A review of biomedical and health informatics education: A workforce training framework

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of health information technology (HIT) training programs and identify limitations in workforce expectations and student/trainee level of preparedness. A framework is proposed to build a more effective training program, differentiate HIT and health informatics, and emphasize the critical role of interprofessional collaboration for informatics-related curriculum. We define interprofessionalism as the multi-sector collaborations among academia, industry (Health Care Organizations), and vendors to produce competent informaticians.
Methods: Critical review of published HIT and health informatics curricular competencies was conducted, including those published by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for HIT, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), and the Council on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management. A review of literature related to HIT and health informatics education and training was also completed.
Results: The paper presents a framework for promoting health informatics training with an interprofessional foundation. The core components of the curricular competencies include understanding the healthcare system, biomedical data, computer programming, data analytics, usability, and technology infrastructure. To effectively deliver the content, programs require collaboration between academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and industry vendors.
Conclusions: HIT and health informatics-related training programs, in their current form, are not meeting industry needs. The proposed framework addresses the current limitations by providing unique pathways for content delivery by promoting interprofessional collaboration and partnerships between academia and industry.