ACDIS Introductions: Brian Murphy, director
Things you should know about Brian Murphy… Hummm… Where should I start? Not to worry, I promised my compatriot I wouldn’t reveal any of the sordid details of his life. (I did threaten to use the photo of him dressed up like Gene Simmons and to tell you all the rumor that his favorite alcoholic beverage was once Zima. That’s just a rumor though.)
Brian started at HCPro Inc., as editor of the newsletter Briefings on APCs, six years ago this June. Prior to joining the team, he worked at The Daily Times Chronicle as its news editor before moving over to edit the sports sections for the local community newspaper. A life as a writer/editor wasn’t always a certainty, however. There were times when he was little when he’d pictured himself joining the ranks of The Thin Blue Line as three of his uncles worked in police departments in various capacities.
Brian earned his bachelor’s degree from Bridgewater State University with focus on English and business followed by a master’s degree in education from Tufts University. When the opportunity to work in healthcare publishing opened up, it was one he couldn’t miss.
Like others’ here, Brian worked his way up from managing editor, to senior managing editor, executive editor, and ultimately to director of ACDIS in 2007. He helped launch the association on October 1, 2007, and has been at the helm ever since.
“Managing an association comes with a lot of responsibility both in terms of meeting the members’ needs by creating a professional community, and in becoming a respected professional body within the industry,” he says. “The ACDIS membership is made up of such great, engaged people who care about what they do and the impact they have on their facilities and on healthcare overall. That kind of impact motivates us to help members by providing them with the best resources and networking opportunities we can. It really makes this job so rewarding.”
Much of Brian’s day-to-day to-do list involves behind-the-scenes efforts necessary to create the events ACDIS members enjoy. He’s the primary contact on all thing related to the annual conference—a huge task with more than 15 sessions and 30 speakers. And he’s also the primary contact for the various volunteer boards and committees who help set the direction for the association. These groups include:
- ACDIS Advisory Board
- ACDIS Conference Committee
- The CCDS Certification Committee
- The CDI Work Group
While that’s enough to keep anyone busy, Brian still moderates many of the ACDIS related audio conferences, helps me out with occasional blog posts, works with contributors to develop ACDIS special reports, submits articles to the bi-monthly e-newsletter CDI Strategies, and writes articles for the quarterly CDI Journal.
Some nights I wonder if he lives at ACDIS’ Marblehead offices. Rest assured; that’s not the case. Brian heads home to his wife Sue and two daughters Elizabeth, age 5, and Hannah, age 8, every evening and after dinner (his favorite meal is Chinese food, General Tso chicken or beef and broccoli or “anything with MSG,” he jokes) Brian manages to find time to enjoy a good book. He enjoys fantasy, science fiction, and history works, having recently completed H. Rider Haggard’s 1889 novel Eric Brighteyes (Haggard’s best known for King Solomon’s Mines).
While battling physician documentation may not quite strike the same adventuresome sword as Haggard penned, I’m glad that Brian’s leading the ACDIS charge.
If you have any ideas for how we can help improve ACDIS membership or if you’ve recently read a good novel you’d like to share with Brian give him a call at 800-650-6787 ext. 3216 or e-mail him at bmurphy@acdis.org.