UIC is excited to be one of the first ACGME-accredited Clinical Informatics (CI) fellowship programs. Clinical Informatics is a two-year training program that is open to graduates of any ACGME or AOA accredited residency programs across all fields of medicine.
Clinical Informatics is defined in the ACGME program requirements as “the subspecialty of all medical specialties that transforms health care by analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating information and communication systems to improve patient care, enhance access to care, advance individual and population health outcomes, and strengthen the clinician-patient relationship.” It is a relatively new subspecialty, with the first board certification examinations offered in 2013 and the initial ACGME program requirements approved in 2014.
Among the many subspecialties that have emerged within medicine, Clinical Informatics is unique. Informatics, although it has a distinct set of knowledge and skills, is an essential part of the daily practice of every specialty of medicine. As a result, the CI fellowship program at UIC has a significant impact on patient care in every department, medical education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and translational medical research being conducted in the College of Medicine and other colleges throughout the University of Illinois.
Clinical Informatics is an extremely broad field, covering many different potential areas of practice and study. The fellowship program is designed to provide the fellow with a foundation across the breadth of CI, as well as the opportunity to focus on several areas of specific interest to the fellow in which they will obtain a deeper understanding.
Our curriculum is focused on developing leadership in operational/applied informatics, academic/research informatics, entrepreneurship in health care technology and delivery, and health care innovation. We partner with numerous entities to allow our fellows to be exposed to areas of their particular interest in clinical informatics. If existing opportunities do not fit the desired interests, we are open and flexible in creating custom experiences for our fellows.