The Emerging Role of the Chief Research Informatics Officer in Academic Health Centers

Summary

Background: The role of the Chief Research Informatics Officer (CRIO) is emerging in academic health centers to address the challenges clinical researchers face in the increasingly digitalized, data-intensive healthcare system. Most current CRIOs are the first officers in their institutions to hold that role. To date there is very little published information about this role and the individuals who serve it.

Objective: To increase our understanding of the CRIO role, the leaders who serve it, and the factors associated with their success in their organizations.

Methods: The Clinical Research Informatics Working Group of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) conducted a national survey of CRIOs in the United States and convened an expert panel of CRIOs to discuss their experience during the 2016 AMIA Annual Symposium.

Results: CRIOs come from diverse academic backgrounds. Most have advance training and extensive experience in biomedical informatics but the majority have been CRIOs for less than three years. CRIOs identify funding, data governance, and advancing data analytics as their major challenges.

Conclusion: CRIOs play an important role in helping shape the future of clinical research, innovation, and data analytics in healthcare in their organizations. They share many of the same challenges and see the same opportunities for the future of the field. Better understanding the background and experience of current CRIOs can help define and develop the role in other organizations and enhance their influence in the field of research informatics.

Citation: Sanchez-Pinto LN, Mosa ASM, Fultz-Hollis K, Tachinardi U, Barnett WK, Embi PJ. The Emerging Role of the Chief Research Informatics Officer in Academic Health Centers. Appl Clin Inform 2017; 8: 845–853 https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2017-04-RA-0062

Keywords

Medical Informatics - Biomedical Research - Leadership - Academic Health Centers - Chief Research Informatics Officer

^* For the Clinical Research Informatics Working Group of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Clinical Relevance Statement

The role of the Chief Research Informatics Officer (CRIO) is emerging in academic health centers to address the challenges clinical researchers face in the increasingly digitalized, data-intensive healthcare system. To date there has been very little published information about this role and the individuals who serve it. Better understanding the background and experience of current CRIOs can help define and develop the role in other organizations and enhance their influence in the future of research informatics.

Human Subjects Protections

The study was performed in compliance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects, and was reviewed by the University of Missouri-Columbia and The University of Chicago Institutional Review Boards.

• References

• 1 Embi PJ, Tachinardi U, Lussier Y, Starren J, Silverstein J. Integrating governance of research informatics and health care IT across an enterprise: experiences from the trenches. AMIA Summits on Translational Science Proceedings 2013; 2013: 60.
• 2 Embi PJ, Payne PR. Clinical research informatics: challenges, opportunities and definition for an emerging domain. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2009; 16 (03) 316-27.
• 3 Harris PA, Taylor R, Thielke R, Payne J, Gonzalez N, Conde JG. Research electronic data capture (REDCap) –a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. J Biomed Inform 2009; 42 (02) 377-81.
• 4 Mosa A, Yoo I, Parker J. Online electronic data capture and research data repository system for clinical and translational research. Mo Med 2014; 112 (01) 46-52.
• 5 Leviss J, Kremsdorf R, Mohaideen MF. The CMIO –A new leader for health systems. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2006; 13 (05) 573-8.
• 6 Shaffer V, Lovelock J. Results of the Gartner-AMDIS Survey of Chief Medical Informatics Officers. Stamford, CT: Gartner; 2010
• 7 Hersher B. The essential skills for the chief medical information officer. J Healthc Manag 2003; 17 (01) 11.
• 8 Kannry J, Sengstack P, Thyvalikakath TP, Poikonen J, Middleton B, Payne T. et al. The Chief Clinical Informatics Officer (CCIO): AMIA Task Force Report on CCIO Knowledge, Education, and Skillset Requirements. Appl Clin Inform 2016; 7 (01) 143-76.
• 9 Collins FS, Varmus H. A new initiative on precision medicine. N Engl J Med 2015; 372 (09) 793-5.
• 10 Embi PJ, Payne PR. Future Directions for Translational Informatics. In: Embi PJ, Payne PR. eds. Translational Informatics. New York, NY: Springer; 2015: 165-78.
• 11 Grossman C, McGinnis JM. Digital Infrastructure for the Learning Health System: The Foundation for Continuous Improvement in Health and Health Care: Workshop Series Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2011
• 12 Hripcsak G, Duke JD, Shah NH, Reich CG, Huser V, Schuemie MJ. et al. Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI): opportunities for observational researchers. Stud Health Technol Inform 2015; 216: 574.
• 13 Selby JV, Beal AC, Frank L. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) national priorities for research and initial research agenda. JAMA 2012; 307 (15) 1583-4.
• 14 Smith M, Saunders R, Stuckhardt L. et al. Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2013
• 15 Wang SJ, James Hung H, O’Neill RT. Adaptive patient enrichment designs in therapeutic trials. Biom J 2009; 51 (02) 358-74.