Implementing an Innovative Approach to Health Informatics Workforce Development

The healthcare industry is an increasingly complex data-driven, highly technical environment. Wide-spread electronic health record (EHR) system implementations and connected medical device usage are catalyzing greater demand for a trained and competent Health Informatics (HI) workforce. The military health system (MHS) is experiencing historic transformation with a multi-billion-dollar EHR implementation while concurrently undergoing congressionally mandated medical reform. These events are causing a tremendous metamorphosis within the MHS, driving the need for a ready HI workforce. Despite increased demand, a structured and comprehensive informatics workforce development program with a full life-cycle human resource management approach does not exist.

Recognizing this gap, the Army medicine chief medical information officer (CMIO) developed a conceptual framework and model to codify the HI workforce development program that integrates workforce elements from industry to include HITComp.org, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER), Department of Homeland Security, National Institutes of Health, Office of Personnel Management, and Office of the Secretary of Defense. The HIWFD model encompasses 12 competency domains representing a matrix of ~270 HI competencies, skills, abilities, or behaviors.

In a three-phased evaluation, this descriptive study will examine how Army medicine HI personnel perceive their targeted proficiency levels within the 12 competency domains before and after their competency-based learning and development activities, as well as evaluating the usability of the comprehensive learning and development (L&D) library tool and the HIWFD program. 

Learining Outcome: After completing this learning activity, the participant will be able to assess innovations being used by other professionals in the specialty and evaluate the potential of implementing the improvements into practice.