Clinical Electives Program: Medical Informatics

The NIH has a clinical electives program in medical informatics. Here's some information:

Rotation Description
This is an introductory elective in medical informatics for students who already have some experience with the application of computers and information systems, i.e., experience with computing in clinical medicine or biomedical research.

The four to eight week sessions of the elective include an extensive lecture series offering an overview of the state-of-the-art in medical informatics. The lectures are presented by research staff from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and other institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by guest speakers from other research centers. The lectures cover a number of topics including medical informatics applications on the World Wide Web; telemedicine; the Unified Medical Language System; the Visible Human project; medical expert systems; information management for biotechnology research; image analysis, manipulation, and retrieval; machine learning in the biomedical domain; and medical language processing. The NLM's Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications offers students an outstanding hardware and software environment for system development.

Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit 2012

The Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit is a small, intimate event of 100+ industry-leading CIOs, CMIOs, and federal policy and health IT leaders discussing meaningful use, HITECH, and more. Find out what industry pioneers are doing to meet the requirements for meaningful use and how they are moving forward with health information exchanges and accountable care organizations.

Among the topics to be addressed:

• Strategizing the Use and Analysis of Clinical Data for Meaningful Use
• ACOs: Policy Strategic and IT Issues
• Leveraging CPOE Implementation to Reduce Medical Errors and Improve Patient Safety
• The Journey Towards Evidence-Based Physician Ordering
• Optimizing Revenue Cycle Management
• The Evolution of the CIO - CMIO Relationship and the CMIO Role
• Readmissions and the Medical Home: Re-Visioning Care Management
• Health Information Exchange: Strategies and Sustainability

Cornell establishes Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy

Cornell establishes Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy (CHiP)

Under the leadership of Dr. Rainu Kaushal, CHiP is the first cross-departmental entity to be established at Weill Cornell Medical College in several years. CHiP's mission is improving health and healthcare through informatics and technology. CHiP pursues its mission by developing collaborative, robust programs in research, education, service and innovation.

Learn more here: http://www.weill.cornell.edu/chip/

Invest in a Master’s Degree in Health Informatics

If you are considering a career in health information technology, I would urge you to invest in a master’s degree in health informatics and to get board certified in clinical informatics.

In 2011, AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) announced that clinical informatics is now a subspecialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). You can become board certified by passing an examination administered by the American Board of Preventive Medicine and available to physicians who have primary specialty certification through the American Board of Medical Specialties.

How are physicians preparing for a career in health IT? Many of them are pursuing master’s degrees in health informatics to demonstrate a level of competence in the rapidly evolving field of health information technology.

The University of Michigan now offers an innovative joint Master of Health Informatics degree offered through the School of Information and School of Public Health. Michigan is ideally positioned to educate future leaders for this rapidly developing field. The strength and international reputations of these two professional schools are combined to offer the interdisciplinary study of consumer health informatics informed by clinical informatics and population health informatics.

Individuals from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds will enroll in this program. Graduates will be prepared to serve as leaders at the forefront of a dynamic field.

The final application deadline is May 1.

For more information about the University of Michigan Master of Health Informatics degree, visit http://healthinformatics.umich.edu

Job posts: CMIO (Chief Medical Information Officer)

If you're interested in finding a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) job, take a look at the job posts here.

You'll find jobs in places like:

• Yuma Regional Medical Center - Yuma, AZ
• University of Georgia - Athens, GA
• Anne Arundel Medical Center - Annapolis, MD
• Connecticut Children's Medical Center - Hartford, CT
• and more...

Find CMIO jobs here.

CDC Public Health Informatics Conference

CDC Public Health Informatics Conference
Atlanta Georgia
August 21, 2011 - August 24, 2011

he annual conference for the public health informatics community will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, August 21–August 24, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta.

The theme this year is Engaging, Empowering, Evolving…Together, and we hope you'll join us as the best of the public health and health informatics communities meet in one place to invest in the future of public health informatics and every discipline it may touch. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) will co-sponsor this event.

Jobs you may be interested in

Here are some jobs you may be interested in:

• Medical Director — Medical Safety Physician
• Chief Medical Information Officer
• Physician Informaticist
• Drug Safety Physician (Associate, Director)

Find more non-clinical physician jobs on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board.

Healthcare Informatics Consultant

Interested in working as a Healthcare Informatics Consultant (or Clinical Informatics Consultant)? You'll find a variety of consulting opportunities on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board. This could be a good way to get started. Eventually, you may find yourself pursuing a Medical Director of Informatics or a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) position.

Right now, organizations are hiring a variety of clinicians (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other health care professionals) to focus on building up their health IT capabilities. If you have a strong interest in health informatics, make sure to browse the consulting jobs found on the NonClinicalJobs Job Board.

Simplify Health IT Job Search with HIMSS Career Services Center

04 May 2011
Simplify Health IT Job Search with HIMSS Career Services Center

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health information technicians and medical records professionals held 172,500 jobs in 2008 with 39 percent in hospitals; by 2018, a 20 percent growth is expected resulting in 207,600 jobs.

Knowing where and how to find available jobs is a challenge any job seeker faces, including graduates of the Office of the National Coordinator’s HIT Workforce Development programs. The HIMSS Career Services Center is supporting this initiative with the enhancement of HIMSS JobMine® and the addition of a section dedicated to the ONC HIT Workforce Development Program, where program graduates can post resumes and find health IT positions posted by potential employers.

CDC Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program

CDC Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program

Goal

To provide training and experience in applying computer and information science and technology to real public health problems.

Description

PHIFP is a 2-year paid fellowship in public health informatics. The competency-based and hands-on training allows you to apply information and computer science and technology to solve real-world problems.

You will have the opportunity to

• learn about informatics and public health
• work with teams involved in research and development of public health information systems
• lead an informatics project
• design, develop, implement, evaluate, and manage public health information systems

What are the prerequisites?

We look for motivated persons with diverse interests. We select applicants who have

• A strong interest in applying information and computer science and technology to the practice of public health
• A strong desire to pursue a career in public health informatics

You should have a master's or higher degree in an appropriate discipline, including, but not limited to

• Public health, medicine, health care, health-services research
• Computer science, information science, or information systems
• Statistics
• Epidemiology
• Public health informatics, or related discipline

You must have documented training or experience in certain fields (such as informatics, information systems, computer science, public health, or a related healthcare profession).

Physician Executive Forum: In Pursuit of Meaningful Use of Health IT (HIMSS 2011)

Are you attending HIMSS 2011? The American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) are working together to get more physician executives to attend in 2011. I hope to see you there.

HIMSS11 Annual Conference & Exhibition, February 20-24, in Orlando, Florida.

If you’re a physician, make sure you don’t miss the Physician Executive Forum: In Pursuit of Meaningful Use of Health IT. Hosted by C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS, HIMSS Board Chairman and CIO of the Cleveland Clinic, the Forum offers key strategies to equip you and your staff for success.

Here are some more details (and some reasons why you may want to attend HIMSS 2011):

Meaningful use. Eligible hospitals. Eligible professionals. These are terms that you, as a physician executive, are aware of and need to fully understand. No matter your level of exposure to meaningful use, you realize it’s crucial to your health facilities’ future. The reality is that whether you are a physician leader in a hospital or an ambulatory environment, the implications of meaningful use will have a tremendous impact on how you deliver care and conduct your business.

Job Post: Physician Executive for Cerner

Here's a job post that may be of interest for those who would like to break into health information technology:  Physician Executive for Cerner

If you are a physician interested in making a change to Healthcare IT where you can leverage both your clinical and IT background to help larger patient populations, this may be the time to look at opportunities at Cerner Corporation.

Physicians in our Demonstration Strategy group work with physicians from potential clients as they help select a healthcare IT vendor.

Physicians in our Consulting organization work with physicians at client sites as they implement Cerner solutions. These physicians primarily work with Clinical Physician Order Entry and Physician Documentation.

Physician Executive Forum at #HIMSS11

Interested in a career in health information technology? Attend HIMSS and network with other health IT executives. Become a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Make HIMSS11 your CME meeting for 2011.

At HIMSS 2011, there will be something called the Physician Executive Forum. Here's more information:

In Pursuit of Meaningful Use of Health IT — an exclusive event for CMOs, CMIOs, Medical Directors, Informatics Officers or other physician leaders in the enterprise healthcare setting.

I'll be at HIMSS 2011 and I hope to see you there too.

HIMSS11
Feb 20-24, 2011
Orlando, Florida

Here's something else to consider: Take the CPHIMS exam at HIMSS11 and earn the mark of professional distinction.

Being a CPHIMS gives you a professional edge in the marketplace and distinguishes you among your peers. Validate your industry expertise and credibility by taking the CPHIMS exam at HIMSS11.

To learn more about the HIMSS11 conference, visit: http://www.himssconference.org

What is the difference between health informatics and HIM?

What is the difference between health informatics and HIM?

HIM = Health Information Management
AHIMA = American Health Information Management Association

Learn more by participating in this upcoming webinar on September 28

If you are unable to attend the AHIMA 2010 convention, please dial in to join us for a presentation hosted by UIC's HIM Program Director, Karen Patena. Karen will provide attendees with an over-view of health informatics and HIM, and the differences between the two disciplines. She will also speak about the UIC graduate level programs in this area of study.

Karen Patena has worked in hospital medical record management, as well as systems planning and implementation, for nearly 20 years. Recently, she served as a vital member of the team to implement a Cerner patient-care information system at the University of Illinois Medical Center. She is a frequent contributor to the Journal of AHIMA* and a regular presenter at the meetings of local, state and national health information management professional associations.

Title: What is the difference between health informatics and HIM?
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Time: 2:30PM - 3:30PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Click here to register. 

Volunteering your way to a non-clinical career

There are a number of volunteering opportunities that can help you transition into a non-clinical career. For instance, you may wish to volunteer internationally through an organization like the Peace Corps. Before you know it, you may find yourself working as a medical officer, making administrative decisions in the world of medical management and networking with executives who have built careers in the non-profit sector. You may also find it easier to transition into public health jobs with the CDC or WHO if you have strong international health experience and exposure.

You can also volunteer your time by serving on councils and committees that may allow you gain the skills and leadership experience to break into a non-clinical career. Right now, a prime example is around the world of health information technology. Your hospital or group practice may have an informatics committee evaluating health IT resources, clinical workflow challenges, etc. By actively participating in your hospital IT committee, you may have the opportunity to establish industry contacts and understand some of the key issues that affect hospitals as they make decisions around electronic health records and computerized physician order entry systems.

So, do you have some time to volunteer? There may be some great opportunities to work in a free clinic and to get involved in your local community. While you're providing medical care to the underserved, you may get inspired to become a social entrepreneur.

Here's a link to a New England Journal of Medicine career article on physician volunteering. At the end of the article, they list a series of physician resources for those who want to spend some time volunteering.

AMIA 2010 Annual Symposium

The fall is always full of annual meetings. AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) is having its 2010 annual symposium Nov. 13-17, 2010 in Washington D.C. If you're considering a career in medical informatics, you won't want to miss this meeting.

Here are the details:

The AMIA Annual Symposium is the world’s most comprehensive annual meeting on biomedical and health informatics. The Annual Symposium provides a wide range of formats for education and discussion. Papers and posters present peer-reviewed state-of-the-art scientific and technical work. Demonstrations and Partnerships in Innovation allow for comprehensive presentation of advanced systems, including new developments and innovative uses of commercial systems. Panels, keynote presentations, tutorials, and workshops bring together thought leaders for in-depth and active audience exchange about critical issues of the day.

AMIA’s Annual Symposium flourishes as the premier educational forum in clinical informatics, clinical research informatics, public health informatics, and translational bioinformatics. It attracts an impressive network of informatics experts spanning the spectrum of informatics foundations and applications, and is comprised of professionals and students from an array of occupational settings—academic institutions, community-based organizations, government agencies, the military, health care and research facilities, industry, international health, and private practice.

The early-bird registration deadline is 8/26/2010

Learn more and register here:  http://symposium2010.amia.org/

Would you benefit from computer training?

Do you consider yourself to be a technology expert? How strong are your computer skills? Do you feel lost if you're sitting with a group of computer engineers, developers, programmers who start talking about work-related issues? Maybe that's when you fire up your smartphone and jump to CNN Business so that you can see what's going on in the technology sector.  

Even if you don't plan to pursue a career in the health information technology (or informatics) industry, it can still be very beneficial to receive computer training. What should you learn about? How about virtualization technology? What do you know about virtualization technology? I'm not referring to "virtual reality" here. I'm specifically talking about solutions made by companies like VMware. Maybe you're considering some formal Vmware Training.

Virtualization technology is growing rapidly. So is the demand for VMware professionals. What do you know about virtualization? Can you utilize VMware to make your servers more secure and easier to maintain? What exactly is VMware? According to Wikipedia: VMware is a provider of virtualization software. The Company is majority owned by EMC Corporation. VMware's desktop software runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. VMware's enterprise software, VMware ESX Server, runs directly on server hardware without requiring an additional underlying operating system.

What's virtualization software? According to Wikipedia: The term "virtualization" was coined in the 1960s, to refer to a virtual machine (sometimes called pseudo machine), a term which itself dates from the experimental IBM M44/44X system. The creation and management of virtual machines has been called platform virtualization, or server virtualization, more recently.

Now, do you feel totally lost, or are you following this discussion so far? Perhaps it's time to enroll in some formal Vmware training courses if you're qualified. Are you qualified? If you're an upper level enterprise network administrator, an IT pro or system admin with a strong desire to learn VMware ESX Server & VMware Infrastructure for use at a professional level organization, then you're probably qualified. If you have basic knowledge of server/network operating system like Windows Server or Linux, or have basic networking skills, then you're probably qualified. 

Defining medical "informatics"

How do you define "medical informatics?" How about "health informatics?" Clinical informatics? Biomedical informatics? Public health informatics? The list just goes on...

I had gotten into some interesting conversations about this topic, so I decided to look at Wikipedia, and here's what I found:

Health informatics, Health care informatics or medical informatics is the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care. It deals with the resources, devices, and methods required to optimize the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information in health and biomedicine. Health informatics tools include not only computers but also clinical guidelines, formal medical terminologies, and information and communication systems. It is applied to the areas of nursing, clinical care, dentistry, pharmacy, public health and (bio)medical research.

Wow, this is an extremely broad definition, isn't it? Some people only think of electronic health records (EHRs) or electronic medical records (EMRs) when they hear the phrase "medical informatics." Others focus on inpatient uses of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and we often lose focus on the broader concept associated with informatics.

The AMIA (American Medical Informatics Association) defines informatics this way:

Biomedical and health informatics applies principles of computer and information science to the advancement of life sciences research, health professions education, public health, and patient care. This multidisciplinary and integrative field focuses on health information and communication technologies (HICT), and involves the computer, cognitive, and social sciences. Biomedical and health informatics has developed its own areas of emphasis and approaches that sets it apart from other professions and disciplines.

Biomedical and health informatics is an emerging, interdisciplinary and diverse field that:

•  Combines health sciences (such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and allied health) with computer science, management and decision science, biostatistics, engineering and information technology.
•  Solves problems in health care delivery, pharmaceutical, biomedical and health sciences research, health education and clinical/medical decision making.
•  Is essential in all aspects of health care and biomedicine.

So, how do you define health informatics?

Growth in Health Information Technology and Nanotechnology

In my opinion, two of the largest areas of growth will be in health information technology (health IT or HIT) and nanotechnology (especially as this relates to drug development and biotechnology). So, if you’re a “techy” person, health IT may be the perfect fit. Join AHIMA and HIMSS, get familiar with CCHIT, and get a job at Walmart so that you can sell pre-loaded EHRs on Dell PCs. For those who are in the science field (biology, biochem, chemistry, organic chem, molecular bio, etc.), learn as much as you can about nanotechnology. I studied mechanical engineering at MIT before the days when nanotechnology was of much interest to anyone. If I were to go through college today, I think I’d major in something that would be strongly relevant to nanotechnology (mech E is relevant, but so are many other fields like materials science, bioengineering, biochemistry, chemical engineering, etc.).

Medical Informatics Programs in the United States

Clinicians who have a strong interest in learning more about medical informatics (or health informatics) should probably invest the time and money to get formal education in this topic. There are many different ways of getting this education. You can do a fellowship in medical informatics. You can also pursue a master's program. If you're looking for a list of educational programs, take a look at the AMIA list. You can also take a look at this University of North Carolina site, although it may be a bit outdated. There are also a number of online programs where you can receive an MS in medical, biomedical, or health informatics. If you can be disciplined to study independently, then you may find that an online program is the most flexible way to receive more education.