AMIA releases report on EMR core competencies

The American Medical Informatics Association has released a report detailing what health workers should know when working with EMRs. AMIA's goal is take the focus away from higher technical issues for a moment, notably implementation of EMRs, and focus on how health care workers use EMRs.

The problem that AMIA foresaw was that while organizations are moving toward adopting EMRs, not many workers or employers have the resources available to them to learn how to use them. These guidelines are aimed at helping employers make it clear what sort of resources they and their employees will need when adopting the records system.

The tool is available free of charge, and breaks down core competencies necessary into five major areas: health information literacy, informatics skills, privacy and confidentiality, data technical security and basic computer literacy skills. The report was issued in conjunction with the American Health Information Management Association.

To learn more about the report:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Many more HIT pros needed as EMRs roll out [2]
Texas EMR resistance shows extent of adoption problem [3]
MGMA 2008: Health system execs urge new financial model for medical groups [4]
The EMR information quest [5]