CompTIA Creates Health Care IT Credential to Prepare Workforce for EHRs

CompTIA, a nonprofit IT trade association, will give certificates to professionals who complete health care IT training courses, preparing them for adoption of electronic health records.

CompTIA, a nonprofit trade association for the IT industry, has announced it will offer an industry credential for IT professionals who complete training on how to install, manage and troubleshoot equipment and software for electronic health record platforms.

Rolling out EHR platforms will bring tens of thousands of new jobs in the next several years, according to CompTIA.

"The federal government estimates that upwards of 50,000 new health care IT professionals are needed in the next few years to service the thousands of health care practices expected to implement EHR systems," Terry Erdle, executive vice president of skills certification for CompTIA, said in a statement.

CompTIA credentials are vendor-neutral, meaning that workers are able to transfer their IT skills across multiple companies and product lines, the company reports.

The association announced the health care IT credential program July 25.

With specific operational, regulatory and security knowledge required to operate and secure EHRs in medical facilities-as well as deal with regulatory requirements-CompTIA aims to help doctors and hospitals find qualified IT workers.

IT professionals interested in health care IT training can take courses at 80 community colleges, then complete CompTIA's exam to get the certificate.

"These new employment opportunities will be hybrid jobs requiring a mix of health care knowledge and high-tech expertise," Erdle said. "The CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician credential covers both categories, and will identify professionals with the knowledge and skills required to support the implementation and maintenance of health care IT systems, including EHRs, in a broad range of clinical settings."

The credential will prepare workers for two jobs the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT highlighted as crucial to EHR adoption: implementation support specialists and technical and software support staff.

The health care IT exam covers regulatory requirements, organizational behavior, IT operations, medical business operations and security.