CCI study plan

Define the scope of clinical informatics as a discipline and distinguish it from adjacent roles such as health IT analyst, CMIO, and informaticist nurse

Map the core components of a health IT environment (EHR, ancillary systems, interface engine, identity management, network and device layer) into a one-page architecture sketch from memory

Explain the difference between an EHR, an EMR, a PHR, and a population health platform using one concrete example for each

Identify the main federal and standards bodies that shape US health IT (ONC, CMS, HITRUST, HL7, NIST) and state what each actually governs

Trace a single patient encounter end to end and label every system that touches the data

Compare EHR deployment models (on-premise, hosted, cloud SaaS) on cost, upgrade cadence, downtime risk, and customization limits

Walk through the EHR build lifecycle: requirements, design, build, test, train, activate, and optimize, and list the artifacts produced at each stage

Explain how order entry, results routing, medication administration, and documentation modules interact within a single EHR

Describe the role of the interface engine and list three common message types it routes

Distinguish clinical documentation from billing documentation and explain why the split creates workflow friction

Perform a current-state workflow analysis of one real clinical process using direct observation or shadowing notes

Build a swimlane diagram of that process that names each role, handoff, and system touchpoint

Identify at least four non-value-added steps and classify each as a delay, a rework loop, or a duplicate data entry

Draft a future-state workflow that removes at least two of those steps and state the expected effect on time or error rate

Explain how usability and cognitive load affect clinician workflow and name two measurable proxies for each

Explain the purpose and structure of HL7 v2 messages, including segments, fields, and the ADT trigger event family

Describe FHIR resources, the RESTful interaction model, and how FHIR differs from HL7 v2 in extensibility and granularity

Compare terminology systems (SNOMED CT, LOINC, ICD-10-CM, RxNorm, CPT) and state the correct use case for each

Explain the difference between syntactic and semantic interoperability and give one example of each failure

Describe how a clinical data repository or data warehouse ingests and normalizes data from multiple source systems

Map the data lifecycle from capture through aggregation, reporting, and archival

Classify clinical decision support rules by trigger type (order-entry, results-based, time-based, event-based) and give two examples of each

Explain the five rights of CDS and apply them to critique one poorly designed alert

Describe how a rule authoring and knowledge management process works, including versioning, review, and retirement of rules

Identify three causes of alert fatigue and propose a specific mitigation for each

Explain how clinical quality measures are specified and computed from structured data, and why measure logic depends on terminology mapping

Explain HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules at the level of covered entity, business associate, minimum necessary, and the Security Rule safeguard categories

Distinguish the HIPAA Security Rule from the HITECH Act breach notification requirements and describe what triggers notification

Describe how role-based access control and audit logging support both security and patient privacy

Explain the information blocking rules and identify the eight exceptions in general terms

Apply a root cause analysis framework to a simulated patient safety event involving a health IT system

Distinguish a sentinel event from a near miss and describe how each feeds a safety learning system

Design a PDSA cycle for a small informatics improvement and define the measure, baseline, and target

Select an appropriate quality framework (Lean, Six Sigma, IHI Model for Improvement) for a given problem and justify the choice

Build a stakeholder map for an EHR implementation and classify each stakeholder by influence and interest

Draft a communication plan that names audiences, channels, frequency, and message owner

Anticipate three sources of clinician resistance to a workflow change and script a response to each

Explain how training strategy, super-user networks, and at-the-elbow support affect adoption

Consolidate weak areas by reviewing every missed practice item and writing a corrected rationale for each

Re-derive the highest-yield facts for each domain from memory without notes and check against source material

Complete two timed full-length practice sets and record domain-level accuracy for each

Analyze score patterns to identify the two domains still below target and drill only those

Rehearse explaining three complex concepts aloud in plain language to test true understanding