Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 1;26(7):586-593.
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocz051.

Domains, tasks, and knowledge for clinical informatics subspecialty practice: results of a practice analysis

Howard D Silverman  1   2   3 , Elaine B Steen  4 , Jacqueline N Carpenito  5 , Christopher J Ondrula  6 , Jeffrey J Williamson  4 , Douglas B Fridsma  4
Affiliations

Domains, tasks, and knowledge for clinical informatics subspecialty practice: results of a practice analysis

Howard D Silverman et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. .

Abstract

Objective: The study sought to develop a comprehensive and current description of what Clinical Informatics Subspecialty (CIS) physician diplomates do and what they need to know.

Materials and methods: Three independent subject matter expert panels drawn from and representative of the 1695 CIS diplomates certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine contributed to the development of a draft CIS delineation of practice (DoP). An online survey was distributed to all CIS diplomates in July 2018 to validate the draft DoP. A total of 316 (18.8%) diplomates completed the survey. Survey respondents provided domain, task, and knowledge and skill (KS) ratings; qualitative feedback on the completeness of the DoP; and detailed professional background and demographic information.

Results: This practice analysis resulted in a validated, comprehensive, and contemporary DoP comprising 5 domains, 42 tasks, and 139 KS statements.

Discussion: The DoP that emerged from this study differs from the 2009 CIS Core Content in 2 respects. First, the DoP reflects the growth in amount, types, and utilization of health data through the addition of a practice domain, tasks, and KS statements focused on data analytics and governance. Second, the final DoP describes CIS practice in terms of tasks in addition to identifying knowledge required for competent practice.

Conclusions: This study (1) articulates CIS diplomate tasks and knowledge used in practice, (2) provides data that will enable the American Board of Preventive Medicine CIS examination to align with current practice, (3) informs clinical informatics fellowship program requirements, and (4) provides insight into maintenance of certification requirements.

Keywords: Physician Board Certification; clinical informatics subspecialty; delineation of practice; practice analysis; workforce development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
This figure provides an overview of Clinical Informatics Subspecialty (CIS) Practice Analysis processes and workflows, work products, and groups. The CIS Practice Analysis was initiated by the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and carried out in collaboration with the American Board of Preventive Medicine and the American Board of Pathology. DoP: delineation of practice; PATF: Practice Analysis Task Force.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gardner RM, Overhage JM, Steen EB, et al. Core content for the subspecialty of clinical informatics. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 162: 153–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shortliffe EH, Detmer DE, Munger BS.. Clinical informatics: emergence of a new profession In: Finnell J, Dixon B, eds. Clinical Informatics Study Guide: Text and Review. Basel, Switzerland: Springer; 2016: 3–21.
    1. Detmer DE, Lumpkin JR, Williamson JJ.. Defining the medical subspecialty of clinical informatics. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 162: 167–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Safran C, Shabot MM, Munger BS, et al. Program requirements for fellowship education in the subspecialty of clinical informatics. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 162: 158–66. Erratum in: J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 16: 605. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lehmann CU, Gundlapalli AV, Williamson JJ, et al. Five years of clinical informatics board certification for physicians in the United States of America. Yearb Med Inform 2018; 27: 237–42. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types