Medecision and ChristianaCare Partner for Clinical Informatics Fellowship

In 2020, Medecision began supporting a clinical informatics fellowship at ChristianaCare. Meet the first two fellows to go through the program.

Since 2012, Medecision has partnered with ChristianaCare, an organization comprised of three hospitals and extensive network of healthcare services, headquartered in Delaware. When ChristianaCare began its virtual health journey, the organization chose Aerial by Medecision to work with its electronic care management program.

For the past decade, Medecision and ChristianaCare have worked together to engage consumers, power better virtual care interactions and improve health outcomes.

In 2020, Medecision and ChristianaCare took this partnership to the next level when Medecision began philanthropically supporting a clinical informatics fellowship at ChristianaCare—a two-year multidisciplinary training program focused on studying how information technology can be applied to healthcare. ChristianaCare is one of only 40 healthcare organizations nationwide to offer a clinical informatics fellowship—and the only organization in the Delaware Valley to do so.

As part of the program, fellows participate in the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) clinical informatics certificate program throughout the entirety of the fellowship. The certificate program provides a technology foundation background and provides fellows with a more thorough understanding of the role of informatics in healthcare. First-year fellows also start with a multi-block inpatient rotation to familiarize them with ChristianaCare and the clinical IT systems. Other first-year rotations include ambulatory workflows, data science, population health and consumer health informatics. Second-year fellows have rotations in quality and safety, data visualization, data security and privacy, and public health informatics. They end with a capstone project.

Meet the Fellows of the Clinical Informatics Fellowship

In July 2020, Anna Nadhan, M.D., became the first clinical informatics fellow at ChristianaCare. A pediatrician from California, Dr. Nadhan wasn’t very familiar with clinical informatics prior to joining ChristianaCare—but she had a passion for technology, and she knew there had to be better ways to optimize how users interact with the electronic health record (EHR).

“The past 18 months have opened my eyes to the field of clinical informatics,” says Dr. Nadhan, now a second-year fellow.  “It spans much larger than just a traditional healthcare organization.”

Fellows gain expertise in areas such as EHR implementation and optimization; ethics, privacy, legal and regulatory issues in informatics; clinical decision-making and applied decision-support; use of data systems, data mining and database architecture; enterprise information management strategies; federal informatics initiatives including meaningful use; computer programming and methods of software development; systems, database and network architecture; and much more.

“One of the most unique parts of the ChristianaCare fellowship is the relationship with Medecision,” Dr. Nadhan says. “I spent a month with an analyst from Medecision as part of the program, and I was able to learn about programming and artificial intelligence. I was immersed in the healthcare technology space, which is an opportunity I wouldn’t typically have in a traditional healthcare setting.”

In 2021, Kevin Kindler, M.D., became the second clinical informatics fellow at ChristianaCare. Though he is only a few months into the program, it has already proven to be a rewarding experience, he says.

“The faculty at ChristianaCare has helped ensure I get the most knowledge out of every rotation,” says Dr. Kindler, a family medicine provider. “I have been able to work with medical providers, pharmaceutical teams, EHR specialists from Cerner, analysts and programmers—all of whom have given me solid foundational knowledge that can help me as I move forward in my career.”

Changing the Future of Healthcare

Clinical informatics will change healthcare for the better, Dr. Kindler suggests.

“I think clinical informatics has the capacity to transform how healthcare is provided by expanding access to care, improving quality of care, empowering patients and making care less expensive,” he says.

Dr. Nadhan believes that clinical informatics can also improve preventive medicine. “The ability to track changes in health before they lead to chronic, lifelong disabilities is critical,” she says. “Informatics can help us monitor the patient’s health and keep in touch through various settings—whether they’re at home, work or school, technology can allow us to transmit information and help them achieve optimal health.”

Jump on Board

The ChristianaCare clinical informatics fellowship is a two-year program accredited by the American Council for Graduate Medical Education. The fellowship is supported by Medecision, which is underwriting and subsidizing the program, and offering an on-site rotation for fellows to learn about the software development process.

Dr. Nadhan will graduate from the program in June 2022, and she has no regrets about joining.

“If you are interested in clinical informatics, don’t give it a second thought,” she says. “Apply today. There’s no better place than ChristianaCare. The leadership here gives a tremendous amount of effort and support to improving your understanding of clinical informatics, and they give you every possible opportunity to explore it.”

Dr. Kindler agrees, suggesting the clinical informatics fellowship program at ChristianaCare is unparalleled. “ChristianaCare has so many unique partnerships, including Medecision, that give us such a variety of experiences,” he says. “The program is truly different from other informatics programs. I’ve learned so much in the past four months—and I am confident that Dr. Nadhan and I will use this fellowship to someday improve healthcare at a much greater scale than we previously envisioned, thanks to the support of ChristianaCare and Medecision.”

 Are you interested in applying for ChristianaCare’s clinical informatics fellowship? Contact Sharath Kharidi, M.D., at skharidi@christianacare.org for more information.