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Health Informatics Capability Development In New Zealand

A Report to the Tertiary Education Commission

November 2006


Abbreviated Executive Summary 


There are many areas of health care that have been impacted by Information and
Communications Technologies (ICTs) in recent years. The emerging discipline of health
informatics brings together the IT sector and those with knowledge of the health sector to
identify and develop the most effective health information systems and services.

New Zealand’s National Health Information Strategy, released in 2005, is focused on
increasing the utilisation of ICTs to enhance the integration of health care services across
the primary and secondary health care sectors, through improved data management.
However, the HIS report stops short of addressing the need for an increased workforce in
this emerging field to deliver the desired benefits.

[...]

The study found that despite some confusion in the health IT industry, both on the part of IT
companies, and healthcare providers, about the definition of health informatics, there is
clearly a role for graduates with a set of competencies that can provide a bridge between the
IT specialist working in the health sector and the clinicians assisting with IT developments.

[...]

National agreement on a postgraduate health informatics curriculum would improve the
effectiveness and the marketability of programmes. It would also encourage an greater
attention to health informatics training in the educational programmes of health care
professionals, especially in the areas of information retrieval and appraisal and data
management protocols.

The national steering committee formed to develop this report have agreed to further
collaboration on a high level national curriculum in health informatics, and support the
concept of an accreditation process for the programmes offered.

The report concludes with a series of recommendations concerning:
  • further investment by government agencies in health informatics education in New Zealand;
  • a commitment to ongoing collaboration between the health informatics education providers;
  • improved links between industry and the education providers, through bodies such as HINZ and the Health IT Cluster;
  • the endorsement of a high level national curriculum in health informatics, and exploration of further curriculum areas needed to support initiatives in New Zealand;
  • better integration of health informatics into undergraduate training for health professionals and computer science programmes;
  • commitment to staff development in the heath IT sector.
Download the full report at:   www.hsci.canterbury.ac.nz  [PDF]

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