Healthcare Software

CPHIMS Advice From Certified Professionals

In preparation for HIMSS10, I have been investigating the CPHIMS certification for Healthcare management professionals. How hard is it to pass the CPHIMS exam? How much weight and credibility does the CPHIMS certification carry? What does it bring to healthcare software development?

The program is still fairly new, and a number of managers I spoke with recently told me they were not sure yet what the importance of the certification would be in the industry going forward. To be fair, in addition to asking people who were unsure about the certification, I sought out the advice of professionals who had actually gone through the process.

Ed Yala, CEO of HealthDATA Technologies, was very helpful in his assessment:

"I think the CPHIMS certification is worthwhile for people who want to work in healthcare IT. One learns a lot while preparing to take the certification exam. The preparation covers the healthcare market and related IT from solo practitioners to hospitals to healthcare networks. I think that CPHIMS lends credibility to the certificant's commitment to the field of healthcare IT. It is gaining traction as more and more professionals doing work in the health IT arena are getting certified. HealthData Technologies (www.HealthData-Tech.com) is developing a program to help candidates prepare for and pass the CPHIMS exam."

Mark Krawitz, a Healthcare Enterprise Architect and Project Manager from Cardinal Health, highlighted the relationship between CPHIMS and PMP:

"If you have a strong background in healthcare informatics, the CPHIMS exam is quite easy. I studied rather lightly for about a month and passed easily. The exam is much easier than the PMP ( at least for me ). The certification is probably worthwhile especially since HIMSS accepts PDUs from PMI so you can maintain the credentials together. "

Finally, Toby Boyett, Product Director at UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was detailed in his advice:

"I think the CPHIMS certification is very worth the time and effort - especially for PMs. HIMSS is associated fairly closely with the PMI. In fact, a sizable portion of the CPHIMS exam is dedicated to PMI-related principles. Having the CPHIMS certification will show your specialization in healthcare IT to potential customers, employers as well as your peers. [...] I would highly recommend getting your CPHIMS certification as I noticed that you have experience in healthcare IT. As more attention is placed on healthcare IT and overall healthcare reform, companies are going to be looking for high-quality candidates to fill very important healthcare IT jobs. And since healthcare IT has not been a specialty in the IT technical industry up to this point, having any healthcare IT designated certification will set you apart from other candidates out there. "