ONC HIT competency testing
Late last week, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology opened six exams to test the competency of health IT professionals who have completed short-term training programs. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. Is it a good thing for the federal government to offer these voluntary exams? After all, ONC is funding the development of HIT training curriculum for community colleges and providing lots of scholarship money. Shouldn’t the government expect to get a return on its investment? Or should the feds stay out of the testing process?
Neil,
The government is not “offering” these exams, but rather like all their workforce programs has funded a grant for others to do so, in this case Northern Virginia Community College, AHIMA, and Pearson Vue. NOVA CC has established a process to develop the exams, which will be taken at Pearson Vue testing centers. The government is only the funder here and not involved in the exam content or administration.
It will ultimately be employers who decide how valuable the exams will be.
Bill Hersh