J.T. Finnell Honored

INDIANAPOLIS -- John T. Finnell, M.D., associate professor of clinical emergency medicine, has been named the first chief editor of the Clinical Informatics Practice Board Examination.

The practice board examination prepares physicians to take the initial American Board of Medical Specialties examination required for certification as subspecialists in clinical informatics. 
“Patients expect their physicians to have passed these requirements in order to deliver quality health care,” Dr. Finnell said. "Hospitals and health care systems will expect their medical information officers to have met these standards as well. The practice exam will allow physicians to prepare for the first and subsequent certification exams."
Clinical informatics is the interdisciplinary field merging medicine and computer science that focuses on the secure collection, organization and application of patient data to improve health and the delivery of health care to individuals and populations. This is the first time a subspecialty certification will be applicable to physicians from all 24 medical specialties.
The Clinical Informatics Subspecialty Certification Exam Preparation Program is being developed by the American Medical Informatics Association in response to designation of clinical informatics as a new physician medical subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2011. The practice exam, to be available in early 2013, will be composed of about 200 multiple-choice questions.
Board certification guarantees that a doctor has met basic competency. Included within these criteria are a number of years of training, accreditation of training programs, licensing and sub-specialty certifications.
Dr. Finnell also serves as director of health informatics at the IU School of Informatics at IUPUI and is a Regenstrief Institute investigator.