Table 1.

Focus group topic guide; Prost Marketing, Inc., May 2011; Health Information Technology (HIT) Focus Groups

Introduction	Background notes	•HIT is where the internet was in the 90’s (wild, wild west) •Overall want to understand what Texas employer needs are related to HIT workforce •Likely doing a lot within the HIT industry; working your way through •Want to have the right type of workforce (skills) – now and for the future •Want to have the Right type of training so that employers have employees with the right competencies Foundational work – to make all the computer technology work
	Purpose of Group	•The purpose of this discussion is to learn about your attitudes, needs and desires, perceptions and interests relating to Health IT •Main focus on people whose job is totally concerned with the HIT (example would be network security, systems analyst, data analyst, CIO, health information manager, etc.) •Rather than clinical or other staff (such as front-line physicians, nurses and other therapists) who use health IT as a tool. •End Goal: We Will Be Building A Survey From The Focus Group Information.
	Ground Rules	•One at a time, all participate, no cell phones/pagers •Audio-taping, confidentiality, no right or wrong answers •Independent of group sponsor
Introduction of Participants	Name and Organization	•Job title/function •Length of time in this job •Years working in the field •How you got into field •Brief overview of organization/city/size Where Organization is on Adoption Model
	Interest in HIT
Overview of HIT Industry	Current Trends you see in HIT Workforce within your Organization.	•Role of Information Technology within healthcare delivery organizations •How large of a priority within organizations (extremely high to not a priority at all) •Why a priority/not a priority?
	Frustrations/Barriers
	How important is	•A well-trained workforce capable of developing, implementing, and evaluating health information technology (HIT) in your healthcare related facility. (Description from 2010 Hersh article) –Extremely important (5) –Somewhat Important (4) –Neutral(3) –Not too important (2) –Not important at all (1)
	Needs for the future for the HIT Workforce – general Overview; ask open ended First and then Probe	•Immediate •3–5 years •Long term
	Current Trends/Comply with	•Is your workforce ready? •How will you get ready? •What do you need?
HIT Workforce	Description of current Work Force
	Do you currently have HIT Workforce?	•What types? •How many? •What is their level of competency? •How well have they been trained? •What type of background do they have?
		•What type of training have they received? –Training Source: Higher Education in HIT Migrate to position within organization Continuing Education On the Job training?
		•What types of HIT workforce (roles or general skill sets) do you need now? –For each type, how many would you need? –What type of background, either experiential or educational would you expect them to have? –What would be the ideal type of worker instead of a set of skills that would normally require a lot of different workers? •What can you afford? •Are you experiencing challenges with paying and retaining your HIT workforce?
		•What types of HIT workforce (roles or general skill sets) do you anticipate needing in 3–5 years? –For each type, how many would you anticipate needing? •What type of background, either experiential or educational would you expect them to have?
	Compensation Model	•How is the compensation model changing? •What is the impact on the use of health information? •Anticipate organizations electronically reporting quality measures or trying to implement population health monitoring would have new HIT workforce needs. From the perspective of their organization. –Pay for Performance –Use of incentives to be able to perform more (tasks) –Other the Windows
Target Segments of the Workforce using EHRS – Who are primary Users?	Clinically focused: Physicians,. Nurses, Therapists, Pharmacy, etc.	Basic Computer Literacy Skills •What types of job titles require these skills? •What are the core competencies needed here? –Demonstrate basic computer operating procedures such as login the computer and logoff, opening, closure and saving files. –Demonstrate proficiency in operating environment. –Resolve minor technical problems associated with use of computers. –Demonstrate Internet/intranet communication skills. –Access and use a Web browsing application. –Demonstrate use of email, addressing, forwarding, attachments, and netiquette. –Identify and use icons, windows, and menus.
		Health Informatics skills using EHRs •What types of job titles require these skills? •What are the core competencies needed here? –Create and update documents within the electronic health record (EHR) and the personal health record (PHR). –Locate and retrieve information in the electronic health record for various purposes. –Perform data entry of narrative information. –Locate and retrieve information from a variety of electronic sources. –Know the policies and procedures related to populating and using the health data content within primary and secondary health data sources and databases. –Apply appropriate documentation management principles to ensure data quality and integrity. –Use software applications to generate reports. –Know and apply appropriate methods to ensure the authenticity of health data entries in electronic information systems. –Use electronic tools and applications for scheduling patients.
Administrative Personnel, Human Resources, Clerical Staff, Data Analysts, Public Health Workers, Emergency Medical Personnel, Medical Assistants, Dietary Workers, Lab or Radiology Techs, Nurse Aids….		Basic Computer Literacy Sills •What types of job titles require these skills? •What are the core competencies needed here? –Demonstrate basic computer operating procedures such as login the computer and logoff, opening, closure and saving files. –Demonstrate proficiency in the Windows operating environment. –Resolve minor technical problems associated with use of computers. –Demonstrate Internet/intranet communication skills. –Access and use a Web browsing application. –Demonstrate use of email, addressing, forwarding, attachments, and netiquette. –Identify and use icons, windows, and menus.
		Health Informatics Skills Using EHRs •What types of job titles require these skills? •What are the core competencies needed here? –Create and update documents within the electronic health record (EHR) and the personal health record (PHR). –Locate and retrieve information in the electronic health record for various purposes. –Perform data entry of narrative information. –Locate and retrieve information from a variety of electronic sources. –Know the policies and procedures related to populating and using the health data content within primary and secondary health data sources and databases. –Apply appropriate documentation management principles to ensure data quality and integrity. –Use software applications to generate reports. –Know and apply appropriate methods to ensure the authenticity of health data entries in electronic information systems. –Use electronic tools and applications for scheduling patients.
Final Comments	What other Issues or Topics do we need to cover related to HIT Workforce Development?

HIT Resources:

EHR Meaningful Use (NEJM article:

http://healthpolicyandreform.nejm.org/?p=3732;

Accountable Care Organizations:

http://www.aha.org/aha/content/2010/pdf/09–26–2010-Res-Synth-Rep.pdf;

Implementation of ICD-10:

http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=3407&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&check

Key=2&srchType=2&numDays=0&srchOpt=0&srchData=icd%2D10&keywordType=

All&chkNewsType=6&intPage=&showAll=1&pYear=&year=0&desc=&cboOrder=date

Health information exchange:

http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1488&mode=2;

Affordable Care Act:

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/introduction/index.html;

Patient-Centered Medical Home:

http://www.pcpcc.net/patient-centered-medical-home

Immediate – next 1–3 years