Educating medical students as competent users of health information technologies: the MSOP data

As more health information technologies become part of the health care environment, the need for physicians with medical informatics competencies is growing. In 2006, a survey was created to determine the degree to which the Association of American Medical College's Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP) medical informatics competencies had been incorporated into medical school curricula in the United States.

a web-based tool was used to create the survey; medical education deans or their designees were requested to complete the survey. Analysis focused on the clinician, researcher, and manager roles of physicians.

Seventy usable surveys were returned. Many of the objectives were stated in the schools' respective curricula and the competencies were being evaluated. However, only a few schools taught and assessed the medical informatics objectives that required interaction with health information.

To insure that physicians have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively and efficiently interact with today's health information technologies, more medical informatics concepts need to be included and assessed in all undergraduate medical education curricula in the United States.