Current primary specialty certification is a core requirement to be eligible for the Clinical Informatics certification exam.

Current primary specialty certification through an ABMS member board, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) will satisfy this requirement.

Primary board certification is a core requirement. Some ABMS boards accept subspecialty certification as meeting the primary certification requirements. In those cases, the individual would be listed as certified in the primary specialty. The status of primary certification is determined by each individual board.

Current ABMS member board certification is a core requirement for applicants seeking certification through the Practice Pathway.

ABPM recently expanded board certification requirements to include current AOA certification for applicants applying through the ACGME-accredited Fellowship pathway. You may review the requirements for Clinical Informatics Certification through the ACGME-Accredited Fellowship Pathway at https://www.theabpm.org/become-certified/subspecialties/clinical-informatics/

ABPM does not provide credit towards practice time requirements for any time spent in a residency. Electives in Clinical Informatics during residency do not count towards practice pathway requirements.

ABPM may consider research months in a non-Clinical informatics fellowship with the following limitations: The fellowship may not be used to satisfy a requirement for another board certification and the applicant must demonstrate substantial Clinical Informatics research during that time period (e.g. through publications or presentations).

No, neither activity averages 25% or more effort. However, if both activities had occurred during the same month, they could be added and considered in support of a Practice Pathway application.

Yes, if you worked on average 25% or more during the reported activity, the effort could be added and considered in support of a Practice Pathway application.

The ABPM does not consider content expertise efforts to be significant Clinical Informatics effort and therefore, such effort will not be considered in support of an application to the ABPM for Certification in Clinical Informatics.

Applicants may apply for approval of a completed 32-credit-hour master’s program in Biomedical Informatics, Health Sciences Informatics, Clinical Informatics, or a related subject from a university/college in the US and Canada, deemed acceptable by the Board (e.g. NLM university-based Biomedical Informatics Training or equivalent) to substitute for the required ‘Time in Practice’. A copy of the program curriculum and a description of the training is required. An application that includes an NLM (or equivalent) component should be submitted through the Practice Pathway. The ABPM will determine final eligibility based on the totality of the application.

Applicants applying through the Practice Pathway are required to document average hours per week. Practice time must be at least 25% (on average, 10 hours per week) of a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) to be considered for inclusion of practice time in support of an application submitted via the Practice Pathway.

A detailed description of your practice activities must be completed from the dropdown menu choices in the online application to be reviewed for practice credit.

ABPM may grant partial credit if you have completed fewer than 32 credit hours in a Clinical Informatics graduate program. Please provide a transcript and curriculum with your application. You should also include evidence of additional practice to satisfy any additional requirements of the Practice Pathway.

All Clinical Informatics applicants applying through the Practice Pathway with a Master’s program are required to submit a transcript and a copy of the curriculum with the application. Applications and supporting documentation are reviewed by ABPM Clinical Informatics board-certified physicians to determine credit to be allocated for those activities.

Yes. Current primary specialty certification through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) will satisfy the primary specialty certification requirement.

Review the requirements for Clinical Informatics Certification at https://www.theabpm.org/become-certified/subspecialties/clinical-informatics/.

ABPM does not maintain a list of “approved” graduate-degree programs. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) program is offered as an example of a program that ABPM considers acceptable. However, each graduate-degree program is evaluated on a case-by-case basis for each applicant; this evaluation is focused on the number of credit hours completed (regardless of time spent in the program), course descriptions, as provided by the applicant, and the breadth of topics covered in the program.

ABPM is most likely to approve graduate degrees that are specifically in the Clinical Informatics domain or have a strong clinical-informatics focus.

General healthcare-related degrees (MHA, MBA, etc.) that happen to include some amount of informatics-specific content are less likely to be approved. In those cases, while a degree may not qualify on its own to fully replace the practice activity required by the practice pathway, some amount of partial credit for informatics-related courses can be used to augment practice activity that otherwise would not fulfill the practice pathway requirements.

The Clinical Informatics graduate program does not necessarily need to be completed by 6/30/2025.

If the degree program is completed by that date, it may be used in place of practice activity to qualify through the Practice Pathway.

If the degree is not completed by 6/30/2025, the coursework that has been completed may be applied as partial credit towards practice activity requirements. Additional qualifying practice activity will be necessary to meet eligibility requirements through the Practice Pathway.

The 32-credit-hour Clinical Informatics graduate program does not need to include a capstone project. However, if you complete a capstone project, please include the details of the project as part of the coursework description in your application.

To satisfy the Practice Pathway requirements in place of qualified practice activity, a Clinical Informatics graduate program must consist of at least 32 credit hours. This replaces the former requirement that the graduate program be at least 24 months long. There is no longer a time requirement for a graduate degree program to be acceptable to the ABPM, provided the program is Clinical Informatics-focused and consists of at least 32 credit hours. Additionally, the graduate degree must be conferred.

ABPM may grant partial credit if you have completed fewer than 32 credit hours in a Clinical Informatics graduate program. Please provide a transcript and curriculum with your application. You should also include evidence of additional practice to satisfy any additional requirements of the Practice Pathway.

Practice activities that count towards Practice Pathway requirements must fall into one of the following categories to be considered acceptable by the ABPM:

• Health IT leadership and governance
• Electronic health record systems
• Clinical decision support systems
• Healthcare analytics
• Technology needs assessments
• Informatics-related educational activities
• Other informatics-related activities.

ABPM does not consider the practice setting (e.g., clinical, academic, or industry) when determining the acceptability of practice activity.

In the description of your practice which you include in the application, you should provide evidence that you are involved in broad-based, subspecialty-level Clinical Informatics practice.

Qualifying practice must go beyond that of a manager, supervisor, subject matter expert, advisor, consultant, researcher, or champion. In your description, avoid phrases like “involved in,” “worked closely with,” “provided expertise for,” etc.