Recommendations of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) on Education in Biomedical and Health...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics Education
• Biomedical and Health Informatics (BMHI)

Background:

• Existing international recommendations for health informatics education required revision.
• The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) initiated an update to align with evolving needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To revise and update international recommendations for health informatics education.
• To guide the establishment and development of biomedical and health informatics (BMHI) courses, tracks, and programs globally.
• To support international collaboration in BMHI education and courseware sharing.

Main Methods:

• An IMIA task force updated the initial recommendations.
• Extensive discussions and refinements involved IMIA's National Member Societies, Academic Institutional Members, and the Working Group on Health and Medical Informatics Education.

Main Results:

• Recommendations focus on equipping healthcare professionals with essential information processing and ICT knowledge and skills.
• A three-dimensional framework categorizes educational needs: professional roles, specialization levels (IT users vs. BMHI specialists), and career stages (bachelor, master, doctorate).
• Defined learning outcomes specify knowledge and practical skills for IT users and BMHI specialists.

Conclusions:

• The revised recommendations provide a framework for BMHI education across various healthcare disciplines and informatics programs.
• IMIA offers a certificate for high-quality BMHI education and facilitates information exchange through its working group.