses on two main areas: Clinical Decision Support, aiming to reduce alert fatigue for providers, and AI documentation, with a goal of enhancing provider wellness by alleviating the heavy documentation burden that providers face.
Marielena Velez de Brown, MD, Commissioner of Public Health, Monroe County
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Dr. Marielena Vélez de Brown is the Commissioner of the Monroe County Department of Public Health and Medical Director at Starlight Pediatrics, a clinic dedicated to providing trauma-informed primary care to children involved with the Monroe County Child Protective Services. Trained in Family Medicine, she completed a General Preventive Medicine fellowship at the University of Rochester where she also obtained the Masters of Public Health. Board Certified in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, her professional interests include addressing health disparities by focusing on the social drivers of health, particularly for patients with Limited English Proficiency.
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