Analysis of the international classification of occupations for the health informatics and information management workforce.

Abstract

Background: With the increasing adoption of digital health, health informatics and information management (HIIM) professionals are more essential than ever before. This paper explores the difficulties encountered when trying to classify and track the HIIM workforce internationally.

Methods: A historic document analysis method to explore how the International Standard of Classifications (ISCO) and the available national standards from countries using an alternative classification represent the HIIM workforce.

Results: There is little recognition of the HIIM workforce in the ISCO and national standards. Where an entry did exist, more than 90% were in a non-health major group. At the major group level, 16.7% (7/42) of entries specified an administrative term, 11.9% (5/42) a professional term, 9.5% (4/42) a technician term and 61.9% (26) including both professional and technician as the description.

Discussion: Most country-level classification systems classified HIIM as a technical occupation rather than a professional occupation. The term 'digital health' did not appear in any classification reviewed.

Conclusion: As the requirement for formal training increases globally in the HIIM occupation, classification systems will need to include or reclassify HIIM to reflect it as a professional occupation, with a clear structure and requiring specific education and specialised skills.