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What is clinical informatics?

By Rahul Awati

Clinical informatics is a specialized field of study in healthcare that focuses on using information technology and data analytics to improve patient care and administrative workflows in clinical settings. Informatics is a scientific discipline that uses data to solve real-world problems. Applied clinical informatics facilitates evidence-based decisions at the point of care by helping to turn data into actionable insights.

In 2011, the American Board of Medical Specialties formally recognized clinical informatics as a medical specialty. Initially, this subcategory of health informatics focused on the development and use of electronic health records (EHRs) and basic clinical decision support systems (CDSSes). Today, advancements in clinical informatics are being driven by the increased availability of healthcare data, the integration of AI in decision support systems (DSSes) and evolving regulatory requirements for data privacy and security.

Purpose of clinical informatics

The primary purpose of clinical informatics is to improve patient outcomes by integrating data, technology and clinical expertise into healthcare at the point of care. This subcategory of health IT can help providers make better data-driven decisions and give patients the right care at the right time.

When health data is interoperable and healthcare professionals have immediate access to the same lab results, imaging outputs and patient history, they are less likely to waste technical resources and are more likely to collaborate on treatment plans. In turn, this can help reduce unnecessary spending and lower the total cost of providing healthcare services.

The technologies that support clinical informatics can also help providers minimize compliance risks. For example, some clinical documentation tools can automatically flag missing or incomplete data and indirectly help providers comply with regulatory requirements for record-keeping.

Traditionally, different types of informatics require healthcare practitioners to have different areas of expertise. Today, AI is blurring the lines between disciplines by enabling a more integrated approach to data management and facilitating data-driven decisions across all domains. This can help providers improve patient care, reduce errors and streamline operations across the entire healthcare system.

Why is clinical informatics important?

Clinical informatics is an important aspect of health IT because it promotes the concept of evidence-based healthcare and encourages the use of automation in clinical workflows.

The results gained by adopting a data-based approach to care delivery in both value-based and fee-for-service models can benefit professionals in a wide range of healthcare-related occupations, for example:

• Medical device product managers can use data from clinical informatics systems to improve medical device security and performance.
• Insurance analysts can use data from clinical informatics systems to validate claims and streamline reimbursement workflows.
• Epidemiologists can use data from clinical informatics systems to evaluate the effectiveness of public health initiatives and regulatory mandates.

Benefits of clinical informatics

Clinical informatics has the potential to transform healthcare in meaningful ways, but its successful implementation depends on thoughtful planning, sustained institutional support for evidence-based decision-making and strong data governance.

In terms of benefits, clinical informatics can help with the following:

• Streamline healthcare workflows by integrating technology and data into clinical workflows and DSSes.
• Lower the overall cost of healthcare by reducing clinical workflow inefficiencies.
• Enable better continuity of care in multiprovider healthcare environments by eliminating data silos and facilitating data sharing.
• Enhance patient safety by using AI to flag potential drug interactions, allergies and abnormal lab results in EHRs.
• Improve audit readiness by ensuring clinical documentation consistently meets reporting requirements.

Clinical informatics also has challenges:

• Highlight the need to balance innovation with patient privacy.
• Emphasize the importance of healthcare data interoperability.
• Pose a risk to patient safety and institutional trust if ransomware exploits and other types of healthcare cybersecurity threats are not addressed in a timely manner.

Examples of clinical informatics technologies

Clinical informatics relies on a wide range of technologies to improve patient outcomes. The following are some examples of these technologies:

• EHRs. EHRs standardize how patient data is stored in a digital format.
• CDSSes. CDSSes provide healthcare practitioners with relevant information at the point of care.
• Health information exchanges. HIEs facilitate data interoperability and continuity across healthcare ecosystems.
• Patient portals. Electronic patient portals provide patients with digital access to their personal health information (PHI). Some portals also provide communication tools that enable patients to interact with healthcare providers outside clinical settings.
• Radio frequency identification systems. RFID systems use wireless technology to track patients, equipment and inventory.
• Admission-discharge-transfer systems. ADT systems work with bed management systems to reduce wait times in hospitals.
• Mobile apps. Dedicated mobile health apps can collect specific types of health-related data from smartphones and smartwatches and help encourage patients to track their own health metrics.
• Claims adjudication tools. Insurance companies and revenue cycle management vendors can use machine learning algorithms to analyze claims and streamline reimbursement workflows with claims adjudication tools.
• Hardware security modules. Healthcare information systems can use encryption and two-factor authentication to prevent confidential electronic PHI from being accessed directly through hardware security exploits with hardware security modules.
• Remote patient monitoring. RPM devices can collect certain types of healthcare data directly from patients and flag the healthcare provider when there are unexpected changes.
• Data repositories. Databases, data warehouses and data lakes can be used to aggregate healthcare data and store it for future use.
• Healthcare analytics platforms. AI-enabled healthcare analytics platforms can use predictive modeling to identify at-risk patient populations, while still protecting patient PHI.

What is a clinical informaticist?

A clinical informaticist is a healthcare professional who specializes in using IT and data analytics to improve point-of-care and clinical workflows. To succeed in clinical informatics, it's important to be familiar with clinical workflows, gain hands-on experience with health information systems and have a deep understanding of healthcare data standards and privacy laws. Experience with Structured Query Language, as well as data analytics tools and visualization platforms, like Tableau or Power BI, can also be beneficial.

In the past, healthcare informaticists often specialized in areas of expertise and followed clearly defined career paths. For example, clinical and nursing informaticists usually began their careers in direct patient care and then acquired data analytics skills later on. In contrast, biomedical informaticists often entered the field with a background in biotechnology or data science and didn't need to have clinical experience.

Today, the distinction between different types of informaticists in healthcare has become less rigid because of the increasing integration of data systems, the widespread adoption of AI and an increasing appreciation for the benefits of interdisciplinary healthcare collaboration. In effect, this has made the career path more flexible than ever.

What does a clinical informaticist do?

Clinical informaticists help ensure that healthcare IT systems enhance workflows and enable practitioners to make better decisions. With this broad goal in mind, clinical informaticists are typically tasked with evaluating the efficacy of healthcare systems and clinical workflows, making recommendations for improving them and then collaborating with relevant stakeholders to implement changes.

Day-to-day responsibilities may include the following:

• Mapping how patient data is collected, shared and used by providers and health IT platforms.
• Customizing and configuring EHR systems to support data integration and clinician workflows.
• Helping to design, build and monitor health IT platforms, apps and user interfaces.
• Leading change management initiatives to promote user adoption for new technology and workflows.
• Analyzing clinical data to identify patterns and trends that could be used to reduce costs.
• Promoting the use of clinical AI in decision support tools.
• Extracting, validating and analyzing data to meet reporting requirements.
• Working with the organization's legal department to support changes to healthcare data privacy and data security requirements.

Careers in clinical informatics

Clinical informatics is a multidisciplinary field that requires job candidates to have the right combination of clinical experience, technical skills and soft skills. When searching for new employment opportunities in this field, it's important to understand that hiring notices may not specifically use the title clinical informaticist or clinical informatician. Because the technology and business objectives for different types of informatics can overlap, candidates should be flexible and also consider job openings for titles like health informatics specialist, clinical systems analyst and healthcare information strategist.

While formal education in health informatics is not always required for career paths that focus on clinical informatics, employers are increasingly seeking out candidates who have relevant certifications. For those new to the field, entry-level certifications, such as Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems, or CAHIMS, can be a good start. More experienced professionals may want to pursue certifications like Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems, or CPHIMS.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the outlook for employment in all areas of health IT is expected to grow by 16% over the next eight years. This is much faster than the average growth rate for other occupations, which is projected to be just 4%. Although AI is helping informatics in healthcare become more interdisciplinary, it's expected that the demand for clinical informatics as a specialty will remain high in large organizations.

According to Salary.com, the average salary in the U.S. for a physician who is board-certified in informatics is currently $188,645, and according to Indeed, the average base salary for a clinical informaticist who is not board-certified is currently $100,666. Whether or not these salaries increase by more than 15% in the next decade is likely to depend on several factors, including the successful integration of AI in health information systems, an increased demand for data-driven decision-making in healthcare and evolving compliance regulations.

Clinical informatics vs. nursing informatics

The concept of a clinical informaticist as a role for nonphysicians initially grew out of a practical need for nurses to use patient data more effectively and efficiently. In 1985, the International Medical Informatics Association established the first working group for nursing informatics, and in 1992, the American Nurses Association formally recognized nursing informatics as a specialty. This was a major milestone in healthcare because it acknowledged that informatics is more than just an IT support function.

According to Indeed, the average annual salary for a nursing informaticist in the U.S. today is $98,052. This salary can vary from $76,668 to $125,399, depending on the candidate's education, experience and certification status.

Health informatics is a growing field that uses health data and technology to improve patient outcomes. This breakdown of the different types of health informatics helps you understand the field. Also, see what role EHRs play in clinical informatics and how HIEs can support public health and equity.