National Council of Informatics - Charter
Indian Health Service
Rockville, Maryland 20857
Refer to: OIT
- PURPOSE. The Indian Health Service (IHS) National Council of Informatics (NCI) works to improve the delivery of health care services for American Indian and Alaska Native people by identifying, defining, prioritizing, and advocating for the information resources management and technology needs of health care providers in IHS, Tribal, and Urban (I/T/U) facilities.
- SCOPE. The NCI functions under the sponsorship and guidance of the IHS Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO). The NCI will interact with a wide variety of groups and committees in accomplishing its functions. These groups include, but are not limited to, IHS national councils, professional specialty groups of other disciplines (e.g., Pharmacy Professional Specialty Group), Information Systems Advisory Committee (ISAC), Area Information Systems Coordinators (ISCs), IHS developers/programmers, and I/T/U programs. The NCI is a member of the IHS National Combined Councils with a focus on clinical informatics.
- MEMBERSHIP. The NCI is a permanent council of the IHS. Membership is flexible and represents end-users of the Indian Health System. The NCI will determine the number of members needed to fulfill its responsibilities, reviewing membership at least every 2 years to ensure appropriate representation. The NCI will prioritize diverse representation in membership and workgroups, including clinical representation from a variety of roles, disciplines, and practice settings. Consideration may also be given to representation of a variety of practice settings accredited by different types of organizations, such as the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, etc.
- Voting Membership. Voting members will be solicited from all IHS Areas as described below and members must be Federal employees. Each voting member is allowed one vote. In the case of a tie, the Chair has the tie-breaking vote.
- (1) Voting Membership will be as follows:
- One Area Office informatics subject matter expert representative from each IHS Area or their designee.
- One Field informatics subject matter expert representative from each IHS Area.
- The IHS CHIO.
- (1) Voting Membership will be as follows:
- Executive Committee. The Executive Committee (EC) includes a Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.
- Area Informaticist Representatives. The representatives, by default, will be the persons in the position of Area Informaticist and must be Federal employees. If an IHS Area has multiple or no Area Informaticist positions, the Area Director will designate the Area Office representative for that Area. Final approval will be by the Area Director, NCI EC, CHIO, and Headquarters (HQ) Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO).
- Area Field Representatives. Field representative members must be Federal employees. Field Representatives will be nominated by the Area Informaticists (after supervisory approval). Final approval will be by the Area Director, NCI EC, CHIO, HQ CIO, and HQ CMO.
- Roles and Disciplines. Federal employees from various roles and disciplines can be an NCI member or serve on ad-hoc workgroups, unless otherwise noted above. Roles and disciplines may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Allied Health Professionals
- Behavioral Health
- Business Office
- Community Health Aide Practitioners
- Community Health Representatives
- Dental
- Health Information Management
- Informatics
- Laboratory
- Medical Staff
- Nursing
- Pharmacy
- Practice Management
- Security
- Voting Membership. Voting members will be solicited from all IHS Areas as described below and members must be Federal employees. Each voting member is allowed one vote. In the case of a tie, the Chair has the tie-breaking vote.
- AD-HOC WORKGROUPS.
- The NCI Chair shall appoint ad-hoc workgroups to seek individual input from subject matter experts as needed for a specific purpose or question of the NCI. Any type of employee in the I/T/U health care system can serve on an ad-hoc workgroup.
- Ad-hoc workgroups do not serve as advisory committees as defined in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Individuals participate in the ad-hoc workgroups to provide individual input, based upon their subject matter expertise, and will not have voting rights or provide consensus advice. Furthermore, the ad-hoc workgroups do not develop policies or make other recommendations to the IHS. While it is not the intent of this Charter to include activities that would be subject to the FACA, any activities that do trigger the FACA must comply with the required procedures.
- ELECTIONS. The NCI will select a Chair from the voting membership, along with one Vice-Chair and one Secretary. Other officers may be selected as needed to meet the requirements of the Council. Officers serve 2-year terms, and may hold consecutive terms. Elections are by a simple majority vote.
- Chair. At the end of the 2-year term for the NCI Chair, the Vice-Chair shall assume the role of NCI Chair for a 2-year term.
- Vice-Chair. At the end of the 2-year term for the Vice-Chair, the Chair shall request nominations from current NCI members for the Vice-Chair position. The Vice-Chair will be elected by a simple majority of NCI members for a 2-year term.
- Secretary. At the end of the 2-year term for the Secretary, the Chair shall request nominations from current NCI members for the Secretary position. The Secretary will be elected by a simple majority of NCI members for a 2-year term.
- VACANCIES.
- Executive Committee Officers. When an EC officer vacancy occurs, the EC will call for nominations and the NCI will vote for another NCI member to fill the vacant office throughout the remainder of the unexpired term. It is the responsibility of the highest-ranking EC officer remaining to call for nominations and oversee a vote for replacement within 60 days of a vacated position.
- Area Informaticist Representatives. When a vacancy in the Area Informaticist position occurs, the Area Director will designate another Area employee as Acting Area Informatics representative until the Area Informaticist position is filled. Final approval will be by the Area Director, NCI EC, IHS CHIO, HQ CIO, and HQ CMO.
- Field Representatives. When a vacancy in Field Representative membership occurs, the respective Area Informaticist representative shall submit a recommendation for a Field Representative with the approval of the nominee’s supervisor and the Area Director. Final approval will be by the Area Director, NCI EC, IHS CHIO, HQ CIO, and HQ CMO.
- RESPONSIBILITIES. The primary responsibility of the NCI is to determine and evaluate, from the perspective of practicing clinicians and end-users, the information management and technology requirements needed to provide safe, efficient, economical, and effective health care and to provide expertise and support for similar efforts by other non-clinician groups.
- National Council of Informatics.
- Represents the clinical informatics concerns of IHS programs and serves as a conduit to the ISAC and the OIT by:
- Seeking input from health care providers/clinical groups at the local and regional level;
- Sharing information with health care providers/clinical groups at the local and regional level; and
- Communicating issues, concerns, and priorities of health care providers regarding technology and information management to the ISAC, OIT, and HQ CMO.
- Identifies information technology (IT) requirements and services essential to the provision of safe, economical, and effective patient services;
- Develops short- and long-term health care information system goals in consultation with OIT;
- Prioritizes health information management system needs from a clinical perspective;
- Identifies functional requirements for the development or modification of health care information systems;
- Acts as a liaison and provides subject matter expertise to collaborate with OIT on enhancement requests from a clinical and technical perspective. The OIT and the NCI perform outreach to the various sites/facilities for requirement analysis of initiatives when needed.
- This will include providing recommendations for setting priorities and identifying best practice approaches for clinical guidance and technical developments in collaboration with Health IT Program Management Offices.
- Change control or enhancement request tracking will be maintained by OIT.
- Collaborates to develop and review appropriate training, user manuals, and tools; and
- Responds to requests for information from sources such as IHS national councils and committees, ISAC, clinical informaticists, and ISCs.
- Represents the clinical informatics concerns of IHS programs and serves as a conduit to the ISAC and the OIT by:
- Chair. It is the NCI Chair's responsibility to:
- Preside over all meetings and conference calls;
- Establish and activate ad-hoc workgroups to research, take action, and report on specific NCI Committee concerns;
- Coordinate tasks and reports among workgroups;
- Develop and present position statements and recommendations to the CHIO, ISAC, and other groups as requested;
- Represent the position(s) of the NCI at IHS Leadership meetings or other meetings, as required;
- Coordinate tasks and reports among members of the NCI Committee;
- Assign and coordinate the draft of reports, position statements, and to represent the NCI as requested by the CHIO, OIT, ISAC, or others; and
- Serve in any capacity as requested by CHIO.
- Vice-Chair. It is the NCI Vice-Chair's responsibility to:
- Assume the duties of the NCI Chair in the event of his or her absence; and
- Serve in any capacity as requested by the CHIO or the NCI Chair.
- Secretary. It is the NCI Secretary’s responsibility to:
- Coordinate the preparation of monthly meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and communicate information to the NCI EC and the IHS CHIO; and
- Serve in any capacity as requested by the CHIO, the NCI Chair, or the Vice-Chair (when assuming the role of Chair).
- Voting Members.
- Represent the informatics concerns of IHS programs and serve as a conduit to other groups by:
- Seeking input from Informaticists at the IHS facility and Area levels;
- Sharing information with Informaticists at the IHS facility and Area level;
- Communicating issues, concerns, and priorities of Informaticists; and
- Identifying IT and services essential to informatics.
- Develop short and long-term goals for future health IT tools.
- Review and endorse health IT integration within the IHS health IT solution.
- Identify requirements for the development or modification of health IT within the IHS health IT solution.
- Collaborate to develop and review appropriate training, user manuals and tools.
- Respond to requests for information from sources such as the CIO, CHIO, ISAC, IHS programs, and others.
- Represent the informatics concerns of IHS programs and serve as a conduit to other groups by:
- National Council of Informatics.
- DECISION MAKING.
- Quorum. A quorum of 50 percent of voting membership will be required to conduct business.
- Voting. A simple majority of votes will determine the acceptance or rejection of a given motion or request. In the event of a tie vote, the NCI Chair will cast a vote for the motion or request to proceed or not proceed.
- RELATIONSHIPS.
- The NCI Chair will serve as the council representative to the IHS Director and CHIO, and communicate concerns and recommendations as directed by the NCI EC.
- The NCI communicates with the CHIO, I//T/U end-users, other IHS councils and committees, ISAC, OIT leadership and its organizational components, e.g., Division of Information Technology staff, and others as needed.
- The NCI collaborates with other established I/T/U Indian health programs, external agencies, entities, and groups. The NCI may be asked to participate with other councils and committees, IHS program boards, HQ Offices, or workgroups as needed to fulfill NCI obligations.
- MEETINGS.
- Scheduled Meetings. The NCI will meet once per month. Depending on the availability of funds, it is anticipated that the NCI will convene at least one face-to-face meeting each year. The NCI may convene standing or ad-hoc workgroup meetings as necessary to accomplish their charge. The Council will also seek to involve subject matter experts from throughout the IHS on any issue.
- Additional Meetings. The NCI will schedule additional meetings as needed or as requested by the CHIO, the IHS health IT solution Program Manager/Investment Manager, or the NCI Chair.
- Participation. Members are expected to attend meetings either in person or virtually. At the discretion of the Chair, any member missing two or more meetings per year will be reviewed for replacement. More than two unexcused absences may lead to dismissal from the NCI. When members are unable to attend a meeting, the excused member may designate another Federal
non-member within their respective Areas to attend on their behalf by proxy, which specifies the scope and duration of the designation. The NCI EC is made aware of the designee’s name before the meeting.
- MINUTES. The NCI Secretary will develop meeting minutes and distribute to the NCI within 30 days of the meeting or call. The first item of business for all meetings will be to review and approve the last meeting minutes. Minutes should be available electronically for review and comment by any NCI member or IHS informaticist staff.
- SUPERSEDURE. IHS Circular No. 18-07, “National Council of Informatics – Charter,” dated 08/31/2018.
- EFFECTIVE DATE. This IHS Circular is effective upon the date of signature.
/Roselyn Tso/
Roselyn Tso
Director
Indian Health Service
Distribution: IHS-wide
Date: 01/10/2025