OCTOBER 2007, FORUM
Workforce shortage also affects health-care IT
I ENJOYED THE ARTICLE on health-care workforce and its
replenishment [THE WORKFORCE
WORRY, JUNE], but would like to bring to your attention
another area that has not received as much attention as the
shortage of doctors and others, but is still very important.
It’s the pending shortage of health-care information
technology (IT) workers.
Health-care IT is of great interest to many business leaders
and politicians, as it has the potential to improve safety and
quality while reducing costs. Yet there are many barriers to
health-care IT, mostly having to do with cost and misaligned
financial incentives. Another barrier is the lack of a
workforce that has the skills to implement IT in the complex
health-care setting.
Many of your readers may not know that Oregon is a leader in
this area. We have a number of health systems whose use of IT
is ahead of the national curve, as well as a number of
companies, big and small, who are leaders in various segments
of the marketplace. But another asset is OHSU’s
Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology.
We are a leading department in the field nationally and have
the largest educational program in the field in the country. We
offer a variety of graduate programs both on our campus as well
as online.
Our department is eager to collaborate with Oregon companies
and health-care organizations.
William Hersh
Chair, OHSU Dept. of Medical
Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, Portland
Have an opinion? E-mail feedback@oregonbusiness.com
