Do you ever ask What is Healthcare Informatics? It is the integration of healthcare sciences. Healthcare informatics has been around for many decades, but it’s been in the past decade or so that its usefulness and benefits have been acknowledged within the industry. Such as information science, cognitive science, and computer science, to help manage healthcare information and provide a better quality of healthcare to patients. Healthcare informatics (HI) is around in nearly every area of the healthcare industry.
What is Healthcare Informatics?
The actual title of healthcare informatics sounds complex, but it’s actually relatively simple. Healthcare or health informatics is when this industry combines healthcare with information technology. They do this with the purpose of providing patients with the best quality of patient care. Healthcare Informatics allows healthcare providers to share information within HIPAA guidelines with each other. It allows medical billing to be done electronically, which is faster, more secure, and more efficient.
Any area of that uses electronic medical records, electronic health records, and personal health records are utilizing health informatics. There is rarely an area of the medical industry that does not use health informatics, particularly since the signing of the Affordable Care Act. The Healthcare Informatics field covers many subsets of the industry, management, and business with one goal in mind: improving patient care. This field offers many job opportunities because healthcare and information technology can be found in almost every area in the healthcare industry.
Careers in Healthcare Informatics
The addition of Healthcare Informatics has not only brought about many evidence-based improvements in the industry but has also opened up the demand for professionals well trained and educated in both medicine and informatics. The Health Information and Management Systems Society reports that professional-level education and certification programs have been designed for healthcare providers in informatics.
Health informatics is a broad field and one with many specialties and sub-specialties and provides lucrative careers. WHAT IS THE SALARY POTENTIAL IN NURSING INFORMATICS?. Within almost every HI specialty, many sub-specialties can also be found. There are numerous careers available to candidates who have obtained sufficient training in their area of interest including:
- Health data analyst
- Systems analysts
- Insurance claims analyst
- Researcher and research associate
- Clinical coding specialist
- Medical billing and coding specialist
- Product developers
- Physician practice manager
- Patient information coordinator
- Medical assistant
- Consultant
HI, professionals are not restricted to only working in healthcare facilities. They may find jobs working in hospitals and clinics, government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, insurance companies, public health agencies, information systems companies, and health-related software companies.
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Education Required for Healthcare Informatics Careers
Because the HI industry is so vast, there are also so many careers that can be found within this industry. Whether a candidate wishes to work in a medical office, assist in surgery, consult with medical professionals or have patient contact, there is a job to be found in the HI industry. There are also degree programs offered at every level for aspiring HI professionals, many of which are offered through distance learning. Some common degree options for aspiring HI professionals include:
- Associate Degree in Health Information Technology
- Associate Degree in Health Informatics and Management
- Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Management
- Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Management & Technology
- Bachelor’s Degree in Health Informatics
- Master’s Degree in Health Informatics
- Master’s Degree in Biomedical and Health Informatics
- Master’s Degree in Health Informatics & Health Information Management
The healthcare industry is probably one of the largest industries in the world and one that continues to grow and needs qualified professionals. With more than 2.4 million healthcare jobs expected to be created by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the HI field will offer many rewarding careers to graduates of Healthcare Informatics degree programs.
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