CHIME Supports Partners in Launch of NHS Digital Academy
ANN ARBOR, MI, Aug. 3, 2017 – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) congratulates Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service (NHS) Trust, the University of Edinburgh and Harvard Medical School for being selected for the NHS Digital Academy.
CHIME is pleased to be invited to contribute to this initiative to support UK’s senior IT leadership and healthcare systems as they embark in pioneering programs to improve patient care. While details of the program are still being finalized, CHIME expects to be involved in the Academy’s CIO leadership training.
“The NHS has made a strong commitment to providing world-class educational opportunities to healthcare IT professionals throughout the UK with the creation of the Digital Academy,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell. “The NHS Digital Academy will serve as a model for other nations that recognize the value of CIO leadership.”
The Academy will provide virtual classes and residential learning for clinicians and health leaders who are involved in delivering ambitious programs of digital innovation in the NHS. It is estimated that around 300 candidates will attend the NHS Digital Academy, each spending up to 12 months studying part-time.
“The Academy will ensure the next generation of NHS leaders is well equipped with the most exciting innovations that deliver the best care available to patients everywhere,” said NHS Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust’s CIO Rachel Dunscombe will serve as CEO of the Academy. “I passionately believe that to make the improvements in patient care that we are striving towards, we need to safely digitize the NHS,” she said. “By doing this, we would create significant improvements for both patients accessing NHS services and health professionals working within it.”
“For health professionals, amongst many other advantages, smarter, better designed systems could simplify their working day making their practice more efficient while giving them more time with patients,” Dunscombe said. “Of course, to do this, we need people with the digital skills and knowledge to drive forward this change management for transformation and the Academy will ensure we have this leadership at NHS organizations across the country.”
The Academy will support existing work underway through the Building a Digital Ready Workforce National Information Board program led by NHS Digital. It marks the first national structured development program in change management/leadership and clinical informatics for the NHS.
More information about the NHS Digital Academy is available here.
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,400 CIO members and over 150 healthcare IT vendor partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
Contact
Candace Stuart
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
734.665.0000
[email protected]