Designing a Health Informatics Competency Framework Aligned with Digital Health Transformation and Organizational Practice

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital health technologies has reshaped healthcare delivery and increased the demand for advanced, role-specific competencies among nursing informatics professionals. While existing global competency frameworks offer foundational guidance, they often lack the depth and contextual alignment required for specialized informatics roles in highly digitalized healthcare organizations. This study aimed to evaluate current nursing informatics competencies, identify gaps relative to emerging digital health requirements, and develop a comprehensive, adaptive competency framework tailored to the Nursing Informatics Department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Qatar. A multi-method qualitative research design ensured methodological rigor and triangulation. Data collection included: (1) a systematic review of international competency frameworks and institutional job descriptions; (2) semi-structured interviews with nursing informatics practitioners across role levels; (3) focus group discussions with representatives from informatics operations, quality, and education; and (4) expert review by internationally recognized informatics specialists. This design enabled in-depth exploration of practice expectations, perceived competency gaps, and emerging skill needs in the context of digital transformation. A pilot evaluation further refined the framework for clarity and practical applicability. Findings indicated substantial misalignment between international frameworks and the competencies required within HMC’s digitally mature environment. Published frameworks primarily emphasized foundational informatics literacy but did not adequately address critical domains such as Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), project and change management, data management and analytics, quality improvement, and digital governance—all of which were embedded in HMC nursing informatics roles. Interviews confirmed the need for clearly defined progression across basic, intermediate, and advanced competency levels, mapped to knowledge, autonomy, standard of work, and decision-making. Focus group discussions structured the final framework into three core domains—Administrative, Nursing Informatics, and Education & Research—comprising twelve subdomains. External expert review validated the framework’s comprehensiveness and alignment with international standards (TIGER, HIMSS, ANA, WHO). The resulting Nursing Informatics Competency Framework integrates global best practices with local operational realities, offering a structured, role-based tool to support workforce development, performance assessment, curriculum design, and digital transformation efforts. Its implementation strengthens the capacity of nursing informatics professionals to serve as strategic partners in system optimization, data-driven decision-making, and innovation—thereby enhancing patient care quality and organizational effectiveness. Implications for practice include the need for healthcare organizations to adopt structured competency-based development pathways, align workforce planning and job profiling with defined competency expectations, and integrate digital health competencies into continuous professional development and training programs. Recommendations for further research include conducting quantitative and mixed-method validation studies, evaluating the framework’s impact on workforce performance and digital health outcomes, and exploring its applicability across other informatics disciplines and healthcare settings to support broader national and regional standardization.