Benjamin joins board of HIT company Alere

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin has joined the board of Waltham, Mass.-based Alere, a health information technology company that specializes in products and services for diagnostics and health monitoring.

“I am delighted to join the Alere board of directors and to help guide the company's vision of putting the patient at the center of the healthcare delivery model," Benjamin said in a news release.

Alere's products include remote monitoring devices that automatically transmit secure health information between patients' homes, providers and electronic health records.

As a family practice physician, Benjamin founded a rural health clinic in Alabama in 1990. She was also the first physician under 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association board of trustees, and has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare.

Benjamin, 57, is best known for having served as the 18th U.S. surgeon general, a post she held from 2009-2013, as well as chair of the National Prevention Council, which today includes 20 federal departments, agencies and offices tasked with developing a plan for the nation's health.

Her appointment to Alere's board is effective immediately.

Alere’s non-employee directors are paid $70,000 a year, as well as additional compensation for serving on committees, and also receive stock options.

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