Developing the Future Health Information Workforce: Perspectives from Research and Practice

Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA, ACHIP, FAHIMA, FAMIA

Vice Dean for Education, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, Vice Dean for Education, McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics

Dr. Fenton is the Dr. Doris L. Ross Professor and Vice Dean for Education at the UTHealth Houston McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics. She is responsible for certificates, master’s, and doctoral degree programs and leads the $9.7 million ONC-funded Gaining Equity in Training for Public Health Informatics and Technology award. Dr. Fenton was recently named the 2024 AHIMA Distinguished Member Triumph Award recipient. Dr. Fenton leads the Center for Quality Healthcare IT Improvement, focusing on assisting providers in low-resource settings with their HIT needs. Her research focuses on using and implementing ICD-11, workforce development, and optimizing HIT for preventive and chronic care delivery in low-resource settings.

Jacob Opele

Senior Lecturer, Federal University Oye-Ekiti

Dr. Jacob Kehinde Opele is a highly respected figure in the fields of Librarianship, Health Information, and Knowledge Management in Nigeria. His extensive research output, editorial roles, professional memberships, and supervisory experience have made him a leading authority in these disciplines. His contributions have been recognized through various awards and appointments, solidifying his reputation as a prominent scholar and practitioner in the Nigerian academic landscape.

Babale Garba Nagada, FHIM,FHISM,FIIM

Head of National Health Insurance Records Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital

Babale is the head of National Health Insurance Records Unit at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, North-West, Nigeria. He was appointed as a Board Member of Nigeria’s HIM Regulatory Body. Babale headed a HIM Department in a Tertiary Health Institution for 17 years. As a HIM lecturer, Babale taught National and Higher National Diploma Students on Operations Research, Health Planning/Management and Computer Science.

Yoon Joo Won, CTR, MPH, PhD

Associate Professor, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea

Professor Young-Joo Won has worked with the Korea Central Cancer Registry for 22 years and has collaborated with numerous researchers to utilize the cancer registration data and health information. She has extensive experience with hospital and population-based registry data, registry operations, building standardized manual, education for tumor registrar, uses of the registry for research purposes. Currently, she is educating students in the Division of Health Administration at Yonsei University, and training students as the head of the Department of AI Health Information Management. Additionally, she serves as the international director of the Korean Association of Health Information Managers.

Jennifer Mueller

Senior VP of Health Information Career Advancement, American Health Information Management Association

Jennifer Mueller is the Senior Vice President of Health Information Career Advancement at AHIMA. In this role, she leads initiatives to assess and meet the professional and training needs of the health information (HI) workforce. She oversees AHIMA’s CEU development, educational quality initiatives, and member career advancement strategies.

Previously, Jennifer served as the Vice President and Privacy Officer at the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She has also held leadership roles such as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Watertown Regional Medical Center. Her extensive experience includes a term as President of AHIMA and a three-year tenure on its Board of Directors.

Jennifer is actively involved in professional organizations at both national and state levels. Nationally, she is a member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), holding Fellow certifications from both. In Wisconsin, she is a two-time Past-President of the Wisconsin Health Information Management Association (WHIMA), a participant in the Wisconsin Chapter of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the HIPAA Collaborative of WI (HIPAACOW), and previously served as Treasurer on the board of the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN).

Her accolades include WHIMA’s Rising Star Award, Motivator Award, Distinguished Member Award, and Professional Practice Mentor Award. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

David Marc, PhD, CHDA

Associate Professor and Department Chair, Health Informatics and Information Management, The College of St. Scholastica

David Marc, PhD, CHDA is a leading expert and educator in the field of health informatics and information management. He is an associate professor, the department chair, and the graduate program director at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN, where he teaches courses on artificial intelligence, data analytics, healthcare research, and health information systems. He holds a master’s degree in biological sciences and a PhD in health informatics from the University of Minnesota, and he is a certified health data analyst (CHDA). He has held various leadership roles in professional organizations such as the AHIMA Foundation Research Network, the AHIMA Council for Excellence in Education (CEE), the HIMSS Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Community, and the HIMSS Student and Early Careerists Committee. He is currently spearheading national initiatives to promote the ethical and effective use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, by developing best practices and standards, and by providing training and education for the current and future workforce. Dr. Marc is a prolific writer and speaker, with a multitude of contributions to peer-reviewed journals, books, and magazines. He is a highly respected speaker, frequently invited to present at conferences, workshops, and events at state, national, and international levels. His presentations offer valuable insights into subjects such as the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare, data-informed decision-making, and trends in the health informatics and information management workforce. His research is primarily centered on two areas: the application of machine learning techniques to identify trends in the healthcare workforce, and the creation of innovative indexing methods for the publication and sharing of public healthcare data.

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Alanazi Bander, MS, PhD

Dr. Bander Alanazi holds a PhD in Health Services Management (Digital Health) from the University of Tasmania, Australia. He completed his undergraduate degree in Sociology at Imam Muhammed IBN Saudi University in 1998 followed by Postgraduate Diploma in Hotel Management from Institute of Public Administration Management in 2001. He developed interest in healthcare field leading him to undertake a MSc in Health Administration at King Saud University from 2004 to 2007. He is passionate about health information education and workforce development; health data planning, management and analysis; and the application of eHealth technologies to improve healthcare efficiencies and outcomes. He has a wealth of experience in health systems and healthcare administration. He is now the Operations Manager at the Rafada Health Cooperative Society.

Patricia Visosky

Coordinator, Health Information Management, Douglas College, BC

Dr. Patricia Visosky is the Coordinator of the post-baccalaureate diploma and bachelor programs in Health Information Management at Douglas College in British Columbia, Canada. Prior to that, she was a faculty member of the Bachelor of HIM program at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates for 16 years. Dr. Visosky also serves as a member of the Board of the Canadian Health Information Management Association and Chair of the Committee of the College Of Health Information Management.

Dr. Visosky is a certified HIM professional and has a keen interest in health informatics, data analytics and data governance. She has obtained her master of science in health informatics as well a doctorate in health research with a focus on health informatics curriculum.