Awards

Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award-Distinguished Service Award - 2013

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 2006

About Carol A. Lewis

Medicine’s loss was medical records administration’s very fortunate gain: Carol Lewis began her university career as a pre-med student but was diverted to the new field of Medical Record Science. In 1953, she received her Bachelor of Science in Medical Record Library Science, and began her career as a medical record librarian at Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. She quickly relocated to Baltimore where she was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service. Her fluency in Spanish – she spent her early childhood in Guatemala – led Carol to a position in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), where she planned and organized medical records departments and organized and conducted training programs for health professionals.

After receiving a Masters of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, Carol worked internationally as a consultant in medical records for PAHO and the World Health Organization, among others. In 1980, Carol was appointed director of what is now known as the International Federation of Health Information Management Associations (IFHIMA), where she served in executive positions for many years. Throughout her career, she was instrumental in

establishing policy and training programs in medical records around the world. She has been recognized for her achievements by the U.S. Public Health Service, IFHIMA, and the American Health Information Management Association.

As a consultant, Carol has advised on the design of the medical record component of the national health information system and on numerous national disease registries. As a retiree, she offers health information management advice internationally through her work with the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization and addressed the IFHIMA Congress in Montreal in May.

In making that fateful diversion to medical records, Carol became a dedicated advocate of what is now the Health Information Administration program at IUPUI. She is a long-time supporter of the program and has provided leadership-level scholarship support with a legacy gift.