CHICAGO, June 8 -- The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) announce their support for legislation introduced by Congressman David Wu (D-OR) to ensure a trained work force capable of innovating, implementing, and using health communications and information technology (IT). The proposed legislation would authorize the National Science Foundation to award grants to institutions of higher education to develop and offer educational and training programs for healthcare workers and professionals in applied health and medical informatics.

"We are very pleased to see this legislation being introduced. Health IT cannot be effective unless those who use it to perform their duties are properly trained," states Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, AHIMA's CEO. "Without a plan to train healthcare workers at all levels of healthcare delivery, the goal of an improved, interconnected healthcare system may never be met."

"This bill will not only provide the funding necessary to develop the current work force; it will also help improve the curriculum in academic programs to increase the number of students who pursue studies in fields related to healthcare informatics," adds Don E Detmer, MD, MA, President and CEO of AMIA.


AHIMA and AMIA have been focused on developing the information management and informatics work force for some time. In recent years AHIMA has addressed work force issues by advancing an agenda for electronic health information management (e-HIM©), creating a virtual educational laboratory to provide training for students, and developing a framework for education that encompasses the new roles required by the electronic workplace. AMIA has been a core resource for academic programs in medical and nursing informatics. In 2005 AMIA created the "10x10" program, which aims to realize the goal of training 10,000 healthcare professionals in applied health and medical informatics by 2010. Dr. William Hersh, Director of the "10x10" program at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) was pleased to serve as an expert source of information for Representative Wu and his staff as they crafted legislation to address the training needs of the nation's health work force.

In 2005, AHIMA and AMIA hosted the first-ever summit to develop strategies to address work force challenges related to electronic health records (EHRs) and a nationwide health information infrastructure. The summit produced targeted recommendations for preparing the existing health work force to use technology tools and to ensure a sufficient number of well-qualified health information specialists to achieve effective health IT transformation. The recommendations included federal support for health IT adoption and training, and legislation to increase funding for education programs.

For a copy of the AHIMA/AMIA summit report, "Building the Work Force for Health Information Transformation," visit AHIMA's Web site at http://www.ahima.org/emerging_issues/Workforce_web.pdf.

About AHIMA
AHIMA is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's 50,000 members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information needed to deliver quality health care to the public. Founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning.

About AMIA
AMIA is an organization of leaders shaping the future of health information technology in the United States and abroad. AMIA is dedicated to the development and application of medical informatics in support of patient care, teaching, research, and health care administration.

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