In some ways, Massachusetts providers offer a welcome glance at the future of health IT adoption, taking a lead in the use of EMRs and e-prescribing. However, it also offers a glimpse into the issues increased adoption may create. Increasingly, the state's providers are having trouble finding staff members who know enough about both IT and clinical practice to move health IT efforts forward. Demand for health IT specialists is only likely to increase as legislative efforts push EMR adoption further along the curve, experts note. In response to Boston-area shortage, the area's Northeastern University is launching a clinical IT graduate program, a master's of science in health informatics. Similar training programs already exist in Oregon and Alabama. Given that this is a national problem, you can safely bet that more universities will roll out similar programs over the next couple of years-the sooner the better.
To learn more about this trend:
- read this Boston Globe article