Informatics forums and committees

Influence the College’s policy on eHealth and information management

The College is setting up a series of online forums to facilitate members’ discussion of topics related to the informatics agenda. The first forums will feed into the COT-led development of OT language to support occupational therapy practice and recording in electronic care records.

Ensuring that national eHealth strategies support occupational therapists

The College is represented on the National Allied Health Professions Informatics Strategy Taskforce (NAHPIST). This group is chaired by Karen Middleton, the Chief Health Professions Officer, at DH. The group influences DH informatics strategy and how best to implement that strategy in the Allied Health Professions.
 
The College contributes to a number of national informatics developments, e.g. membership of the Board of the Clinical Documentation and Generic Record Standards (CDGRS) project. These national projects typically last for 12 – 18 months, but optimum influence is achieved by having the opportunity to comment on the scope and design of each project in the months before they start. The College has developed a national profile in this area and in recent years, has been involved in discussions about the scoping and design of national informatics projects that will impact on occupational therapy practice.