Health IT Training | HealthPOINTHealthPOINT

As the healthcare industry moves ahead with the use of technologies, such as electronic health records (EHR) and health information exchanges (HIE), providers will need skilled employees to meet the challenges. The Health Information Technology (HIT) Training Program will prepare workers to fill certain roles within the health care and/or IT fields. Workers in these roles might be employed by regional extension centers, provider, vendors, or state/city public health agencies, and would work together in teams.

Courses Available

Initial Roles

The following members of the workforce will support implementation at specific locations for a period of time, and when their work is done, will move on to new locations.

Practice workflow and information management redesign specialists

Workers in this role assist in reorganizing the work of a provider to take full advantage of the features of health IT in pursuit of meaningful use of health IT to improve health and care. Individuals in this role may have backgrounds in health care (for example, as a practice administrator) or in information technology, but are not licensed clinical professionals. Workers in this role will:

Conduct user requirements analysis to facilitate workflow design
Integrate information technology functions into workflow
Document health information exchange needs
Design processes and information flows that accommodate quality improvement and reporting
Work with provider personnel to implement revised workflows
Evaluate process workflows to validate or improve practice’s systems

Clinician/practitioner consultants

This role is similar to the redesign specialist role but brings to bear the background and experience of a licensed clinical and professional or public health professional. Workers in the role will:

Conduct user requirements analysis to facilitate workflow design
Integrate information technology functions into workflow
Document health information exchange needs
Design processes and information flows that accommodate quality improvement and reporting
Work with provider personnel to implement revised workflows
Evaluate process workflows to validate or improve practice’s systems
Suggest solutions for health IT implementation problems in clinical and public health settings
Address workflow and data collection issues from a clinical perspective, including quality measurement and improvement
Assist in selection of vendors and software
Advocate for users’ needs, acting as a liaison between users, IT staff, and vendors

Implementation support specialists

Workers in this role provide on-site user support for the period of time before and during implementation of health IT systems in clinical and public health settings. The previous background of workers in this role includes information technology or information management. Workers in this role will:

Execute implementation project plans, by installing hardware (as needed) and configuring software to meet practice needs
Incorporate usability principles into design and implementation
Test the software against performance specifications
Interact with the vendors as needed to rectify problems that occur during the deployment process

Implementation managers

Workers in this role provide on-site management of mobile adoption support teams for the period of time before and during implementation of health IT systems in clinical and public health settings. Workers in this role will, prior to training, have experience in health and/or IT environments as well as administrative and managerial experience. Workers in this role will:

Apply project management and change management principles to create implementation project plans to achieve the project goals
Interact with office/hospital personnel to ensure open communication with the support team
Lead implementation teams consisting of workers in the role of Implementation Support Specialist
Manage vendor relations, providing feedback to health IT vendors for product improvement

Ongoing Roles

The following roles are needed for ongoing support of health IT that has been deployed in office practices, hospitals, health centers, long-term care facilities, health information exchange organizations and state and local public health agencies.

Technical/software support staff

Workers in this role maintain systems in clinical and public health settings, including patching and upgrading of software. The previous background of workers in this role includes information technology or information management. Workers in this role will:

Interact with end users to diagnose IT problems and implement solutions
Document IT problems and evaluate the effectiveness of problem resolution
Support systems security and standards

Trainers

Workers in this role design and deliver training programs, using adult learning principles, to employees in clinical and public health settings. The previous background of workers in this role includes experience as a health professional or health information management specialist. Experience as a trainer in the classroom setting is also desired. Workers in this role will:

Be able to use a range of health IT applications, preferably at an expert level
Communicate both health and IT concepts as appropriate
Assess training needs and competencies of learners
Design lesson plans, structuring active learning experiences for users
Track training records of the user and develop learning plans for further instruction