Harriett Burns

Harriett Burns, MD, MPH
Physician, Piedmont Health Services
Representative of Federally Qualified Health Centers

Dr. Harriett Purves Burns serves as associate medical director and director of informatics at Piedmont Health Services, which operates 10 federally qualified health centers and two senior-care Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly sites in central North Carolina. Burns splits her time between clinical work at the Charles Drew Community Health Center and informatics work for the organization. In both arenas, she works to support Piedmont Health's mission: to improve the health and well-being of the community by providing high-quality, affordable and comprehensive primary health care.

Burns is originally from the Midwest and moved to North Carolina in 1990. She received her undergraduate degree from Macalester College and her medical degree from Duke University. She completed a master of public health in epidemiology and an internal medicine and pediatrics residency at UNC-Chapel Hill. After serving as pediatric chief resident from 2008 to 2009 at UNC, she joined Piedmont Health, which fostered her growing interest in clinical informatics. While preparing for board certification in clinical informatics in 2017, she developed a keen interest in health information exchange.