The Doctor is in, but is Academia? Re-Tooling IT Education for a New Era in Healthcare

1. INTRODUCTION When the conversations began revolving around this Healthcare special edition, clinics and hospitals across the US were struggling with how to implement the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The purpose of HITECH is to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology and certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT). The first phase of the program details the requirements for the use of electronic health record (EHR) systems by hospitals and health care professionals. It is a key metric for compliance and accreditation. A primary goal for healthcare organizations is to demonstrate a value based approach to their adoption and application of healthcare information technology (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). Since that time, we have seen a roller coaster of changes, delays, and implementation approaches in meeting the requirements. And independent of shifting political climates, one thing is certain--information technology has become a key driver in the delivery and management of care, across socioeconomic and interdisciplinary boundaries. This Special Edition seeks to explore where we are today and where we need to be in IT education as it relates to the healthcare industry. Are we properly equipping our students to rise to the occasion and capitalize on these new opportunities? Will those entering the medical profession and allied health fields have the skills to embrace disruptive technologies and manage the trade-offs to effectively integrate new tools into their care delivery system. As scholars, in what ways are we advancing healthcare information technology and its management beyond traditional industry models? What can we do to proliferate and embrace disruptive technologies, and harness them to safely provide patient care? What are the opportunities for injecting new life into IT curriculums? 1.1 Industry Synopsis and Challenges The past 4 years have seen an unprecedented push to adopt information technology in the healthcare environment. That push has arrived with mixed results. In meeting the growing demands of healthcare institutions trying to leverage technology, a highly specialized labor force is needed to facilitate the design, implementation, and support of the myriad of tools that are entering the marketplace (Computer Sciences Corporation, 2010). This genesis in a new era of healthcare will tap into design and engineering innovations, along with the need for properly educated users and support staff, including those that support the technology itself. From clinical applications and the actuary using decision support systems for underwriting, to the son or daughter connecting their elderly parents to the networked in-home devices for diagnosis and online consultation, no healthcare process will be devoid of technology. This paradigm shift in healthcare models begs the question--how do we get there, and who will do it? Both policy and patient care are banking heavily on innovations in IT and telecommunications to lower costs while driving design and development to ultimately improve the quality and delivery of care. A number of challenges will continue to vex the healthcare industry with the increased dependency on information technology. As adoption grows, so will the threats to operational stability. The fundamental issues facing healthcare are areas that will be familiar to the IT educator, but may be new territory for many clinicians. 1.2 Data Systems As the adoption of EHR expands, the new data amassed will increase exponentially, and data systems will need to be managed and integrated to handle this exponential increase. Data systems essential to decision support activities such as International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, Healthcare level 7 (HL7) data exchange, lab results, patient record systems, and patient financial records will need to be interoperable. …