Abstract
In 2018, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) created a national working group composed of key health informatics (HI) professionals, researchers and educators tasked with the development of a draft competency framework for Saudi HI professionals. Over an eight-month period, the research group collected data obtained from literature sources (both academic and grey), international competency standards, participant surveys, focus groups, and expert panel reviews. Through multiple rounds of discussions and graphic visualisation of the information collected using Microsoft PowerPoint and flip charts, the data were summarised and a visual representation of the proposed SHICF was developed. The result of this effort was the development ofthe first Saudi Health Informatics Competency Framework (SHICF). This paper provides a comparative assessment between the Saudi HI competency framework development and that of other internationally recognised HI competency development frameworks. Challenges related to the development ofthe SHICF are also discussed.