Strengthening our profession by defining clinical and health informatics practice

The publication of 2 American Medical Informatics Association board-approved reports marks the completion of the first data-driven effort to define clinical and health informatics practice.^1,2 While the impetus for the 2 practice analyses was to update the Clinical Informatics Subspecialty Core Content and inform development of advanced health informatics certification, the long-term impact of this work on the informatics profession cannot be understated.^3,4 For the first time, we have an operational definition of clinical informatics subspecialty (CIS) and health informatics practice sourced directly from practitioners.

The American Medical Informatics Association organized separate, independent practice analyses for 2 distinct communities—CIS diplomates and applied health informatics professionals. The CIS community is a clearly defined population of physicians who have passed the clinical informatics board certification examination. The health informatics community is a more loosely defined group who have come to health informatics through a range of pathways (eg, nursing, public health, computer science). Despite the differences in clinical education, training, and experience of the two cohorts, our preliminary results suggest that there is remarkable similarity in the informatics tasks, knowledge, and skills across the breadth of CIS and health informatics professionals.

For example, even though the groups worked separately, the high-level domains used to describe CIS and health informatics practice are essentially the same. Even the more detailed tasks, knowledge, and skill statements associated with CIS and health informatics practice show a high degree of overlap. This gave us independent confirmation that applied clinical/health informatics professionals coming from a range of primary health (eg, medicine, nursing, public health) and computational domains and working in diverse settings perform a common core set of tasks and possess a common core set of knowledge and skills. The 2 practice analyses confirm that clinical and health informatics is a consistent and recognizable professional practice. Further, while clinical or health training informs applied informatics practice, that training and clinical expertise is independent of the clinical and health informatics expertise.

Recognition of the unique set of knowledge and skills associated with clinical/health informatics practice will create opportunities and raise expectations for informatics professionals. Educational programs will have a clearer sense of what their graduates need to be prepared to do upon graduation. The emergence of a shared body of knowledge will support a convergence among curricula of educational programs and create opportunities for synergies and efficiencies between CIS fellowship and graduate health informatics programs. Employers will have greater confidence when hiring health informatics graduates. Current professionals will likely seek more targeted professional development opportunities to prepare for future advancement. Future professionals will have a much better idea of what their jobs will entail and how to prepare for those jobs. Those interested in informatics careers will have a more complete roadmap as it relates to professional opportunities.

However, the most profound impact of this data-driven approach may lie in the confirmation and reinforcement of the profession’s identity. These studies confirm that we all share a common foundation of skills and knowledge, define who we are and what we do, and strengthen us as both individual professionals and as a maturing profession.