Women in Government:
Jobs Evolution: States’ Response to
Emerging Economic Challenges
Dan Rode, MBA, CHPS, FHFMA
Vice President, Policy and Government Relations
American Health Information Management Association
© 2010

• The ARRA-HITECH programs provide significant stimulus for development of a HIM or HIT workforce.
• In spite of the HITECH funding, education programs at all levels need local support and funding in order to educate and produce a skilled HIM/HIT workforce.
• HITECH funding is limited and the need to continue to graduate new members of the workforce is key given the dual impact of the baby boomers
• Members of the workforce trained in short term program will need a career path and additional education to succeed.
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• Proposition
• AHIMA
• ARRA HITECH
• HITECH Workforce Programs and Funding
• Workforce Needs for Support
• Resources
• Questions
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• 82-year old non-profit, professional association – health information management (HIM)
• Eight professional credentials
• 57,000 + members/ 40 employer types/ close to
125 different functions related to HIM and informatics
• HIM: collection, abstraction, coding, reporting, transfer, storage, analysis, and protection of health information
• Standards for: data collection, use and exchange, classifications and terminologies, privacy and security, and education of the profession.
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• Information and data
• New and existing careers – image
• Industry transformation
• Evolution
• ARRA-HITECH: Meaningful Use
• Professional transformation and career paths
• Clinical – Health Information Technology (IT) –
Management (Operations) or Data
• Baby Boomers
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• Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education
• Independent 501 (c) (3) accreditation organization
• ~ 240 Associate Degree Programs
• 59 Bachelors Degree Programs (more coming)
• 6 Masters Degree Programs (more coming)
• Health Information Management and Informatics
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• Limited programs and faculty
• Limitations on funding
• Public Health Law – Title VII
• ARRA-HITECH Funding
• Campus politics
• Electronic health records education beyond HIM and
HIT
• Allied health training
• Clinician training
• Standards
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• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
• Public Law 111-5
• Title XIII: Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)
• Subpart C/ Subtitle B: Grants and Loans Funding
Incentives for the Use of Health Information
Technology
• Title IV – Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Program
(Meaningful Use)
© 2010

• SEC 3011: Immediate Funding to Strengthen the
Health Information Technology Infrastructure
• SEC 3012: Health Information Technology
Implementation Assistance
• SEC 3013: State Grants to Promote Health
Information Technology
• SEC 3015: Demonstration Program to Integrate
Information Technology into Clinical Education
• SEC 3016: Information Technology Professionals in Health Care
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• State Health Information Exchange Cooperative
Agreement Program
• Grants to State or State Designated Entities
• Establish health information exchange (HIE)
• ~ $548M across all states
• 4-year cooperative agreement
• Workforce impact limited
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(continued)
• Health Information Technology Extension Program
• 60 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) – extension agents
• HIT Research Center (HITRIC)
• ~ $375M initially across all centers – more funding up to 4 years.
• Support 100,000 priority primary care practices
• Workforce impact significant but undefined
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(continued)
• Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects
(SHARP) Program
• 4 Universities
• Research and best practices
• $15 M per university
• Workforce impact insignificant
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(continued)
• Community College Consortia to Educate Health
Information Technology Professionals in Health
Care Program
• Programs offered through on-campus or distance learning or combination
• Training to be completed within 6 months or less
• 10,500 graduates annually
• $36M to 5 Consortia covering approximately 70 community colleges -- $34M in year 2.
• Programs begin September 2010
• Workforce impact significant
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(continued)
• Curriculum Development Centers Program
• Develop curriculum for Community College
Consortia Program
• $10M to 5 institutions of higher learning: Oregon
Health and Science, Univ. of Alabama, Johns
Hopkins, Columbia, and Duke
• Oregon to become the National Training and
Dissemination Center
• Delivery before September?
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(continued)
• Program of Assistance for University-Based Training
• University-level training in specific health IT professional roles including:
• Clinician/Public Health Leader
• Health Information Management and Exchange
Specialist
• Health Information Privacy and Security
Specialists
• Research and Development Scientists
• Programmers and Software Engineer
• Health IT Sub-specialist
• 9 Universities $1.4M - $5.4M
• Columbia, Colorado, Duke, GW, Indiana, Johns
Hopkins, Minnesota, Oregon, and Texas
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(continued)
• Competency Examination Program
• “Certification” for those taking the non-degree
HIT program or members of the workforce with relevant experience or other types of training
• $6M – two year program
• 22,000 test takers – free
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Could impact workforce
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(continued)
• Beacon Community Program
• Community demonstrations of technology, best practices, infrastructure and exchange capabilities
• 15 community entities
• $11.9M – $16.1M
• Coordinated with the REC and SHIE programs
• Could affect workforce
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• HIM Workforce Needs (BLS-2007)
• Baby boomer = increase need for healthcare
• Increase need for HIT in healthcare = more careers (19-24% increase)
• Baby boomer retirements
• Sophisticated technology and more data
• Unique demands on health information, data, and protection
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• Education
• Limited HIM/HIT programs - access
• Limited faculty
• Limited funding for programs beyond 6 months
• Reduced funding at colleges and universities
• Need for education at bachelors and graduate levels
• Limited understanding of the profession – recruitment
• Limited organizations willing to take interns
• Funding – Federal (Title VII) and State
• Programs beyond 6 months – integration with other workforce program?
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• Other issues (for example):
• Compatible confidentiality, privacy, and security laws – healthcare does not stop at the border
• 21 st century data laws and regulations
• Electronic records, signature, and authentication laws and regulations
• Fair payment for healthcare services
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• HHS-Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC) www.healthit.hhs.gov
• Public Law 111-5: ARRA-HITECH www.gpo.fov/fdsys
• AHIMA www.ahima.org
• AHIMA Statement on HIM Professional Workforce same address under AHIMA position
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Building the Workforce for Health Information Transformation www.ahima.org/infocenter/whitepapers/Workforce_web.pdf
AHIMA and the American medical Informatics Association’s (AMIA) report on the transition to an electronic health record (EHR) system and the need to address workforce associated with the planning, implementation, maintenance, and protection of the EHR
Health Information Management and Informatics Core
Competencies for Individuals Working with Electronic Health
Records www.ahima.org/infocenter/whitepapers/workforce_2008.pdf
This second report from the AHIMA/AMIA Work Force Task Force addresses the core competencies needed by individuals working with electronic health records across the spectrum of the healthcare industry.
© 2010

Q&A - Contact
Comments !!!
Questions ???
Dan Rode, MBA, CPHS, FHFMA
Vice President, Policy and Government Relations
American Health Information Management Association
1730 M Street, NW, Suite 502
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 659-9440
E-Mail: dan.rode@ahima.org
© 2010