Health IT Pros Put to the Test

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John Pulley By John Pulley

By John Pulley

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The HIT Pro exams were developed by Northern Virginia Community College for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ONC projects that the U.S. will need another 50,000 health IT technicians to install and maintain thousands of new electronic health record systems nationwide over the next few years.

A new series of tests intended to measure the proficiency of health IT professionals are on the way, just in time for new community college graduates to take the exams.

The Health IT Professionals Exam assesses an individual's competency to assess workflows, select health IT hardware and software, work with vendors, install and test systems, diagnose IT problems and train staff on systems, according to the HIT Pro website.

"Hospitals, health professionals, vendors and even ONC grantees will benefit from knowing they are employing professionals with a proven skill set," said Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health IT, in an announcement released last week, according to an article by Modern Healthcare. ONC refers to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

The exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions to be answered over three hours. Professionals take one of six exams, depending on their chosen field of expertise. The six categories are:

  • Clinician/Practitioner Consultant
  • Implementation Manager
  • Implementation Support Specialist
  • Practice Workflow & Information management Redesign Specialist
  • Technical/Software Support Staff
  • Trainer

The tests, available at 230 test centers, can be scheduled online. Students participating in relevant HHS workforce training at select community colleges can obtain free vouchers covering the cost of the $299 test. Professionals with relevant experience also can temporarily take the test at no cost.

Detailed information about each exam is available here.

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