The decision to get a degree is a difficult one, but deciding to go to school is only half the battle. You also have to decide which degree you want to pursue. A changing job market along with conflicting information can make this part of the decision stressful, to say the least. Before choosing any career path, you should learn all you can. If you’ve been thinking about pursuing a master’s degree in health informatics, the following will help.
What It Takes to Get a Health Informatics Master’s Degree
The pathway to a master’s degree in healthcare informatics is not the same for everyone. To begin, an applicant must have a bachelor’s degree in a health administration field , such as health information technology or healthcare administration. If an applicant has a bachelor’s degree but it is not in a relevant field, some schools may consider work experience as long as it is in a healthcare admin setting.
It takes approximately 30 to 50 credit hours to obtain a master’s degree in health informatics, depending on the school curriculum and the pace at which the student completes courses.
Careers Open to Health Informatics Graduates
Several career paths are open to health informatics graduates. Job titles include health informatics consultant, health informatics director, chief medical information officer, electronic medical record keeper, health IT project manager, and more.
- Health Informatics Consultant – Updates networks, installs software, monitors systems, and troubleshoots problems.
- Health Informatics Director – Meets with stakeholders, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists regarding technological protocol changes, records issues, and mitigates problems with technology.
- Chief Medical Information Officer – Conducts data analytics, participates on IT supervisory boards, designs software, and applies software applications.
- Electronic Medical Record Keeper – Ensures accuracy of patient records, assigns codes to patient data, consults with physicians regarding patient records, compiles information and statistics for research, and disperses information to insurance companies and family members.
- Health IT Project Manager – Creates project plans, identifies and secures resources for project, discusses project with team members, and minimizes errors.
Depending on the position, some health informatics professionals may be required to train other employees in matters regarding software and technology.
Jobs Outlook for Health Informatics Field
Today, hospitals have to comply with complex and ever-changing laws regarding electronic health records, which has created much demand for health informatics professionals. The outlook for the entire field is exceptional. All job openings within the field are expected to increase by 7 percent. However, health informatics managers are in even greater demand. Job openings are expected to increase by 23 percent before the year 2024.
Health Informatics Salary Expectations
Professionals with a master’s in health informatics, can expect to earn a nice salary. Following are the average salaries listed for specific job titles as supplied by the American Health Information Management Association.
- Health Informatics Consultant – $80,000
- Health Informatics Director – $100,000
- Chief Medical Information Officer – $100,000
- Electronic Medical Record Keeper (manager) – $130,000
- Health IT Project Manager – $102,000
Health informatics is an exciting, dynamic field. If you wish to pursue a health informatics master’s degree, don’t delay. Your new career is waiting for you; all you have to do is take the first step.
Sources
http://www.careersinpublichealth.net/resources/masters-healthcare-informatics-salary-outlook
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