UCEA.edu: Resources: Publications: InFocus: September 2009 Cover Story

CE Positioned to Meet Workforce
Demand in Medical Informatics

From the September 2009 Issue of InFocus (PDF)

The transition to electronic health records will require healthcare organizations to reinvent the way they collect, process, and use health information. It is projected that this transition could create a need for 50,000 new healthcare IT jobs over the next several years.
Photo credit: ©istockphoto.com/HowardGrill

President Obama’s healthcare plan counts on the broad use of health information technology to lower the cost of health care. Currently, most medical records are on paper. This makes it difficult to coordinate care and measure quality. Processing paper claims is far more costly than processing electronic claims. The Administration’s stimulus package will provide $19 billion over the next two years to promote the adoption and use of health information technology.

Recently, Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, predicted that the move toward digitized medical record systems could create 50,000 new healthcare IT jobs over the next several years. This will produce a demand for trained experts in the field of informatics who know both health issues and information technology. A number of innovative programs have emerged from university CE units of late that aim to address this impending workforce need.

Creating Leaders

Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies offers a Master of Science in Medical Informatics (MMI) in partnership with the Feinberg School of Medicine. This interdisciplinary professional program—which is offered online and on-campus in a part-time evening format—teaches students how to apply the principles of information management, design, integration, and implementation to health care information systems.

“Different programs have different foci, but our program allows students to be well positioned to take roles in leadership—from leading implementation in new systems in a wide range of organizations to becoming Chief Medical Information Officers at hospitals,” explains Joel Shapiro, Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs, School of Continuing Studies at Northwestern.

The program was initially rolled out in 2006, with the online option offered the following year. The MMI degree was the first online degree offered by the School of Continuing Studies and has grown substantially over the years. Today, there are approximately 350 students taking courses in both the campus and online programs.

Most students starting the MMI program have either a technical or a clinical background. Students are placed into one of two tracks upon admission: the technologist track—for students with a technical background who require coursework that will introduce them to the American health care system; and the clinician track—for students who come with a clinical background but need courses designed to familiarize them with basic concepts in computer databases and networking. Depending upon their background, students in either area may be asked to take all four of the track courses.

A minimum of 11 units of credit are required for the MMI degree, with each course counting as one unit of credit. Students may be required to complete up to 14 courses in order to gain the necessary background in the field.

"Online enrollments have exploded," says Shapiro. "It has gotten very large, very quickly. Shapiro predicts that enrollments have the potential to increase dramatically in the future. "We were heading towards that direction, so the President's mandate has accelerated it. We will see it grow accordingly," he says.

A Need for Continual Learning

University of Maryland University College (UMUC) also offers an online master's degree program, the Master of Science in Health Administration Informatics (MSHAI). The degree has a dual emphasis: health care administration and information science applied to the healthcare industry. Like the Northwestern University MMI program, UMUC's master's program is aimed at both health care professionals and information technology professionals who work in health care settings.

The curriculum requires 36 credits of course work, combining health care administration informatics, technology, health care administrative, and research methods courses.

“We expect programs like ours to grow, not just because of the push towards electronic medical files. UMUC’s combination of informatics with administration is unique,” explains Katherine Marconi, Director UMUC Health Informatics Administration Program.

Candidates for the program should have at least three years of professional work experience in a health care setting or in information technology in a health care setting. Students at the UMUC program have worked in hospitals, nursing homes, insurance companies, medical supply chain management companies and public health agencies. Graduates of the program often go on to work as front line managers and staff for health organizations.

“In the last year, as word has gotten out, we have seen enrollment almost double in Health Administration Informatics. Preliminary data indicate that 68 students enrolled in 2009 compared to 35 students in 2008,” Marconi explains. Currently, there are about 185 students enrolled in the program, and it is anticipated that enrollments will continue to rise.

"When we discuss health and medical informatics we are talking about applying them in everything from small physician practices to large teaching hospitals and using electronic systems for prescribing pharmaceuticals to bedside charts," says Marconi. "The management principles and skills that we teach will continue to be useful but how they are applied in these vastly different types of health facilities and functions will change. And the technologies that administrators are using will also evolve. This is a field where success will require continual learning."

Looking to the Future

The Health Informatics program at The University of California, Davis, offers an on-campus Health Informatics Master’s Degree, to provide training to professionals who want to redirect their careers to become a health informaticist, or for those who are interested in integrating health informatics expertise in their current professional roles. In June 2009, the Health Informatics program partnered with UC Davis Extension to provide an online, 18-unit Health Informatics Certificate to complement the University’s master-level program.

Since the launch in June, 75 people have enrolled. The certificate is completely online and provides an option for working professionals who cannot commit to the full-time graduate program, or who need to learn the new skills quickly.

“There is a huge demand for online. Enrollments are enormous,” says Peter Yellowlees, Chair of the Health Informatics Graduate Program and Group Director of the Health Informatics Program at UC Davis. “This certificate appeals to working professionals in the field—doctors, nurses, and computer scientists.”

This increase in enrollments extends to the graduate program, too. “Enrollments in the master’s program have doubled in the last year,” says Yellowlees. There are 26 students in the master’s program now, compared to 12 a year ago. And he, like others, anticipates more growth as our nation takes on healthcare reform.

“The healthcare system has to become more electronic and more efficient,” says Yellowlees. “There is a need for people who can understand both the clinical and IT environments. And people are recognizing it. This is a good area to study—and will be a good source of well-paying jobs in the future.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) supports Yellowlees assertion. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009 describes a positive outlook for those who pursue careers in health informatics and possess specialized higher education. According to the Handbook, jobs in this field are expected to grow faster than average—with promising compensation. It states that in 2006, individuals holding positions as health or medical service managers earned median salaries of $72,875 in practices with 6 or fewer physicians; $95,766 in practices with 7 to 25 physicians; and $132,955 in practices with 26 or more physicians.  

—Kandace Gilligan