UCLA Health System has a unique team of 16 physician informaticists who study the system's workflow to optimize EHRs and help medical staff adopt new technologies, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The physician informaticist program began in 2011 when plans for implementing EHRs across the system were underway. UCLA Health System uses the Epic Systems EHR in all four UCLA hospitals and 180 of its clinics in Southern California, according to the report.
The EHR went online in 2013. UCLA was the first major institution to have physicians help build EHR content into the system during implementation, according to the report. The group of UCLA physicians who had a good understanding of EHR clinical content was officially recognized when Epic Systems certified them to build customized EHR modules.
Since the American Board of Medical Specialties recognized clinical informatics as a medical subspecialty in 2011, 10 members of the UCLA Physician Informaticists have earned certification. All 16 members plan to get certified and future members must also earn certification.
The physician informaticists are required to dedicate 40 percent of their time to medical practice, and many still dedicate 60 percent of their time. The rest goes to technical and IT research. The group sits on hospital boards, department boards, medical executive staff committees and quality committees. They also lead a class for physicians to learn how to efficiently use EHRs.
The UCLA Physician Informaticists now offer consulting services to other Epic customers, according to the report. The robust informatics program at UCLA also led the system to apply to be one of four medical schools to host a clinical informatics fellowship, selected by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education.
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