Advanced Interprofessional Informatics Certification Task Force

Charge:

The United States health system needs more health informaticians, particularly individuals with advanced training. We must also ensure that health informatics training programs adequately prepare graduates for the growing role of information and communications technology in health care organizations and the health sector at-large. The growth of investments in health information technology is driving an escalation of interest in Biomedical and Health Informatics educational programs. The ONC has provided significant funding to increase the numbers of students and has funded the development of a curriculum and competency examination for students trained in community college programs. It is anticipated that there will also be an increasing demand for certification of professionals in the field, particularly as a condition of employment in healthcare organizations. Such professionals may include but would not be limited to dentists, nurses, public health professionals, pharmacists, physicians, computer scientists, and biomedical and health informaticians whose primary focus is health informatics. The various disciplines involved in health informatics are at different stages of development with respect to advanced training and certification. Nursing has the most experience; medicine is in the midst of establishing the medical subspecialty of clinical informatics through the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS); other professional disciplines have less activity to report at this time.

At its June 2011 meeting, the AMIA Academic Forum decided to create an Advanced Interprofessional Informatics Certification (AIIC) Task Force whose charge is to explore the issue of certification of professionals in our field as a development in parallel with the proposed subspecialty certification of physicians now under consideration by the ABMS (and scheduled for a final vote in September 2011). In particular, we are seeking an exploration of the issues related to:

1. The implications of AMIA potentially undertaking such a certification program, independently or in collaboration with other organizations that is commensurate with the perceived need and demonstrated engagement of the potential participating professions and in alignment with the mission and resources of the organization.
2. The implications of such a certification for the members of our Academic Forum, including but not limited to standardization of curricula and degree requirements, the possibility of making such a certification program available only to graduates of an accredited educational program, and what this might entail in terms of program resources and faculty expertise.
3. The implications for employment of professionals in our field.

Appointed by the Academic Forum Executive Committee with approval by the AMIA Board chair and the AMIA President, the AIIC Task Force will be composed of informatics leaders from a range of professional disciplines. It is preferred, but not required, that all members of the Task Force be affiliated with an organization that is a member of the Academic Forum. This group will hold regular conference calls to review background materials, to engage perspectives of stakeholders and experts from the participating professions, to conduct a review of issues in the charge above, and to develop a white paper including recommendations for consideration by the Academic Forum Executive Committee and membership and the AMIA Board of Directors.

The Task Force’s tentative timeline:

• Task Force formation complete: September 2, 2011
• Progress report to the AMIA Board Meeting and Academic Forum Breakfast Meeting: October 2011 AMIA Annual Symposium
• Interim progress reports to the Academic Forum Executive Committee: December 15 and February 1
• Draft white paper presented and discussed by the Academic Forum Executive Committee and general membership: Early First Quarter 2012
• Final white paper presented to the AMIA Board of Directors: March 2012

Advanced Interprofessional Informatics Certification Task Force Members

Cindy Gadd, PhD, MBA, MS – Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Director of Educational Programs,Vanderbilt University (Chair)
Greg Alexander, PhD, MHA, RN – Associate Professor, University of Missouri
JT Finnell, MD, MSc – Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Regenstrief Institute
Rita Kukafka, DrPH, FACMI – Associate Professor of Clinical Biomedical Informatics and Clinical Sociomedical Sciences, Graduate Program Director, Columbia University
Ann Peden, Phd, RHIA, CCS – Program Director and Professor, Health Informatics & Information Management, University of Mississippi Medical Center, University of Mississippi
Nancy Roderer, MLS – Professor and Director, William H. Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins
Dean Sittig, MS, PhD, FACMI – Professor, School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Stuart Speedie, PhD – Professor, University of Minnesota (Ex officio)