This project is creating a healthcare IT technician certificate program along with the preparatory curriculum required for community college implementation. Project partnerships comprise the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NSF ATE Center) at Bellevue College, and the world's largest health IT professional association, the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS). No technician level information technology certification now exists in healthcare. The Health IT Specialist certification addresses a serious and widening gap. The need for IT technicians in healthcare is unquestionably increasing, as the government funds electronic medical record adoption. This project defines a domain, assessment of competency within that domain, and curriculum to support attainment. A newly codified career pathway facilitates entry for underserved learners, by establishing a recognized industry credential.
project on time and under budget. All goals were successfully met. Hallmarks of the intellectual merits and broader impacts resulting from this initiative include: Significant participation by industry experts and practitioners resulted in defining entry level endeavor in the field of information technology in healthcare. Through a rigorous process of industry input, the Certified Associate in Health Information & Management Systems (CAHIMS) credential was developed, vetted with practitioners and employers, and piloted. The world's largest professional association, the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS), partnered in this effort and accepted the examination for curation and administration. An online curriculum to assist learners was developed, vetted by industry, piloted and is now available on the National Training and Education Resource for free download. Both individuals interested in credential attainment and educators wishing to prepare learners for entry and certification into the field are accessing this instructional content. In an industry characterized by very rapid growth and increasing workforce opportunity, CAHIMS is the first industry credential designed for entry level workers to take the first formative step into professional attainment. CAHIMS has been designated as the only required interim credential in the Health IT Federally Registered Apprenticeship which will be inaugurated in September, 2015. The CAHIMS curriculum has been incorporated into new pilot health IT certificate programs and infused into existing nursing and allied health programs in a nine college consortium funded by the Department of Labor, in advance of national dissemination in 2015. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative selected the CAHIMS curriculum for co-development with Bellevue College to enhance online course elements and host them on the Carnegie Mellon learning platform. Information Technology, nursing and allied health faculty are being enriched as CAHIMS curricula is internalized in whole and part. This project has added to acceleration of adoption of electronic health records in the US. Significant workforce need has been created by healthcare providers acquiring, implementing and maintaining digital record systems, and communicating them to other health professionals. NSF's investment in the CAHIMS project has seeded additional federal support, including a 2012 award to Bellevue College from the Dept. of Labor for $11.8M. CAHIMS curriculum dissemination, implementation, and further on line learning enhancements are part of the new undertaking. Project principals believe this work has produced occasion for hope in individuals who might otherwise struggle to find footing in a difficult to navigate profession. Once attained, credential holders signal employers their purposeful intention, elemental grasp of the domain and willingness to invest in progression. The CAHIMS certification lights the lamp beside the door of a high wage, high demand career. We are honored to have been entrusted with the work, and greatly enriched by association with the National Science Foundation.
