title: Evaluating the role of health informatics professionals in saudi arabia: the need for collaboration.
abstract: Saudi health authorities have acknowledged the role of health informatics professionals in improving the quality of medical services in Saudi Arabia. Different academic programs have been launched by different universities and medical colleges to produce qualified Saudi health informatics professionals. To date, there are no studies that have explained the role of health informaticians and their contribution towards the development of the Saudi health information infrastructure. In this study, the authors clarify health informatics practices and the different skills and job activities accomplished by health informaticians. With the growth in the number of Health Informatics programs within the country, there is a need to identify the current and future of HI professionals and to specify and clearly define the type of job titles describing health informatics roles. The Saudi HI educational programs need to work on linking their program objectives with a Saudi Health Informatics Career Framework (SHICF) and labor market needs. Ignoring such an important issue may result in unemployed Saudi HI graduates or HI graduates working in related fields other than HI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information and Communication Technology, King Fahd Security College, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullah I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Alkraiji
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mowafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Househ
mesh_terms: D000070516:Intersectoral Collaboration; D007587:Job Description; D008490:Medical Informatics; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload