Current information is a critical component of good healthcare. In this article we offer a definition of a new health professional, the 'informationist', whose function it is to ensure evidence-based health practice. We describe the literature and discussions that led to the proposal of this new role, and offer a description of the steps being taken to further elaborate this career. In particular, we describe efforts at Johns Hopkins to train informationists and informaticists and to offer services that lead to the integration of these and other information professionals into clinical care, public health and research.