1. Health Information Technology Workforce Development Program Overview
Chitra Mohla
Director, Community College Workforce Program
Office Of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) December 6, 2010

2. What are we Striving for?
Transforming Health Care Through The Use of Health IT to Improve Quality and Patient Safety
The Key to our Success Trained Health Care Professionals
Privacy & Security
EHR

3. From here…

4. To…Electronic Health Records

5. Is there a workforce?
Need trained “health IT practitioners” to facilitate implementation and adoption of HIT
Estimated shortfall of at least 51,000 HIT professionals in the coming years
ARRA/HITECH Section 3016 provided funding to institutions of higher education

6. Health IT Workforce Program
Four Integrated programs:
Community College Consortia to Educate Health IT professionals
Curriculum Development Centers
Competency Examination for Individuals Completing Non-degree Training
Assistance for University-Based Training

7. Community College Consortia Program
$ 70 Million, supports ~ 70 Community Colleges via 5 Cooperative Agreements
One Cooperative Agreement awarded to each of 5 HHS-Defined Service Regions Covering the Nation

8. Community College Consortia
Region A Bellevue College
Region E Tidewater CC
Region B Los Rios CC District
Region C Cuyahoga CC District
Region D Pitt CC

9. Shaping the Future of Health Care
Goal: 10,500 Health Information Technology Professionals trained
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research ,

10. Workforce Roles Targeted Health IT Professional Roles
Mobile workforce supporting adoption process
Practice workflow and information management redesign specialists
Clinician/practitioner consultants
Implementation support specialist
Implementation managers
Onsite support personnel (post-adoption)
Technical/software support staff
Trainers

11. Key Features of the Community College Programs
Training programs to be completed in six months or less
Students will receive an institutional certificate for completion of the program
Programs flexibly implemented
Those with health backgrounds: Training will emphasize IT topics
Those with technical backgrounds: Training will emphasize health topics

12. Curriculum Development Centers Program
$ 10 million Program
Goals
to make available high quality educational materials reflecting best practice in a rapidly changing field
to enable community college programs to ramp up quickly
Cooperative Agreements Awarded to 5 universities working with community colleges
Products will be available Free of License Fee to all Training Providers

13. Competency Examination Program
$6 Million Program
Cooperative Agreement Awarded to Northern Virginia Community College
Competency exams for the six roles that Community College and Curriculum Development Centers are addressing
Tests for Individuals Completing Non-Degree Training
NOT A CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
First 27,500 examinees take exam free of charge

14. University-Based Training
$ 32 Million program
9 Training Grant Awards Made April 2
Targets 6 roles Requiring More Specialized Technical Training (Health Care and Public Health)
Clinician/Public Health Leader
Health Information Management and Exchange Specialist
Health Information Privacy & Security Specialist
Research and Development Scientist
Programmers and Software Engineers
Health IT Sub-specialist

15. Regional Extension Centers to Stimulate Adoption of HIT
Goal: Assist at least 100,000 primary care providers to adopt HIT by 2012
$ 677 million program 62 Regional Extension Centers funded, covering 100% of the U.S.
Precedent: Agricultural and manufacturing extension programs
Requirement: Provide comprehensive “boots on the ground” support

16. Visit the ONC Web site: healthit.hhs.gov
For More Information
Visit the ONC Web site: healthit.hhs.gov 16