Health information technology professionals are in demand.

As the nation moves toward a more technologically advanced health care system, providers are going to need skilled health IT experts to support them in the adoption and use of electronic health records.

To help address this growing demand, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has funded the Health IT Workforce Development Program. The goal is to train a new workforce of health IT professionals who will be ready to help providers implement electronic health records to improve health care quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

About the Workforce Development Program

ONC has awarded $116 million in funding for the following Health IT Workforce Development Program activities:

• Curriculum Development Centers
• Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals
• Program of Assistance for University-Based Training
• Competency Examination Program

Learn more about the ONC Workforce Development Program Initiatives.

Curriculum Development Centers

Health IT Workforce Curriculum Components

The Health IT Workforce Curriculum was developed through collaboration between five Curriculum Development Centers representing Duke University, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia University, with their respective Community College partners, and made possible by cooperative agreement awards administered by ONC.

The Health IT Workforce Curriculum is comprised of twenty complete Components. Each Component includes a Blueprint and an Instructor Manual. The Blueprint provides a high level overview of the Component objectives and outlines the Units that comprise the Component. The number of Units in each Component varies depending on the topic and objectives.

The Instructor Manual for each Component further details the objectives of each Unit and includes recommended references, readings and other resources. Copyrighted materials are referenced; however, it is the responsibility of the end-user to secure use rights and/or purchase resources for use in conjunction with the curriculum.

One of the awardees under this program, Oregon Health & Science University, received additional funding to serve as the National Training and Dissemination Center (NTDC). The NTDC has established this secure, electronic dissemination website from which all materials may be downloaded.  Become part of this movement to train the health IT workforce and improve the delivery of healthcare, set up a new account to gain access to the materials.

Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals

Health IT Foundations for Rural Health Clinics and Community Health Centers

Community colleges in 10 western states linked together, helping to create a skilled health IT workforce. The collective goal is to prepare 2,400 individuals to enter this promising sector of IT, and improve healthcare in the region. Bellevue College is the lead institution for the 10-state consortium designated as Region A. These community colleges received grants to develop or improve non-degree health IT training programs that students can complete in six months or less. Health IT Foundations for Rural Health Clinics and Community Health Centers is one of these programs.

This health information technology training program was designed for rural clinics and community health centers to help equip them to meet Meaningful Use (MU) criteria and to increase workforce capacity for the design, configuration, use, and maintenance of informatics interventions that improve health care delivery. The content is designed for a broad rural healthcare audience, including those in clinical, non-clinical, and leadership roles and equips clinic staff with the skills and knowledge needed to help advance health IT projects and meet meaningful use requirements. The content is derived primarily from the national Health IT curriculum developed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Health IT Foundations for Rural Health Clinics and Community Health Centers covers varied health IT-related topics such as clinical decision support, workflow analysis and redesign, change management, teamwork, and project management.

ONC invites trainers from rural health clinics, community health centers and community colleges to download the free, complete courseware. All resources can be accessed online at the federally funded National Training & Education Resource .

You can browse the course elements in each of the 8 weekly modules and download lectures and other course elements for: