Clinical Informatics Sub-Specialty Board Certification Christoph U. Lehmann, MD,* Vanessa Shorte, † Adi V. Gundlapalli, MD, PhD, MS ‡x Author Disclosure Dr Lehmann disclosed that he is co-editor of a book on pediatric informatics. Ms Shorte and Dr Gundlapalli disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does contain a discussion of an unapproved/ investigative use of a commercial product/ device. Editor’s Note The introduction of electronic health records promises to significantly improve delivery of care, while, along with increasing electronic access to medical journals, seemingly guarantee to overwhelm us with a wealth of clinical information. How to handle that information requires skills in “clinical informatics.” The following article, relevant to all practicing pediatricians, describes the rationale for board certification in the sub-specialty “clinical informatics.” This article first appeared in NeoReviews (Vol 14, June 2013) and is reprinted here. Joseph A. Zenel, MD Editor-in-Chief Abstract Increased funding for health information technology and the advance of electronic health records in hospitals and practices have created the need for a new specialist: the clinical informatician. Clinical informatics was recognized in 2011 as the latest sub- specialty in medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This article reviews the need for this new specialty as well as the steps necessary for its creation. The con- tent and training requirements for clinical informatics are discussed as well as eligibility criteria for taking the board examination. Training programs as well as board prepa- ration are addressed along with the expected impact that this new field will have on the practice of medicine. Introduction Consider two scenarios: The first involves a common problem encountered in the NICU. The ordering of total parenteral nutrition remains a challenge for housestaff and attending physicians. With so many variables and opportunities for error, the routine is to write the orders and then expect to talk to the pharmacy several times during the day to clarify and modify the orders. Recognizing the need for streamlining this process to ensure patient safety and appropriate ordering practice, a simple Web-based total parenteral nutrition or- dering tool is developed, implemented, and shown to reduce errors. (1) In the second scenario, a nation and an institution see the need to respond to a public health threat and set up a bio-surveillance system. With the limitations of existing syndromic surveillance systems, an opportunity existed to design a more detailed, proactive system by using data elements from the electronic medical record. Such a system was designed, developed, and de- ployed during a mass gathering (Winter Olympics) and shown to be effective. (2) In both situations, the recognition of the need and op- portunity and the design of the electronic systems were led by clinicians who combined their expertise and training in their primary clinical specialty with the field of biomedical informatics. Using computer and information systems for the care and benefit of the patient has given birth to the field of clinical informatics. Abbreviations ABMS: American Board of Medical Specialties ABPath: American Board of Pathology ABPM: American Board of Preventive Medicine ACGME: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education AMIA: American Medical Informatics Association ARRA: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act EHR: electronic health record HIT: health information technology NLM: National Library of Medicine *Departments of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. † American Academy of Pediatrics, Chicago, IL. ‡ Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT. x VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT. Article medical education/informatics Pediatrics in Review Vol.34 No.11 November 2013 525