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“Physician practices should capitalize on these federally funded workforce training programs to get more practice administrators versed in HIT and health informatics.”


tia, Texas is part of Region D. Texas insti- tutions in the Region D Consortium are Dallas County Community College Dis- trict, Houston Community College, and Midland College.


The grant covers all of Mr. Weaver’s tuition; he pays only for textbooks. He travels to San Marcos once a week


for an evening class but uses an online portal to submit his homework assign- ments and to take tests. Austin Sports Medicine is a paper


staff, recent college graduates, and infor- mation technology (IT) professionals to oversee health information technology (HIT) at multiple sites, including the physician practice. According to the U.S. Bureau of La- bor Statistics and Department of Educa- tion, approximately 50,000 qualified HIT workers will be needed to meet the fed- eral mandate requiring health care pro- fessionals to implement EHRs by 2015. Eric Weaver, MHA, Austin Sports Medicine practice administrator, is tak- ing advantage of funding for Health IT Workforce Development Program activi- ties supported by the Office of the Na- tional Coordinator for Health Informa- tion Technology (ONC).


He’s studying to earn a graduate


certificate in health information man- agement (HIM) from the Professional University Resources and Education for Health Information Technology (PURE- HIT) consortium, led by Texas State Uni- versity in San Marcos. Jake Manuel, MD, an Austin Sports Medicine orthopedic surgeon, recognizes the value in Mr. Weaver’s training. “There is particular concern that small


and medium-size practices may not com- pletely understand the risks that EHR


56 TEXAS MEDICINE July 2011


software might bring because they lack the technical expertise, management so- phistication, and economies of scale that larger practices and hospitals have. The physicians in our group are quite pleased with how Eric has pursued formalized training in HIT at Texas State. Whenever we decide to adopt an EHR, we are con- fident that he will be able to apply his knowledge and training to ensure a suc- cessful outcome,” Dr. Manuel said. Last April, ONC granted $32 million to nine colleges and universities under the Program of Assistance for University- Based Training. Of the funds, Texas State University in San Marcos received $5.4 million -– the largest award in the nation for a university-based training program — to be the lead institution for the PURE- HIT consortium in Texas. Texas State col- laborates with The University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Biomedical Informatics to educate students on HIT. ONC also awarded five regional


groups made up of 82 community col- leges a share of $68 million to develop or improve non-degree HIT programs that can be completed in six months or less. In the Community College Consor-


records-based practice, but is purchas- ing an EHR system with plans to achieve meaningful use. At Texas State, Mr. Weaver learns the legal aspects of health information, the health care quality improvement pro- cess, EHR implementation, workflow mapping, and data mining. He says his training has been “eye-opening.” “I now understand the link between operational processes and patient quality. I’m learning how technology can allow physicians to be more efficient and take better care of patients. I’m acquiring these skills now so that when the prac- tice is ready to implement an EHR, I can be more hands-on with the implementa- tion,” he said. Mr. Weaver says the program allows him to immediately apply what he’s learning in the physician practice. “Not all medical offices have the re-


sources or expertise to use best practices when adopting new technology. Physi- cian practices should capitalize on these federally funded workforce training pro- grams to get more practice administra- tors versed in HIT and health informat- ics,” he said. For more information about


ONC’s Health IT Workforce De- velopment Program, visit http:// healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt? open=512&objID=1432&mode=2.


Partners in education Programs offered through PURE-HIT train students to work in public health informatics, HIM and health information exchange, privacy and security, research and development, programming and software engineering, and as HIT sub- specialists.


All of the certificate programs can be


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