| As someone who has been teaching health | | | | experts it is hard to see how the Obama |
| informatics students for a number of years, it is | | | | Administration policies for Health Information |
| rewarding to find this discipline finally receiving the | | | | Technology can possibly be implemented. |
| attention and interest it demands. Most health | | | | The American Medical Informatics Association is |
| experts have agreed for some time that the two | | | | the main professional body relating to health |
| academic disciplines of informatics and genomics | | | | informatics experts and Don Detmer MD, the |
| are the key disciplines that will shape the future | | | | Chief Executive Officer, said, "My rough estimate |
| of American healthcare by enabling doctors to | | | | is that we need about 70,000 health |
| have access to personalized healthcare | | | | informaticists" to meet Electronic Health Record |
| information at the point of care. | | | | goals laid out in the stimulus bill. Prior to the |
| The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act | | | | stimulus bill, most experts agreed that just to |
| includes specific wording supporting increased | | | | keep progressing with Health IT implementation at |
| funding of health informatics programs around the | | | | our current relatively slow rate, it would be |
| nation. A recent article in the New York Times | | | | necessary to have another 10,000 health |
| has noted that there is a greatly increased | | | | informaticists by 2012. All that is now changed, |
| demand for "health informatics specialists" who | | | | and there is an urgent need for many more highly |
| have expertise in medical records, insurance | | | | trained health informatics specialists, and programs |
| claims, clinical care and computer programming as | | | | such as UC Davis are planning to more than |
| health care providers look to utilize the $19 billion | | | | double their current output of students within the |
| in stimulus funding directed at implementing and | | | | next three years, assuming extra stimulus funding. |
| expanding electronic health records. | | | | It is interesting how the public has caught on to |
| Health informatics specialists usually start their | | | | the need for increased numbers of health |
| career or education in computer programming or | | | | informatics specialists. This is demonstrated by |
| as health care professionals, and later earn a | | | | the already dramatically increased numbers of |
| degree in health informatics and take midlevel or | | | | applicants to the UC Davis program, where we |
| senior jobs at a hospital, doctor's office, insurance | | | | are currently working with more than 50 |
| company, drug firm or other organization working | | | | applicants to our Masters program, having |
| with health care data. The experience of the UC | | | | recently also enrolled 30 students in the first |
| Davis Health Informatics program, which I direct, | | | | quarter of our new Certificate program. |
| is that most of our graduates have found senior | | | | It is crucial that the health workforce is retrained |
| positions in health informatics in both public and | | | | for 21st Century medical needs, and with health |
| private sectors, including a number who have | | | | being one of the relatively few expanding sectors |
| become faculty in health informatics programs, | | | | of the workforce, training in disciplines such as |
| and are now teaching future generations of | | | | health informatics is essential if we are to improve |
| students. | | | | the way health services are delivered to the |
| William Hersh MD, Chair of the Department of | | | | nation. We have to be realistic about the fact that |
| Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at | | | | there will be increased needs in future as the |
| Oregon Health and Science University was quoted | | | | current 46 million uninsured are likely to be |
| in the New York Times as saying , "The health IT | | | | covered by some form of universal insurance and |
| people run the servers and install software, but | | | | offered more comprehensive care than they |
| the informatics people are the leaders, who | | | | have been able to receive in the past. This can |
| interpret and analyze information and work with | | | | only happen if we use Health Information |
| the clinical staff." It is crucial to have highly trained | | | | Technology intelligently, and universally, and for |
| experts in informatics who are able to work | | | | that to happen we have to dramatically increase |
| across both the disciplines of health and | | | | the number of health informatics experts around |
| information technology, and who understand and | | | | the country. |
| are expert in both. Without these informatics | | | | |