20.02.14
Health informatics ‘to come of age’ – BCS
Health informatics must develop professionally to gain recognition from the healthcare workforce, the Chartered Institute for IT (BCS) has urged.
A greater focus on health informatics has been driven by a shortage of leadership and skills in understanding rich data, demand for electronic patient record systems, data transparency enablers, and the shift to mobile and cloud in healthcare.
The NHS should use CPD to help develop workforce capability and professionalism in health informatics, the BCS suggests.
Justin Whatling, chair of BCS Health, part of the Institute said: “Technology is transforming the NHS and our healthcare systems. This in turn is creating a period of heightened awareness on the need for informatics skills and professionalism through the NHS. Informatics professionals are an important staff group who deserve to be recognised and valued for their contribution to the business of health, care and support.
“Although informatics specialists generally do not have hands-on contact with patients and service users, they do affect people’s care and outcomes indirectly through their professional activities. Now is the time for health informatics as a profession to come of age.
“One element in the move towards a mature health informatics profession is the steps we take towards professionalism, something that BCS Health is focussing on with its partners. To this end, we are helping healthcare providers to establish a professionalism framework to attract new staff with new skills, and help existing staff develop skills and progress. Our annual conference, HC2014, is our opportunity to move forwards, highlight the advances and take on the challenges currently being asked as health informatics continues to enable the modernisation of our health care system.”
Mike Sinclair, chairman, HC2014 and BCS Health vice-chair professionalism added: “How we develop informatics workforce capacity, capability and composition will be crucial in enabling health and care service meet the very significant challenges that face us as a society across health, public health and social care sectors. HC2014 is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the approaches and tools that help individuals, teams, organisations and whole health and care communities embrace new ways of working today so that they can better respond to the ‘big picture’ challenges of tomorrow.”
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