1. Position Descriptions for Public Health Informaticians
ASHTO Informatics Directors
April 1, 2013
Atlanta, GA
Public Health Informatics Institute .

2. Overview Institute project: Proposal:
Develop position descriptions (PDs) for Public Health Informaticians at federal, state & local agencies
Proposal:
Explore whether ASTHO and the Institute could work together to develop the PDs for state agencies
In November of 2012, the Institute was asked by the CDC to become engaged in efforts to develop position descriptions for informaticians at the federal, state and local level.
We have a few brief slides to describe the project, and are asking to work together to create project deliverables that meet the needs of states seeking to address the issues associated with supporting the informatics workforce

3. Project Goal
Advance the discipline of public health informatics by creating template position descriptions for public health informaticians at the federal, state, and local levels.
Objective:
By July 31, 2013, have finalized four state/local PHI PDs and have related communication ready for dissemination
The over-arching AIM of the project is to support activities that will advance the discipline of public health informatics. One of the biggest challenges faced at every level of government is recruiting and hiring individuals that have the combination of skills and competencies needed by informatics professionals. To address this situation, the CDC has pursued establishing a public health informatics classification with the Department of Labor.
Our charge right now is to develop 4 template position descriptions for state and local health departments.

4. Activities To date: Currently: Federal classifications developed
Four sample federal PDs developed
CDC pursuing establishment of the classification within US Department of Labor
Currently:
Initiating work on state and local PDs
To data, four federal level classifications have been developed. These include an Executive level, Management level, Professional and Sr.Scientist. A template for each position has been developed, and CDC is working to submit the paperwork to the Department of Labor.
This activity may provide the rationale for state and local agencies to propose classifications within their own human resources systems.
PHII has just initiated the development of the four template positions for state and local agencies.

5. Informatics Classification Framework for State and Local Public Health Agencies
Executive Level
Plans, directs, and formulates policies, sets strategies and provides overall direction for agency’s informatics activities, development and services, within the parameters of governing bodies. May or may not supervise other personnel.
Possible Titles
Chief Public Health Informatician
Chief Informatics Officer
Chief, Public Health Informatics
Deputy Chief, Public Health Informatics
The proposed classification include 4 major categories of executive, management, professional and clinical.
The executive level position includes those that have agency-wide responsibility for setting policy, strategy and oversight of a broad range of projects or program areas.

6. Informatics Classification Framework for State and Local Public Health Agencies
Management/ Supervisor Level
Directs, manages and executes day-to-day operational objectives of public health programs. Typically, directly supervises the activities of exempt and non-exempt personnel.
Possible Titles
Director, Cancer Registry Program
Immunization Registry Manager
Data Quality Supervisor
Agency Interoperability Coordinator
The management level proposed to include 3-5 progressively responsible positions, which would include supervision of other staff. Examples of titles in this role might be Directors of an immunization information system, or other registries, or supervisory roles that oversees the day-to-day operations associated with various aspects of data management

7. Informatics Classification Framework for State and Local Public Health Agencies
Professional Level
Positions that require specialized informatics knowledge, acquired through academic preparation, work experience, or other training that provides comparable knowledge. Requires ability to apply informatics theories, concepts, methods and tools to ensure effective programmatic use of information and information technology. A series of progressively responsible levels.
Possible Titles
Public Health Informatics Analyst (e.g., Data Analyst)
Public Health Informatics Specialist I (Data Exchange Processor)
Public Health Informatics Specialist II (e.g., HL7 Specialist, Interface Developer, Data Reporting/ Visualization Specialist)
Public Health Informatics Specialist III (e.g., Data Quality Team Lead, Data Analysis Team Lead)
The professional level classification was suggested as a way to establish a career track for those individuals that may have deep subject matter expertise, but do not wish to pursue management or operations.

8. Informatics Classification Framework for State and Local Public Health Agencies
Clinical Level
Applies informatics theory and practice to the design and use of clinical information systems within a public health agency, or in the design of public health information or decision-support systems to better support clinical care. Provides specific clinical informatics expertise to establish policies, practices and procedures for public health informatics within a program or across the agency.
Possible Titles
Medical Informatician
Nurse Informatician
Clinical Informatics Specialist
Clinical Informatics Analyst
Clinical classifications are conceived of as those in which a clinician provides both subject matter expertise in a recognized medical or allied health profession, such as nutritionist, audiologist or nursing, and works to develop related information systems to support clinical work or program areas.

9. The “Ask” of ASTHO Help us ask the right questions
Provide input into the framework
Help us understand the reporting relationships & structures, and how they impact the types and range of positions needed in state agencies
Identify collateral pieces needed for HR professionals
As we move forward we believe there will be a number of questions that arise that are best answered collectively. In this very early stage, we have questions about how much emphasis is needed on research or innovation? What kinds of clinical informatics positions are needed? (i.e. what kinds of professionals might fall into those categories?) Advice about salary ranges, what does the management category need to look like? Are there variations across state environments that need to be taken into account (such as unions) what does the reporting environment look like? Should we shoot for career ladders to 10 years out-or just immediate needs?
At this point, we’ll end the presentation and have a series of questions for you as part of the survey. We look forward to our conversation in Atlanta.