CHICAGO – HIMSS, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) and the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) have announced a collaboration to develop a model curriculum in healthcare IT, which will be designed for undergraduate and graduate students in healthcare management programs.

“This collaboration grew out of our recognition that CAHME accredited programs need enhanced teaching and learning tools to equip our program graduates with the skills they will need to navigate the rapidly changing arena of information technology," said John S. Lloyd, president of CAHME. "We are pleased that HIMSS and others are willing to stand with us to develop these much needed tools.”

The project scope not only includes the curriculum design, but also the development of course modules that can be combined to form stand-alone courses or integrated individually into existing courses. To deliver the modules, necessary teaching tools – such as syllabi, class exercise, simulations, case studies, exam questions and instructor manuals – also will be developed.

CAHME current and candidate programs, as well as undergraduate programs, will be able to access these modules to update their curriculum.

“Future executives must be educated in the art and science of adopting proper information technologies, integrating them technically and organizationally, and extracting benefit from them,” said AUPHA president and CEO, Lydia Middleton. “This collaboration, and the products that will be developed from it, will make it possible for our member programs to ensure that the future leaders they prepare have the requisite skills and knowledge to face the IT challenges of the current and future healthcare system.”

Materials from the collaboration will be used for Train-the-Trainer tools, resources designed to prepare both non-expert academics and expert non-academics to teach in the AUPHA-member program classrooms.

The project will take place over three years with completion scheduled for fall of 2013. 

“Robust educational offerings of high-quality on health IT and management systems have always been a primary focus of HIMSS,” said Carla Smith, executive vice president of HIMSS. "We look forward to supporting CAHME and AUPHA in the development of these modules for inclusion in undergraduate and graduate health management programs across the United States.”