Overview
The need for health-care informatics professionals has gradually increased as data and technology continue to drive the growth of the health-care business. Job vacancies in health-care informatics are rising across the sector, including at hospitals, clinics, technology businesses, insurance companies, and private physician offices, as electronic medical records and other technologies that create large amounts of data become more widely adopted. Health-care informatics professionals are predicted to have a 13 percent rise in job possibilities between 2016 and 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Master of Science in Healthcare Informatics (M.S.H.I.) program is designed to provide advanced informatics training to health-care professionals who seek a career as a health informatics researcher or who want to incorporate health informatics skills into their existing employment.
The M.S. in Healthcare Informatics program is online. Online education is preferred by many individuals for various reasons, e.g., job, family, or travel. This program allows for more flexibility and self-paced learning, and is an attractive option for those working full time in the healthcare and information technology sectors.
The program supports the core Vincentian values of compassion and service as it teaches you technical skills that can be used to combat poverty, disease, and crime, and provide health care solutions. It utilizes new instructional labs in St. Augustine Hall to provide you with maximum academic success support.
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Syed Ahmad Chan Bukhari, Ph.D.
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Admission Requirements
- evidence of successfully completing a bachelor’s degree in health informatics, health sciences, computer science, or a related discipline with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average
- two letters of recommendation, at least one of which attests to your research or technical ability
- a recent sample of written work and a personal statement of professional experience and career goals
Degree Requirements
To earn the Master of Science Degree in Healthcare Informatics, students complete 30 credits, in major-sequence, elective courses, and core requirements as outlined below.
| Course Number and Title | Credits | Course Type | Prerequisite(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCI 520 Medical and Health Informatics | 3 | Core | None |
| HCI 526 Healthcare Data Science | 3 | Core | None |
| HCI 630 Healthcare Informatin flow and Data Management | 3 | Core | None |
| Term credit total | 9 |
| Course Number and Title | Credits | Course Type | Prerequisite(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCI 527 Healthcare Standardization | 3 | Core | None |
| HCI 625 Healthcare Enterprise Systems | 3 | Core | None |
| CUS 510 Database System Design and Data Warehousing | 3 | Core | None |
| Term credit total | 9 |
Students must select at least 3 courses amongst the following course selection
| Course Number and Title | Credits | Course Type | Prerequisite(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCI 525 Applied Healthcare Analytics | 3 | Elective | None |
| HCI 620 Healthcare Information Security | 3 | Elective | None |
| HCI 615 Healthcare IT Project Management | 3 | Elective | None |
| CUS 610 Data Mining and Predictive Modeling I | 3 | Elective | None |
| HCI 795 Thesis 1 | 3 | Elective | None |
| Term credit total | 9 |
| Course Number and Title | Credits | Course Type | Prerequisite(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCI 796/HCI 790 Thesis 2 OR Healthcare Informatics Capstone Project | 3 | Elective | |
| Term credit total | 9 |
Career Outcomes
Health-care informatics combines traditional health care with digital information. It is a relatively new field, and with most careers utilizing emerging forms of technology, a health-care informatics career is bound to thrive for years to come. The profession also allows individuals to help patients without becoming a licensed medical practitioner.
Additionally, since health-care informatics is a relatively young field, new careers are constantly emerging. Individuals who commit to long-term learning and continuing education can even create their own positions in the field.
Health-care informatics is a vast and rapidly growing field that encompasses many areas of the health-care industry. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that health occupations should experience job growth of 14 percent from 2019 to 2029. More than 2.5 million new jobs will be created by 2029, making this a great field to pursue.
One of the most notable findings in the Burning Glass Technologies report is encouraging for health-care informatics hopefuls: The demand for health informatics workers is projected to grow 22 percent through 2018—more than twice the rate of growth for all industries. That translates to more than 40,000 new jobs generated in the field.
Health informatics jobs include everything from billing to medical quality assurance. Potential job titles for informatics degree-holders include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Clinical analyst
- Clinical informatics manager
- Clinical informatics specialist
- Health informatics specialist
- Informatics nurse
- Medical coder
Regardless of job title, informatics professionals’ duties include implementing health information technology systems to integrate electronic health records, thus increasing the amount of data gathered and improving patient care. The data is stored digitally so it can be reused for research purposes.
Healthcare Informatics Brochure
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