Biography
Valerie Watzlaf has devoted over 40 years to teaching courses and conducting research in health information management (HIM), health informatics and public health (health services). She was instrumental in her role as vice chair of education in the development of the Master of Science in Health Informatics program at Pitt. Watzlaf has worked as an HIM practitioner and consulted several health care organizations in HIM, long-term care and epidemiology.
Education
- Bachelor of Science in Health Records Administration, University of Pittsburgh
- Master of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
- PhD in epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh
Awards
- AHIMA Research Triumph Award
- PHIMA’s (Pennsylvania’s) Distinguished Member Award
- University of Pittsburgh’s SHRS Distinguished Alumni Award
Research Interests
- Medical terminologies and classification systems
- Privacy and security in health information
- Telehealth privacy and security
Publications
- “Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice” 2nd edition by Watzlaf, Valerie J. and Forrestal, Elizabeth J. AHIMA Press, 2017
- Alsaleh, M. M., Watzlaf, V. J. M., DeAlmeida, D. R., & Saptono, A. Evaluation of a Telehealth Application Used during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: Provider Experience and Satisfaction. Perspectives in health information management, 18(4), 1b. 2021
- Watzlaf, V., Zhou, L. DeAlmeida, D., Hartman, L. A Systematic Review of Research Studies Examining Telehealth Privacy and Security Practices used by Healthcare Providers. International Journal of Telerehabilitation. 2017;9(2):39-59. doi:10.5195/ijt.2017.6231.
Professional Organization Appointments
- National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) which advises the Health and Human Services Secretary on health data, statistics, privacy, national health information policy and the department’s strategy to best address those issues.
- Chair of the Privacy, Confidentiality and Security subcommittee of NCVHS
- Member of the ICD-11 Workgroup of NCVHS
