A New Core Competency

Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, has a lot of confidence in the future of his field. But he also acknowledges that since health IT workers will be in high demand as medical professionals adopt new systems, it will take time to for the workforce to match the pace of IT development.

Observers have been predicting a shortage of qualified health IT professionals, and the government is subsidizing college training programs.

Training the health IT workforce will take time, said Blumenthal in a Health Affairs interview with predecessor David Brailer. The federal government can jump start the process, hiring and training for immediate needs while the market catches up, he added.

But Blumenthal also said that the technologies being developed and rolled out are the future of medicine, which highlights even more how critical the IT workforce will be.

My view is that health information technology is a fundamental tool for modern health care practice. It will soon be as accepted in the daily lives of health professionals as the stethoscope and the examining table.

The use of health information technology will be regarded as a core technical competence for professionals, and there will cease to be any debate over whether it is desirable or achievable. It will just happen.