HIT Workforce Training

Frances Morrison, MD, MPH, MA

Columbia Department of Biomedical Informatics
Center for Advanced Information Management
 Training needs

• 17% of US doctors have EHRs (1M MDs

in US)
• 50,000 HIT workers needed
• 20% growth in medical records and health
information technology jobs
 Informatics Training and
Education, 2010
•Columbia University
•Indiana University
•University of Colorado Denver College
•Stanford
of Nursing •UC Davis
•Duke University
•University of Illinois at Chicago
•George Washington University
•Loyola University
•Indiana University
•Chicago University
•Johns Hopkins University
•University of Wisconsin Madison
•University of Minnesota
•University of Washington
•Oregon Health & Science University
•AMIA
•Texas State University 
•University of West Florida
•Harvard
•Nova Southeastern University
•Thomas Jefferson University
•University of Utah
•Excelsior College
•Northwestern University
•Drexel University
•University of Phoenix
•NYU
•Kaplan University
•SUNY Buffalo
•Walden University
•University of Pittsburgh
•Atlanta Technical College
•UMDNJ
 Accreditation and Certification
• Accreditation: AHIMA: Commission on
Accreditation for Health Informatics and
Information Management Education (CAHIIM)
• Certification exams:
– AHIMA—Information Administrator, Coding, Privacy
and Security, Data Analyst
– HIMSS—Certified Professional in Healthcare
Information and Management Systems (CPHIM)
– American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)—
Nursing Informatics
 HITECH Programs
ARRA contains HITECH Act funds ONC administers grants to do:

• Research—SHARP
• IT infrastructure—BEACON, State Health
Information Exchange Cooperative
Agreement Program
• EHR use—HIT Extension Program
• HIT workforce—Training and examination
ONC Workforce Training Goals
• Expand the availability of skilled
health IT professionals
• …Rapidly
• Support broad adoption and use of
health IT in the provider community
• Support high quality training
 ONC-funded Workforce Training
Programs
1. Community College Consortia to Educate
Health Information Technology
Professionals--$36M
2. Curriculum Development Centers--$10M
3. Competency Examination for Individuals
Completing Non-Degree Training--$6M
4. Program of Assistance for University-
Based Training--$32M
 ONC approach to training
12 specialty roles
Community Colleges Universities
1. Practice workflow and 1. Health Information
information management Management and
redesign specialist Exchange Specialist
2. Clinician/practitioner 2. Health Information Privacy
consultant and Security Specialist
3. Implementation support 3. Programmers and Software
specialist Engineer
4. Implementation manager 4. Clinician/Public Health
5. Technical/software support Leader
staff 5. Research and
6. Trainer Development Scientist
6. Health IT Sub-specialist
Columbia University Workforce
Training
• Existing Master’s and Funded by
student or
PhD programs other programs
• New Certificate
program: January 2011
• New applied Masters ONC subsidized
program: September
2011
 Enrollment

• Certificate students
– 120 at Columbia
– 60 at Cornell
• Applied Masters students
– 18 students in 12 month program
 Learners will be different from traditional
students
• Certificate
– Prior health systems/IT experience
– Goal is a domain overview with hands-on skills
– Project management
• Masters
– More in depth, higher level skills
– Leadership focus
– In depth domain understanding with real world
experience
 Today’s Action Items
• Inform potential students
– Potential to improve staff knowledge and skills
• Share your experience with students
– Talks for the certificate and Masters courses
– Mentor a group’s capstone project
– Provide a practicum site
• Hire our graduates
– Job fair June, 2011
– Send us job postings
 Contact Information

[email protected]
 HITECH
HIT Community College
Training
Dean Elizabeth L. Oliver
Continuing & Professional Studies
Bronx Community College
HITECH PRIORITY GRANTS PROGRAM
HEALTH IT WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

• Section 3016 of the HITECH Act authorizes the creation of a program to assist in
the establishment and/or expansion of education programs designed to train a highly
skilled workforce of health and information technology (IT) professionals to
effectively put in place and use secure, interoperable electronic health record systems.
• Under that authority, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology (ONC) has announced the availability of $120 million in funding for the
Health IT Workforce Development Program.
Through ARRA funds there are a range of financial
incentives for providers to select EHR systems and
use them effectively.

At its core, HITECH rewards not the purchase of

health IT but the “meaningful use” of health IT.

Recommended reading:
http://www.meaningfuluse.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=IQNX5g7Bexs%3d
&tabid=38&mid=472
 Workforce Demand:

• Only about 20 % of physician office practices and 11 % of hospitals have a

minimally functional electronic health record (EHR) system. The anticipated growth
in the use of EHR systems is expected to result in a dramatic increase in demand for
health IT professionals.

• Studies* indicate a shortfall over the next five years of approximately 51,000
qualified health IT workers required to meet the needs of hospitals and physicians

• ONC has developed, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation,

Department of Education, and the Department of Labor, the Health IT Workforce
Development Program to assist in the training and assessment of qualified graduates
who will reduce the estimated shortfall by 85 %
* Estimates based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Department of Education, and
independent surveys
 The Community College Health IT
Workforce Development Program

Designed to respond to the need to rapidly

expand the availability of skilled health IT
professionals to support broad adoption and
use of health IT in the provider community.
The community college program, is part of the
strategic plan to achieve EHR adoption,
implementation and meaningful use.

Funds have been awarded to community colleges to:

train a new workforce
upgrade incumbent workers
and
provide knowledge and skills to clinicians and
other professional end users

in six health information technology roles.

 Community College Training Roles

- Practice workflow and information management

redesign specialist
Clinician/practitioner consultant
Implementation support specialist
Implementation manager
Technical/software support staff
Trainer
 Community College Consortia to educate HIT professionals:

The community college program is a consortia of approximately 70 colleges spread

over five national regions. Each region has a lead .

Leads:
Region A Bellevue College Region B Los Rios Community
College District Region C Cuyahoga Community College District  
Region D Pitt Community College
Region E Tidewater Community College

List of community colleges in each region can be found at:

http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?
open=512&objID=1804&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=14&mode=2&in_hi_userid=11673&cached
=true
The goal for each region is to create health IT education and training programs at
Community Colleges –

or expand existing programs. 

Community Colleges funded under this initiative will establish intensive, non-
degree training programs that can be completed in six months or less. Each
region must collectively train in all six defined areas; however the model has
individual schools selecting roles for training.
 Bronx Community CollegeTraining Objectives

Train 150 students per year for two years (total 300
students) In five of the six community college
training roles:
•Practice workflow and information management redesign
specialist
•Implementation support specialist
•Implementation manager
•Technical/software support staff
•Trainer
 Bronx Community College Program
Recognizing that HIT/EHR professionals must be
nimble and possess a wide range of knowledge and
skills, the continuing education noncredit program
addresses the required roles through three
training pathways:

 Health Information Technology IT Support Specialist

 Health Information Technology Coordinator

 Trainer
 Target Audience
Workforce credentials:

Health Information Technology IT Support Specialist

People with basic computer technology skills including hardware set up, networking,
troubleshooting and familiarity with Windows and/or Linux operating systems.

Health Information Technology Coordinator

People working in clinical or administrative support positions in health care settings.

Trainer

People experienced working in EHR environments as members of an

adoption/implementation team and/or completed one or both of the trainings above.
 Community College Competency Exam Program

This program will create an objective mechanism to assess basic competency for
individuals trained through short-duration, non-degree health IT programs, and for
members of the workforce with relevant experience or other types of training who are
seeking to demonstrate their competency in one or more workforce roles.

The competency examinations will be available at no charge to the first 10,000 examinees
as part of the national Health IT Workforce Development Program.
A cooperative agreement was awarded in April 2010 for a two-year project period.
 Ways to participate

Instructor

Curriculum Advisor

Workplace shadowing opportunities

Sign up for training

Contact: Dean Elizabeth L. Oliver
[email protected]

Marilyn Wolff-Diamond
Project Coordinator
718.289.5105
[email protected]
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center
LaGuardia Community College
How the Healthcare Career Center/NYC Business
Solutions is working to meet the needs for health IT
trained professionals.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Presentation Overview

1. NYC Business Solutions Healthcare- Suite of Services

2. Background on Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center and

NYC Business Solutions Healthcare and NYC DOH/PCIP

3. Background on Healthcare IT Industry Sector Initiatives

4. Current landscape of Healthcare/Healthcare IT in New York

5. Background of Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

a) Placement Services for Job-Ready Healthcare IT Professionals
b) Training Services for New and Incumbent Healthcare IT Professionals
Business Services

Suite of Services Healthcare

NYC Business Solutions Healthcare is dedicated to helping businesses in the healthcare

industry.
Specifically: Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Rehabilitation Facilities, Medical & Dental
Practices and Healthcare support organizations – in meeting the challenges of doing
business in the twenty-first century. NYC Business Solutions Healthcare provides an
uncommon opportunity for healthcare businesses to take advantage of professional
human resources and other business services provided at NO COST, including
recruiting, worker training, HR consulting and more. All services are designed with the
input from healthcare businesses and are specifically tailored to the needs of the
healthcare sector.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Agency Description

New York City Department of Small Business Services

Background of Funder

In July 2003, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg eliminated the

NYC Department of Employment and consolidated the City’s
adult workforce programs with the NYC Department of Small
Business Services linking workforce development efforts to
economic development initiatives.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Workforce1 Career Centers

Workforce1 Career Centers offer a Workforce1 Career Center Locations

full range of free employment and

training services to jobseekers. Bronx
Bronx

The Healthcare Career Center is

located on the Campus of CUNY Upper Manhattan
Upper Manhattan
Hunts Point
Hunts Point
LaGuardia CC.
WF1 Healthcare Career Center
WF1 Healthcare Career Center
LaGuardia CC
LaGuardia CC

Brooklyn &
Brooklyn &
Manufacturing Queens &
Manufacturing Queens &
Transportation
The Healthcare Career Transportation

Center/LaGuardia CC was one of Staten Island

Staten Island
the first public sector educators to
recognize the need for Health IT
trained professionals.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Services to Business and Jobseeker Customers

Brand

Customer  Businesses  Jobseekers

Services 1. Help recruit and hire employees based on need 1. Help acquiring a job
Offered 2. Help in training and upgrading the skills of workers 2. Help maintaining a job
3. Help advancing in a job
Value to  Interview only qualified and screened candidates  Increase income
Customer  Reduce costs of hiring  Advance career objectives
 Foster growth and competitiveness through better
trained workforce
Who provides  Sales force:  Workforce1 Career Centers
the services – SBS staff (large accounts)  SBS Contractors and Partners
– Account Managers at Career Centers
– NYC Business Solutions Centers

Key  Sales, screening, matching, human resources  Outreach, assessment, counseling, soft and hard
Competencies technical assistance, customer relationship and skills training, occupational training, referrals to
Required account management jobs, placement, retention services

Products in  NYC Business Solutions Training Funds  Grants for occupational training
support of  State-sponsored training grants when available  Retention and advancement services
services offered  Community partnerships
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Industry Sector Initiatives

Definition of an Industry Sector Strategy

• Focused business development and jobseeker
services within a single economic sector

• Identifies and meets the needs of businesses within

the sector

• Supports workers through occupational training, job

placement, career advancement, and other
employment-related services specific to the sector
Healthcare Job Landscape

• Based on projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

there will be an addition of 600,000 new jobs for
registered nurses by 2018.

* Bolded jobs are projected as the fastest growing career tracks within the current decade
37
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Industry Sector Initiatives - Healthcare

The Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center at LaGuardia

Community College was launched in August 2009 with
a specific focus on healthcare careers in:

• Hospitals
• Long Term Care/Rehabilitation Services
• Doctors Offices and Outpatient Clinics
• Ambulatory Care Services
• EMT/Paramedic
The Healthcare Career Center is currently researching
the need to add healthcare IT curriculum to all of our
training cohorts.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Placement Services for Job-Ready Healthcare Professionals

To enroll in the Healthcare Career Center, candidates

must complete the following steps:
1. Attend a Healthcare Career Center Orientation.
2. Come professionally dressed - interview ready.
3. Attend a Career Advisement and Credential Review
session with a Career Advisor.
4. Meet with an Educational Case Manager to be
screened for upcoming EHR training.
5. Attend Resume and Interview Workshops, as
prescribed.
6. Approved jobseekers will be referred to employers
for interviews.
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

LaGuardia Healthcare Training Overview

• Provide industry-specific skills training and

certification

• Provide non-credit and credit courses of varying

lengths from two days to 24 months

• Utilize full-time and part-time college faculty

• Offer trainings in new state-of-the-art healthcare labs

Business Development

Healthcare

NYC Business Solutions Healthcare/CUNY LaGuardia combined has a

proven track record of meeting the needs of healthcare employers
and has delivered outstanding results for such clients as NYC Health
and Hospital Corp., Beth Israel Hospital, New York Presbyterian
System and other local medical practices. All services of NYC
Business Solutions Healthcare are delivered by industry experts.

Whether you’re looking to enhance your recruitment tactics,

improve retention rates or upgrade the skills of your current staff,
NYC Business Solutions Healthcare can help..at NO COST to you.
Contact: Carl M. Sparacino
Business Services Manager, NYC Business Solutions Healthcare
[email protected] / 718-609-2169 Direct
LaGuardia Community College
Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center

Questions and Answers