Director of Informatics

Additional Desirable Skills: Proven leadership and supervisory experience; proficiency with data analytics and reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Epic Cognito); demonstrated experience in managing large-scale informatics or technology projects using Agile, Lean, or PMI methodologies; excellent communication skills; strategic and critical thinking; experience in implementing or optimizing decision support tools and data-driven quality improvement programs; experience with data warehouse design and integration across multiple healthcare systems. Certification: Possess either of the following at time of hire: Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) from HIHMSS; Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS); American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Informatics Nursing Certification (RN BC); Clinical Informatics Board Certification (ABPM); Health Information Certification (AHIMA); Project Management Professional (PMP); Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA) in Epic, Tableau, Oracle.

Job Description:

Director of Informatics I. INTRODUCTIONA. This is a regional position located in the Clinical Informatics department of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) Kauai Region, a public benefit corporation of the State of Hawaii. HHSC Kauai Region consists of Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital (KVMH) and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital (SMMH), both critical access hospitals, along with The Kauai Region Clinics, and its affiliated entities. B. The Clinical Informatics department is responsible for optimizing the use of health information technology to enhance patient care and clinical operations. This includes the development, implementation, and management of electronic health records (EHR) systems, ensuring data integrity and security, and facilitating seamless communication between healthcare providers. The department also analyzes clinical data to improve decision-making, supports clinical workflows through technology integration, and provides training and support to staff on informatics tools and practices. Additionally, Clinical Informatics plays a key role in promoting evidence-based practices and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, ultimately striving to improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of care delivered. C. This role leads the design, implementation, and optimization of data-driven systems to support clinical, operational, and research initiatives. It combines strategic leadership with hands-on technical involvement, ensuring that informatics solutions enhance decision-making, patient outcomes, and operational efficiency. The position collaborates closely with clinicians, IT teams, and department leaders to ensure that technology supports all facets of care delivery. Responsibilities include developing clinical decision support tools, standardizing documentation practices, implementing data-driven quality improvement initiatives, and performing other pertinent duties as assigned. D. The role may require working shifts, weekends, holidays, irregular hours, and extended hours. It necessitates travel to each facility or clinic within the region and may involve off-island travel for training or education related to the EHR systems. E. This position reports directly to the Regional Chief Medical Officer (RCMO), position number 109715, or their designee. II. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES A. EHR Leadership & Governance 25% 1. Collaborates with the RCMO and Regional Chief Financial Officer (RCFO) to lead EHR Governance committees and councils. 2. Provides leadership and guidance to business and technology partners, fostering strategic alignment on care delivery and the technological requirements of the enterprise, including requirements definition, future state workflows, and clinical impact/value. 3. Acts as a resource for Senior Leadership, employing clinical and analytical skills to evaluate proposed projects and formulate recommendations. Collaborates with clinical leadership, programs, and finance divisions to identify and address operational needs and enhancements to the EHR and workflows. Serves as a change leader by mobilizing, collaborating, and organizing people and processes to facilitate change throughout the enterprise in alignment with business priorities. 4. Consults on the analysis of potential options for complex enhancements to the EHR that affect multiple departments. 5. Develops strategies to support continuous improvement of clinical workflows and decision support tools, bridging the gap between clinical practice and information systems, optimizing technology to facilitate best practices and seamless healthcare delivery. 6. Designs and implements a prioritization model for informatics-related requests. 7. Gathers, assesses, and prioritizes organizational requests, advocating strongly for stakeholder needs. Builds consensus on priorities and develops roadmaps for standardized clinical content, clinical integration, and person-centered care that align with strategic initiatives. B. Clinical Innovation & Transformation 25%1. Utilizes expertise in clinical practice and informatics to align people, processes, and technology, supporting evidence-based information systems that enable efficient and effective patient care across the organization. 2. Drives improvement in healthcare technology delivery by advancing best practice operational workflows, performance metrics, and business analytics. 3. Responsible for transformational leadership, change management, and educational initiatives to promote the adoption of new informatics tools and systems among clinicians. 4. Collaborates with senior leadership, Information Technology (IT), and cross-functional departments to analyze, redesign, and standardize patient care processes, enhancing the integrity of clinical informatics data and the delivery of patient care. 5. Demonstrates expertise in clinical applications and develops specifications to support the design of new or modified clinical applications. Acts as a liaison between clinical staff and IT, ensuring the clinical user and health system perspectives are represented in all project initiatives. 6. Serves as the intermediary between clinical staff requirements and information systems capabilities. 7. Partners with the Quality team to develop strategies and action plans for quality improvement recommendations. 8. Collaborates to bring innovative ideas and clinical findings to enhance patient care. 9. Ensures optimal benefits from IT system investments through the adoption and optimization of information and technology to drive performance improvement, transformation, and innovation in care delivery across the continuum. C. Clinical Operations 15%1. Develops and implements strategies, policies, procedures, and processes for informatics aimed at maximizing patient safety, quality of care, and operational efficiency. 2. Contributes to policy and procedure development in conjunction with the evolving use of new technologies. 3. Ensures compliance with all regulatory and legal requirements impacting informatics solutions. 4. Engages with clinicians, physicians, advanced practice professionals, and multidisciplinary project teams to lead the implementation, standardization, utilization, and optimization of electronic health records (EHR) and clinical informatics tools. Provides clinical and informatics foundations for technical solutions alongside supporting operational processes. 5. Directs the definition and validation of interoperability use cases. 6. Conducts needs assessments and gap analyses to identify opportunities for process improvement. 7. Ensures that clinical operations are effectively supported by IT systems to enhance patient care and clinical workflows. 8. Supports strategic initiatives within the clinical domain by leveraging digital technologies that accelerate care delivery. D. Change Management/Workflow & Adoption 15%1. Collaborates with IT, medical, nursing, clinical, and operations departments to prioritize healthcare information needs and ensure that informatics systems and processes integrate effectively as long-term, system-wide technology solutions. 2. Directs informatics efforts including current state/gap analysis, requirements documentation, workflow design, testing, training, implementation support, and optimization. 3. Responsible for developing, aligning, and evaluating standard clinical workflows within clinical technology applications to support evidence-based best practices and a standardized approach to clinical care among interdisciplinary teams across the continuum. 4. Partners with the Training Team to develop and deliver clinical information systems training programs for all clinical disciplines (i.e., physicians, nurses, advanced practice providers, paramedics). 5. Represents the clinical informatics perspective throughout the strategy, design, deployment, implementation, and support phases, including product and operational processes. 6. Directs clinical workflow and data analysis. 7. Establishes effective relationships with clinical improvement teams, IS, and data and analytics teams to identify trends, patterns, and areas for enhancement within clinical technology applications. 8. Communicates information and outcomes regarding system issues and/or patient populations to relevant individuals or groups, providing direction to facilitate progress along the continuum of care to achieve expected outcomes and identify variations in care delivery. 9. Responsible for conveying clinical practice information to system engineers, designers, and analysts. Communicates IT strategies, plans, and progress to senior management and other stakeholders. 10. Anticipates and recognizes when technology changes significantly impact the organization and assists with change management to maximize benefits, minimize operational disruption, and maintain stakeholder confidence and goodwill. 11. Fosters and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. 12. Promotes a culture of collaboration and a positive work environment within cross-functional teams. 13. Advocates for new workflows and methods to enhance clinical processes, efficiency, effectiveness, and value delivered to customers. E. Data Analytics 15%1. Provides leadership in data acquisition to address questions leading to improvements in business processes, finance, care delivery, safety, and outcomes. Leverages data and information to inform and enhance outcomes and create new knowledge to advance patient care delivery. 2. Offers clinical expertise for data integration, quality, and mapping. 3. Develops methodologies to measure and evaluate the outcomes of clinical system implementations. 4. Reviews and approves clinical reporting requests and informatics change control processes. 5. Implements and manages data governance frameworks to ensure data integrity, security, and accessibility. F. Other Duties 5% 1. Promotes professional growth and development. 2. Assess staff competency and provide training, coaching, and performance evaluations. Conduct timely performance assessments (Client) and offer guidance as needed in a positive manner.3. Assist in the orientation and training of new employees within the department as assigned.4. Assist the manager and team members as needed; adapt positively to changes; support the organization's mission, vision, and values; maintain a cooperative attitude; provide suggestions for workflow improvements; and promptly and effectively communicate any issues to the manager or designee.5. Ensures compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations and upholds the highest standards of confidentiality for all facility, employee, and patient information. 6. Fosters and maintains effective communication, exemplifying exceptional customer service, promoting teamwork, collaborating professionally, and supporting positive interactions with patients, visitors, providers, staff, and the community. 7. Adheres to the policies and procedures of The Joint Commission (TJC), Kauai Region, HHSC, as well as federal, state, and other regulatory agencies concerning residents/patients, employees, providers, and visitors. 8. Assists during emergencies, participates in disaster drills, and engages in committee meetings and training sessions. 9. Complies promptly with all mandatory in-service requirements and actively participates in relevant educational and training programs. Engages in staff development and is dedicated to enhancing knowledge and skills while sharing acquired insights with colleagues. 10. Maintains compliance with all safety, infection control, and employee health requirements. 11. Reports incidents and unusual occurrences promptly in accordance with departmental policies.12. Performs other related duties as assigned. _____100% III. EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, CERTIFICATION, LICENSURE A. Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Masters degree in Informatics, Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Information Systems, Nursing Informatics or Biomedical Informatics, or related field. A PhD or DNP in Informatics, Health Systems Leadership or related field is preferred. Relevant substitutions may be considered. B. Licensure: A current license to practice as a professional registered nurse (RN) in the State of Hawaii, or a current license to practice medicine in the State of Hawaii as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO). Possession of a current, valid State of Hawaii type #3 drivers license is preferred. C. Certification: Possess either of the following at time of hire: Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) from HIHMSS; Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS); American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Informatics Nursing Certification (RN BC); Clinical Informatics Board Certification (ABPM); Health Information Certification (AHIMA); Project Management Professional (PMP); Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA) in Epic, Tableau, Oracle. D. Experience: A minimum of five to seven (5-7) years of experience in healthcare informatics or a related field is required. Within this timeframe, candidates must have at least two and one-half (2 ) years of clinical or technical experience in a critical access hospital. E. Supervisory Experience: A minimum three (3) years of supervisory experience in a managerial role is required, encompassing the following responsibilities: (1) assigning work, setting priorities, and monitoring team performance; (2) conducting performance evaluations and providing mentorship; (3) managing conflict, mediating disputes, and promoting team cohesion; (4) fostering a culture of accountability and collaboration; and (5) leading multidisciplinary teams. IV. DESIRED SKILLS A. Knowledge of: Healthcare operations, clinical workflows, and data-driven decision-making; electronic health record (EHR) systems (Epic, Cerner, Oracle Health); health information systems, data governance, and interoperability standards (HL7, FHIR, DICOM); health data privacy, security, and regulatory compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, CMS); applications of AI, machine learning, or predictive analytics in healthcare. B. Ability to: Manage and develop multidisciplinary teams; translate complex data concepts into actionable insights for clinical and operational leaders; align informatics initiatives with organizational goals; foster a data-driven culture and enhance data literacy across departments. C. Additional Desirable Skills: Proven leadership and supervisory experience; proficiency with data analytics and reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Epic Cognito); demonstrated experience in managing large-scale informatics or technology projects using Agile, Lean, or PMI methodologies; excellent communication skills; strategic and critical thinking; experience in implementing or optimizing decision support tools and data-driven quality improvement programs; experience with data warehouse design and integration across multiple healthcare systems. V. WORKING CONDITIONS / HEALTH & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS A. Applicants must meet the health and physical requirements deemed necessary to effectively and safely perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. B. Working Conditions: The Director of Informatics will operate within a dynamic healthcare environment, collaborating extensively with clinical and administrative teams to enhance the integration of information technology in patient care. This role necessitates a flexible schedule, potentially requiring evening or weekend hours to meet project deadlines and facilitate team meetings. The position requires on-site responsibilities to foster direct engagement with staff and stakeholders. The Director must possess strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills, as they will oversee a team of informatics professionals, drive strategic initiatives, and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations and best practices. Additionally, the role involves continuous professional development to remain abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends. The Director may be exposed to infectious and contagious diseases and will work in a high-stress environment while managing multiple tasks and interacting with various stakeholders. Long hours and irregular schedules may be required, including shifts, weekends, holidays, or extended hours, and travel to different facilities within the region may also be necessary. VI. NATURE OF SUPERVISION A. Supervised By: Regional Chief Medical Officer (RCMO), position number 109715, or their designee. B. Supervises: The position directly supervises lower level RPN IVs (IT Clinical Informaticist) and lower level IT Specialist IV (EMR Specialists). C. Instructions/Assistance/Review of Work: The Director of Informatics operates under general supervision from the RCMO or their designee. This role is responsible for facilitating work teams to achieve collective goals, resolving team differences, and escalating issues as directed. The position should exercise professional clinical judgment to implement evidence-based practices as appropriate, escalating operational, organizational, and/or clinical issues as necessary.

Position Urgency:
Normal

Shifts:
ANY

State License Details:
Not Needed

Minimum Years of Experience:
7

Specialty Type:
**This facility has 12 hours of NON-BILLABLE Orientation**

****AGENCIES MUST USE THE HHSC TIMECARDS LOCATED IN THE FACILITY PROFILE AS THIS HOSPITAL GOES BY AN 80 HR IN A 2 WEEK PERIOD TO DETERMINE ACTUAL HOURS/OT ETC. ****

The orientation days. The first day of training would consist of HR orientation, (fingerprinting, reviewing policies and procedures, ID badge, etc.), safety orientation, risk & quality management orientation, in-services/education (Code of conducts, etc.), and I.T. orientation. The second day will be focused on electronic medical record (EMR) training.

The training on day one begins at 10 am with HR (or designee) then safety orientation follows so on and so forth.

Sub Specialty:
Informatics

General Certifications:, N/A

Nursing Certifications:

Contract Length in Weeks:
1