Partnership to promote interprofessional education and practice for population and public health informatics: A case study

Abstract

Team-based healthcare delivery models, which emphasize care coordination, patient engagement, and utilization of health information technology, are emerging. To achieve these models, expertise in interprofessional education, collaborative practice across professions, and informatics is essential. This case study from informatics programs in the Academic Health Center (AHC) at the University of Minnesota and the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) at the Minnesota Department of Health presents an academic–practice partnership, which focuses on both interprofessionalism and informatics. Outcomes include the Minnesota Framework for Interprofessional Biomedical Health Informatics, comprising collaborative curriculum development, teaching and research, practicums to promote competencies, service to advance biomedical health informatics, and collaborative environments to facilitate a learning health system. Details on these Framework categories are presented. Partnership success is due to interprofessional connections created with emphasis on informatics and to committed leadership across partners. A limitation of this collaboration is the need for formal agreements outlining resources and roles, which are vital for sustainability. This partnership addresses a recommendation on the future of interprofessionalism: that both education and practice sectors be attuned to each other’s expectations and evolving trends. Success strategies and lessons learned from collaborations, such as that of the AHC-OHIT that promote both interprofessionalism and informatics, need to be shared.

• Biomedical health informatics
• case study
• interprofessional collaboration
• interprofessional learning
• public and population health informatics

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive feedback to improve upon the first version of this manuscript. Authors are also grateful to the editors for their valuable input to make this relevant to the special issue on interprofessional education, practice, and informatics.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this article.