You just have to look at Michael Hosking’s LinkedIn profile to see the passion he has for improving clinical workflow using technology and effective healthcare system design and his eagerness to learn and apply the latest innovations.
As a trained Occupational Therapist (OT), Michael’s inspiration and interest in the technology and design side of healthcare systems came from the frustration he experienced during his day to day workflow. He said he found the systems had poor user experience resulting in unnecessary duplication and administrative overheads which contributed to ineffective patient care.
Taking a risk, Michael responded to an internal advertisement seeking clinicians’ involvement in the EMR implementation. It was at this point the light bulb came on with Michael saying, “working as a Business Analyst at Bendigo Health, I felt I could provide more meaningful value than practicing full time as an OT”.
His next step was to become a CHIA. “The CHIA reading materials and exam questions were relevant to my work at the time. I was exploring options for extra study but didn’t want to commit to a full degree at that time”, said Michael. “The additional knowledge I learnt while studying for CHIA helped in growing my skills and interest in improving clinical workflow and patient outcomes”.
Now as a Clinical Product Specialist at Orion Health in New Zealand, Michael is a clinical consultant, subject matter expert, an educator for internal and external stakeholders, and a researcher and developer for international software products that support clinicians, save time and improve patient care.
Additionally, Michael now sits on the CHIA Exam Committee as CHIA would “help raise the profile of health informatics and has the most potential for improving the health informatics workforce”.
As a tip for anyone wishing to become a CHIA, Michael says “make sure you are committed to the time frame and to learning the course materials because health informatics is so broad”.
Where does he see health informatics in 5 to 10 years? In his lifetime, Michael would like to see a secure, interoperable international health record, possibly supported by the World Health Organisation. By Katrina Barbuto
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