With the evolution of smartphones and consolidated, digital record-keeping, as well as a Federal mandate concerning electronic health records (EHRs), the necessity for specialists focused on the management of health-related data is booming.
IT-based improvements in healthcare provision management, delivery, and planning are more important than ever before, and healthcare informatics specialists are helping to protect and utilize patients' most valuable asset: private medical data. By using information technology, specialists in medical informatics analyze and organize health records to improve healthcare outcomes for patients.
The essence of public healthcare informatics or medical informatics is simple: Provide electronic access to medical records, for patients, nurses, doctors, administrators, and insurance companies so that all parties might make more informed decisions. Students interested in getting a health informatics degree should be highly organized, tech-savvy, and interested in cross-disciplinary areas, such as information/data management, health and human services, communications systems, and computer technology.
With several specialized areas to study, such as Clinical Informatics Management, Clinical Analysis, Clinical Informatics Specialization, Nursing Informatics, and Health Informatics Specialization, students hoping to enter this growing medical field have several areas that might match their passions, interests, and skills. And not only are on-campus options the only path to a career – online learning has essentially caught up in terms of quality.
According to Payscale, people working with EHRs are in high demand and fill a growing distance between clinical delivery specialists—doctors and nurses—and healthcare assistance providers – like insurance companies – as well as help patients manage their own health information. Workers in healthcare informatics claim high levels of job satisfaction while making an average of $61,000 annually; though, with a Master's degree in Health Informatics, salaries grow exponentially to mid $90,000s.[footnote]Information retrieved from: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Health_Informatics_Specialist/Salary[/footnote]
What are the best online bachelor's degrees in health informatics?
Our College Choice rankings for the best online Bachelor's in Management Information Systems Degrees are compiled with care using several significant pieces of data, including real freshman surveyed by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. In this survey, students rated academic value, monetary aid awards, and overall cost college. The survey also examined post-graduation job placement and career satisfaction. These aspects were weighed against gatherings of data including PayScale.com, U.S. News & World Report, and the National Center for Education Statistics.
Ranking
See our rankings methodology page.
