IMS Names Kimberly Gray Chief Privacy Officer, Americas

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMS Health (NYSE: RX), the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, today announced the appointment of Kimberly S. Gray, a recognized leader in corporate privacy, as chief privacy officer, Americas. Gray will direct all privacy-related activities for IMS’s operating companies in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, guiding the company’s privacy strategy, management and implementation while supporting its leadership efforts in these areas.

“With federal policy rapidly moving toward greater healthcare transparency and the use of information to improve quality and treatment outcomes, it is imperative that patient privacy remains sacrosanct”

Gray, who brings more than a decade of experience in privacy and data protection to IMS, will ensure compliance with all applicable privacy laws and work closely with the company’s internal and external stakeholders, including employees, clients, suppliers and vendors, as well as legislators, government agencies, policy organizations, and healthcare researchers. In this position, she will represent IMS in determining responsible uses of the company’s market information, maintaining an appropriate balance between privacy and transparency, enabling increased use of IMS information to improve healthcare outcomes, and ensuring appropriate safeguards are employed to secure sensitive information.

“With federal policy rapidly moving toward greater healthcare transparency and the use of information to improve quality and treatment outcomes, it is imperative that patient privacy remains sacrosanct,” said Bill Nelligan, IMS president, Americas. “Kim brings a wealth of experience to this role and has led corporate privacy compliance programs and provided testimony before government and regulatory bodies about the legal and business impact of privacy legislation. We look forward to Kim’s leadership in upholding IMS’s 50-plus year tradition of maintaining the most rigorous privacy standards.”

Prior to joining IMS, Gray was chief privacy officer at Highmark, a Pennsylvania health insurance company, where she was accountable for safeguarding approximately 27 million members’ health information. Gray has a J.D. from Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law, a B.A. in Psychology from Shippensburg University and certification as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Additionally, she has served on the boards of directors for the Health Information Trust Alliance and International Association of Privacy Professionals.

About IMS

Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With $2.3 billion in 2008 revenue and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge market intelligence products and services that are integral to clients’ day-to-day operations, including product and portfolio management capabilities; commercial effectiveness innovations; managed care and consumer health offerings; and consulting and services solutions that improve productivity and the delivery of quality healthcare worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.imshealth.com.