The UK Council for Health Informatics Professions (UKCHIP), is a newly formed body designed to support the development of professionalism within Health Informatics. Founded in September 2002, the Council subsequently attracted over 50 of the UK’s leading health informatics professionals to become Council members. Established by a group of people concerned about improving the professional status of the estimated 29,000 people working within health informatics in the United Kingdom, UKCHIP’s primary function is to hold a register of those who have been accredited as a health informatics professional, but will also have the ability to de-register anyone who fails to maintain adequate professional standards. It is not intended to replace any existing bodies, but rather UKCHIP is an umbrella organisation designed for those practising in the field of health informatics. It is supported by the NHS Information Authority, Department of Health, The British Computer Society Health Informatics Committee, ASSIST (t he Association of ICT professionals in health and care), CILIP, BMIS, IHRIM, IHM, etc and a core number of commercial sector individuals and companies such as Microsoft.

Bruce Madge
United Kingdom