In continuing the celebration of National Health IT Week, I want to briefly reflect on a particular point of engagement: Increasing Economic Opportunity.
One inspiring blog article that stood out to me on the National Health IT Week’s website is written by AAMI’s president Robert Jensen, Blurred Lines: Healthcare Technology Management’s Future Tied to IT. As technology continues to push integration further, the lines between functional areas in healthcare continue to blur with IT. Clinical, operational, and financial systems are dependent on IT systems in today’s world, and the design and use of technology is no longer just a “behind-the-scenes” production.
Opportunities continue to blossom as fast as technology does. For example, just look up pharmacy informatics jobs on the internet, and you can see for yourself an array of roles and positions that never existed prior to the digitization of healthcare. Analysts, project managers, coordinators, super users, trainers, report writers, informatics specialists, and plenty of other roles are critical members in the healthcare workforce necessary not only to keep the lights on, but to move health care forward.
Are there threats to the digital boom of healthcare? Certainly, overseas competition and consolidation can change the environment, but I am willing to bet the demand for innovative thinkers and basic project management skills in the world of technology will never go out of style.
With that said, get involved with the Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology as we partner with organizations across the country to celebrate the value of healthcare IT this week!
Thanks,
Barry McClain, Director at Large SOPIT