Developing Workforce Capacity in Public Health Informatics: Core Competencies and Curriculum Design.

We describe a master's level public health informatics (PHI) curriculum to support workforce development. Public health decision-making requires intensive information management to organize responses to health threats and develop effective health education and promotion. PHI competencies prepare the public health workforce to design and implement these information systems.

Health Reform in Minnesota: An Analysis of Complementary Initiatives Implementing Electronic Health Record Technology and Care Coordination.

Background: Minnesota enacted legislation in 2007 that requires all health care providers in the state to implement an interoperable electronic health record (EHR) system by 2015. 100% of hospitals and 98% of clinics had adopted EHR systems by end of 2015. Minnesota's 2008 health reform included a health care home (HCH) program, Minnesota's patient centered medical home.

Eligibility requirements for advanced health informatics certification.

AMIA is leading the effort to strengthen the health informatics profession by creating an advanced health informatics certification (AHIC) for individuals whose informatics work directly impacts the practice of health care, public health, or personal health. The AMIA Board of Directors has endorsed a set of proposed AHIC eligibility requirements that will be presented to the future AHIC certifying entity for adoption. These requirements specifically establish who will be eligible to sit for the AHIC examination and more generally signal the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience expected from certified individuals.

Partnership to promote interprofessional education and practice for population and public health informatics: A case study.

Team-based healthcare delivery models, which emphasize care coordination, patient engagement, and utilization of health information technology, are emerging. To achieve these models, expertise in interprofessional education, collaborative practice across professions, and informatics is essential. This case study from informatics programs in the Academic Health Center (AHC) at the University of Minnesota and the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) at the Minnesota Department of Health presents an academic-practice partnership, which focuses on both interprofessionalism and informatics.

Psychological assessment instruments: a coverage analysis using SNOMED CT, LOINC and QS terminology.

Psychometric instruments, inventories, surveys, and questionnaires are widely accepted tools in the field of behavioral health. They are used extensively in primary and clinical research, patient care, quality measurement, and payor oversight. To accurately capture and communicate instrument-related activities and results in electronic systems, existing healthcare standards must be capable of representing the full range of psychometric instruments used in research and clinical care.

EHR adoption and use. Results from the 2010 Minnesota ambulatory clinic survey.

Use of an electronic health record (EHR) system is considered key to improving patient care. Hospitals and clinics around the country are in the process of adopting these systems as the federal government rolls out incentives for using them. This article summarizes the results of a 2010 survey of ambulatory clinics in Minnesota regarding theiradoption and use of EHRs and their ability to electronically exchange information with other providers.

Minnesota framework for identification, endorsement and adoption of standards for interoperable electronic health records statewide.

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative developed a framework for identification, endorsement and adoption of standards as part of a state mandate for providers to implement interoperable electronic health records by 2015. The framework builds on national work and assesses opportunities and readiness for collaborative action to support implementation. Opportunities for sharing resources and benefits for a collaborative focus are discussed.

IT use, quality of care, and adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in South Korean hospitals.

Many scholars have argued that hospitals should introduce IT systems to improve quality of care. This study looked at the relationship among IT use, quality of care in local areas, and EHR adoption. Preliminary results show that 1) there was a significant difference in IT use between hospitals adopting and not adopting EHR system, 2) a positive but not statistically significant relationship was observed between the local area's quality of care and hospitals' EHR adoption.