Push for EHR Prompts Need for Healthcare IT Specialists
As more healthcare institutions are being prompted to make the transition to certified electronic health records (EHR), health information technology specialists are in high demand, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Acute care hospitals as well as post-acute care and rehabilitation facilities must work to integrate EHR systems into their patient care process. According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, facilities must also demonstrate their EHR systems are technologically supported, secure, and functional—and that’s where the experts come in.
Specialists who have trained in either healthcare technology or information technology may prove essential, both by ensuring institutions make a smooth transition to the new EHR systems, and making sure critical patient information is gathered, stored and utilized in a safe manner.
Workflow specialists, for example, can help integrate the new information systems, says the news source. IT trainers are also needed to bring medical professionals up to date on process and use requirements, and both may be employed by companies that provide EHR technology,
Speaking to the paper, Thomas Shlala, a grant program coordinator at Atlanta Technical College, noted that the U.S. government founded the Health IT Workforce Development Program to address an anticipated shortage of nearly 51,000 healthcare information technology professionals by 2013—even more reason to start thinking about how your facility, staff and residents will be impacted by the upcoming transitions to EHR.