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Overview of a Bachelor’s in Healthcare Informatics

Current information technology as it is and technology and health information systems still being developed are pushing medical records and health information record-keeping into an electronic format, called electronic health records or electronic medical records. With a new law on the federal books, healthcare providers are required to move patients’ records from paper to electronic formats and maintain them safely and securely. This has increased the need for knowledge in health informatics technology and management, as well as nursing informatics.

Graduates with a degree in health informatics, health informatics technology and management, and a variety of other healthcare informatics degree titles have the skills necessary to land these jobs and perform the work of maintaining medical records, health records, and healthcare information systems. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting that jobs in the health information and health information management fields will grow 17% between 2014 and 2024. This makes this intersection of information technology, health informatics, and information management one of the country’s fastest-growing occupations. If you already have an associate health informatics degree, or one in healthcare information systems or healthcare data management, you won’t have to spend four additional years in a classroom. Instead, you’ll spend up to two years, earning the credits needed for your bachelor’s degree in health informatics program. Once nursing informatics or health informatics students graduate with a bachelor's degree in health informatics and information management, they’ll find a wide range of jobs available to choose from, which may include the following.

  • Health Information Technicians
  • Registered Health Information Technician
  • Registered Health Information Administrator
  • Health Services Managers
  • Health Information Managers
  • Health Informatics Specislist
  • And More Healthcare Informatics Professionals

PROS

Once students graduate with a bachelor's in health informatics degree online, they’ll be able to apply for a wide range of jobs that fall within this area of specialization for healthcare professionals. Health informatics is a specialization just like medical coding, and it requires specially trained health informatics professionals. Career options include working in long-term care facilities, academic medical centers, healthcare informatics maintenance organizations, home health agencies, mental health agencies, and health insurance companies.

You’ll be working with information technology to participate in the design of data schemes for health informatics specialists; defining and analyzing requirements for healthcare information systems for medical records; designing, deploying, and querying reporting health information management systems.

Your workdays will never be dull. Knowing that you are at the forefront of the new, rapidly growing field of nursing informatics and health informatics jobs, you’ll be able to take part in new developments and models of informatics and data management within information technology.

Your work will allow your employer to manage confidential patient records. Now that patient records are maintained electronically, your knowledge in keeping the system secure enables you to work as a member of a highly skilled team.

Biomedical information and its accumulation are rapidly growing. Hospitals and other healthcare-related facilities face the challenge of safely and securely managing every single byte of patient information. Data breaches are always a risk to an electronic record storage system. When information is stored in the cloud, this is especially true. Anf then, if the system crashes, employees can’t access records. Those with an online bachelor's in health informatics degree or a degree in information management can help to alleviate the risks to these companies and their patients.

CONS

To do this work, you’ll need a corresponding education and degree. Returning to school isn’t cheap. If you do decide you want to advance your education to a bachelor’s level, you’ll have to pay for school with grants, scholarships, or student loans.

If you don’t have a degree in a medical field, you may be passed over for a job you’re interested in. Employers may be looking for job candidates who already have knowledge and experience that give them the ability to understand the health informatics data they're working with or perform data analytics. That clinical background and broad knowledge of medical terminology is very helpful for someone working in health informatics and information management.

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Certificate vs. Bachelor's

What Online Healthcare Informatics Bachelor’s Degrees are Available?

As you explore different bachelor’s programs in healthcare informatics, you’ll see that similar degrees often have differing names.

  • Bachelor of Science in Informatics:
    Healthcare Informatics: This degree allows you to combine technology and healthcare information. You’ll learn about clinical information, medication administration, and the terminology used in pharmacology.
  • Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics:
    Some healthcare informatics programs are taught in the Computer Science or Mathematics departments of schools. By specializing in health informatics, you’ll begin to see how you can improve healthcare informational security, provide an information system that supports clinical work and research, manage all clinical workflow tasks, and help control healthcare information databases.
  • Bachelor of Science:
    Health Information Management: This degree program teaches you how to act as the link between patients and their doctors. Your knowledge of the data used to keep each patient’s records will maintain compliance with federal record-keeping laws.
  • Bachelor of Arts in Health Informatics:
    You’ll learn how to manage information for the healthcare industry. You’ll maintain the data and supply it to doctors and other providers so they can provide care for their patients. Depending on what your job role is, you may be working for managers in this field, or giving the directions.

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Admission Requirements

As you are exploring different universities and their bachelor's in health informatics degree programs, don’t forget to familiarize yourself with admission requirements.

  • Be a graduate of an accredited high school
  • Hold a minimum GPA of 2.0 if you have a health informatics associate degree
  • Have ACT scores of 20 for English and 18 for Math; SAT scores of 26 for reading and 480 for Math (These requirements can vary by school.)
  • If you are a transfer student, you must hold a minimum of a 2.25 overall/transferable GPA, with a minimum of 30 hours of coursework that will transfer over, unless you already meet minimum freshman requirements (Requirements can vary.)

How long does it take to earn a Healthcare Informatics Bachelor's Online?

At some schools, taking your bachelor's in health informatics degree classes online will allow your degree program to fit comfortably into your schedule. Some schools’ programs are structured so that you take one course per term, allowing you to finish within a set number of semesters or terms. One online program’s classes are set up in two, seven-week blocks per semester. Students who take one course at a time through six consecutive semesters should be able to finish all of their coursework in three years. You can shorten this time frame by finding an accelerated program or taking extra courses, or it can take longer if you cannot attend classes full-time because of work or family obligations.

Potential Careers in Healthcare Informatics with a Bachelor’s

Once you graduate, you need to know what job options are out there for you. You should also have a general idea of the average annual salaries for these positions. This will help you plan for your future.

  • Clinical Informatics Manager:
    You’ll find this role mainly in the healthcare industry (clinics and hospitals). You should have at least a bachelor’s degree in a health-related field—a master’s degree is preferred. You will work with other departments, such as drug safety associates, verifying that optimal performance standards are being met.
    Average annual salary: $94,500
  • Data Integrity Analyst:
    You’ll extract data from several sources and then standardize it to provide analyses. Documenting database structures and defining data elements to allow reuse of the data is also your responsibility. Next, you create ongoing and ad hoc reports, using metadata and high-quality information. You’ll also coordinate data mapping and data translation activities, increasing accuracy as you go.
    Average annual salary: $52,500
  • Clinical Informatics Specialist:
    You’ll work for companies in the healthcare industry (clinics and hospitals). If you have a master’s degree, this is preferable, but a bachelor’s degree is acceptable. You should also have experience in a health-related or biomedical field. You’ll plan and manage the healthcare organization’s clinical informatics program. You transform clinical data into knowledge and information that can be accessed by all system healthcare professionals.
    Average annual salary: $77,800
  • Revenue Cycle Management/Coding and Billing:
    You oversee billing accounts, helping various departments to resolve their revenue cycle issues. You’ll also supervise billing teams responsible for accounts, insurance communications, contract analysis, collections, cash posting, billing transactions with clients, and report creation. You also verify insurance and workers compensation authorizations.
    Average annual salary: $66,700
  • Utilization Review Specialist:
    You’ll help to provide quality control for patient treatment by medical staff members. You will make sure that the patient’s health, comfort, and needs are being met. You may interview patients and their families, telling specific managers or directors any time you encounter any reportable conditions, accidents, or critical incidents. You’re expected to follow patient privacy laws at all times.
    Average annual salary: $52,900

Options to Advance

After you have been working in the health informatics field with your bachelor’s degree, you may decide that it’s time to advance once again. If you have begun researching, you know that if you want to move ahead you need to return to school for your master’s degree in health informatics.

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Once you graduate with your master of science, you may be able to work as a pharmacy or nutrition informaticist, clinical informaticist, a nurse informaticist, or an informatics analyst. You may also be able to move into a managerial role as an informatics manager or director. This last one is ideal for someone with hospital administration experience.

With a master’s degree, you can gain needed knowledge in the effective use of information technology; impacting health, healthcare, and data science. If you see a need for knowledgeable professionals in one of these areas, then consider going back to school so you can fill one of these roles.

Best Online Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Informatics Programs

  • Grand Canyon University
    Phoenix, Arizona

    Grand Canyon University is a private, Christian, non-profit university that believes life can be better for people with education. The university provides degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students can take classes on-campus or online, depending on their situation.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management

  • Georgia State University
    Atlanta, Georgia

    With more than 51,000 students and a world-class faculty, Georgia State is one of the nation’s leaders in ensuring students receive the education they are seeking. The student body is highly diverse, benefiting from a one-of-a-kind campus experience.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in Health informatics

  • University of Kansas
    Lawrence, Kansas

    The University of Kansas is the state’s foremost universities. It is also one of only 62 universities invited to join the prestigious Association of American Universities, placing it in high company. U of K regularly stretches boundaries, pushing to reach more knowledge and create a transformative academic experience for its students.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management

  • Montana Tech
    Butte, Montana

    Montana Technological University opened in 1900, named the Montana State School of Mines. The Enabling Act of 1889, which brought Montana into the Union also allocated 100,000 acres of public land for the establishment of a state school of mines, educating future mining and electrical engineers.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Care Informatics

  • College of Coastal Georgia
    Brunswick, Georgia

    This university sits on the southeast Atlantic coast, between Savannah and Jacksonville, Florida. Students who chose CCGA will receive an interactive, yet affordable education. Students learn through public service, taking leadership roles, hands-on learning, and voluntarism in the community.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics (BSHI)

Traditional Schools Offering a BS in Healthcare Informatics

  • Oregon Tech
    Klamath Falls, Oregon

    Oregon Tech bases its excellence on hands-on knowledge. Students receive a rigorous education as they apply cutting-edge technologies for today’s needs. Oregon Tech provides an education on all things technology. It also teams up with various industry partners, ensuring its classes and programs are of the highest quality.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics (BSHI)

  • King University Online
    Bristol, Tennessee

    King University, which used to be called King College, is a Presbyterian-affiliated Christian academic community. King University focuses completely on blending a rigorous education with the exploration of faith. Students receive a strong liberal arts education with specialization in a range of undergraduate degrees.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics (BSHI)

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  • University of Illinois at Chicago
    Chicago, Illinois

    The University of Illinois at Chicago is right in the middle of one of the foremost cities in the US. As a major research university, dedicated to a world-class education, UIC has its students’ educational goals in mind. The university is dedicated to creating and providing new knowledge through its curriculum.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (BS-HIM)

  • University of Cincinnati Online
    Cincinnati, Ohio

    The University of Cincinnati Online is a 200-year-old institution of higher learning and research. Its mission is to allow busy professionals to establish a better future for themselves and their families. UC Online values its online students just as much as it does its on-campus students.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (BSHIM)

  • Southern New Hampshire university
    Manchester, New Hampshire

    Southern New Hampshire University is a non-profit, private university with more than 3,000 on-campus students and more than 90,000 online students. From its founding in 1932, SNHU now offers more than 200 programs.

    Degrees Offered:

    • Bachelor of Science in Health information Management (BS-HIM)

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