Health Informatics MS

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Health Informatics: Online
Master of science degree

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Online Admissions Contact

Karen Palmer, Graduate and Online Recruitment Coordinator
585-475-5656,

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Offered within the
School of Information

A degree driven by real-time employer demand

Health informatics jobs will grow 17% by 2030, nearly three times the overall labor market growth. Search our curriculum and you’ll find the expertise and skills posted by employers in this growing field.

The health informatics job market

101k+

Salary for Health Informaticist

17%

Employment Growth in Health Informatics

379k

Job Postings for Software Developers

22

Occupations Mapped From this Degree

Program Highlights

Health informatics is a dynamic field that operates in the convergence of technology, policy, and innovations in health care delivery and public health. Advances in digital technology have enabled the delivery of  high-value health care as measured by the health of the community, the experience of the individual, and the sustainability of the system.

On the surface, the changes brought about by technology can be seen in the rapid spread of telemedicine and patient portals, providing an unprecedented amount of information to patients while the electronic medical records and associated artificial intelligence support clinical providers.

Underneath, this work requires a coordinated, multidisciplinary effort to gather a broad array of data via health information exchange and present relevant, high-stakes information for clinical decision support, all while meeting high standards in usability, privacy, and security.

Health Informatics professionals create the information ecosystems that enable high-reliability operations at health care organizations. Big data (genetics, imaging, socio-behavioral and clinical information) and applied computer science are leading toward a structural transformation of the health care model. 

This program is unique in that you will have the opportunity to put theory into practice during a three-day on-site component at one of several health care delivery sites in the Rochester, NY area. You’ll be able to work with physicians and other health care workers in various specialties and settings to understand how practitioners are interacting with patients and technology.

Curriculum packed with high-demand skills

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Software and Programming

Demand for Python skills will grow 61% and SQL is in ⅓ of all postings.

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Data Science

Demand for data science skills will grow 112% and machine learning by 102%.

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Data Analytics

Data analysis skills will grow 82% and big data skills by 22%.

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Process Design

Quality assurance and control skills are growing by 40%.

Curriculum

CINT-628
Introduction to Applied Informatics
Credits 3
Informatics is about systems that store, process, analyze, and communicate information. Information begins as data – and of particular interest today is the large data sets that are evolving in many fields. Data sets are acted upon by tools can be applied to a variety of problems across many fields. This course provides an overview of issues within informatics, and common solutions. Through hands-on examples, the course demonstrates a general problem-solving approach from problem identification, algorithm selection, data cleaning, and analysis.
HCIN-610
Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction
Credits 3
Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a field of study concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. This course surveys the scope of issues and foundations of the HCI field: cognitive psychology, human factors, interaction styles, user analysis, task analysis, interaction design methods and techniques, and evaluation. This course will focus on the users and their tasks.
ISTE-608
Database Design And Implementation
Credits 3
An introduction to the theory and practice of designing and implementing database systems. Current software environments are used to explore effective database design and implementation concepts and strategies. Topics include conceptual data modeling, methodologies, logical/physical database design, normalization, relational algebra, schema creation and data manipulation, and transaction design. Database design and implementation projects are required.
ISTE-764
Project Management
Credits 3
Information technology projects require the application of sound project management principles in order to be developed on time, on budget, and on specification. This course takes students through the nine knowledge areas of modern project management and the utilization of project management principles in both traditional and agile environments.
MEDI-610
Scripting Fundamentals
Credits 3
This course is an introductory scripting course. Students will learn to design software solutions using the procedural approach, to implement software solutions using a contemporary programming language, and to test these software solutions. Topics include problem definitions, designing solutions, implementing solutions using a contemporary programming language, implementing a contemporary library/framework, and testing software solutions. Programming projects will be required.
MEDI-701
Introduction to Health Informatics
Credits 3
This course provides a rigorous introduction to the principles of medical informatics. The focus of this course is on the study of the nature of medical information and its use in clinical practice and clinical quality improvement. Key topics include: the electronic medical record (EMR) and its impact on health care delivery, the Internet and mobile computing as sources of medical information, Health care information systems, the software development lifecycle, the importance of the informatics specialists in medicine and the various roles they can play, and government economic incentives and policy issues in healthcare such as privacy, confidentiality, including health care regulatory and accreditation issues and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Students will participate in online discussion of medical informatics. They will also investigate several topics of interest in the field and provide presentations.
MEDI-704
Practice of Health Care
Credits 3
This course is an introduction to clinical practice for graduate students in medical informatics. It consists of the study of six medical specialties including shadowing of clinicians in these areas. Students in this course will be part of a team of health care professionals in the selected specialties. They will round with providers, assist with information gathering and dissemination, and observe specialty specific disease process, diagnosis and treatment. They will observe and note clinical workflow and technology usage. They will interact with team members and assist with the acquisition of reference knowledge as appropriate. They will keep a log of cases during the rotation and use this as the basis for their research project and case presentation.
MEDI-731
System Integration Concepts
Credits 3
This course will provide students with an understanding of application integration concepts in healthcare. Students will also learn medical business processes and how they impact data integration within a healthcare setting. Middleware message brokers will be examined along with the use of the HL7 messaging standard. Web services and other forms of data integration will be studied. Students will develop integration solutions to support healthcare information systems exchange and validation procedures and solutions to ensure the quality of information exchanged between healthcare systems.
MEDI-735
Clinical Information Systems
Credits 3
A study of the component approach to clinical information systems. Students will learn about the evolution of Health Information Systems, and the variety of systems offered by vendors at the present time. The importance of the Electronic Health Record (EHR), the Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and Clinical Decision Support will be stressed as they become the focal points in clinical information systems. The following components will be studied in detail: patient, activity, health record, knowledge, and security components. The role of imaging management and integration will also be reviewed.
MEDI-788
Capstone In Health Informatics
Credits 3
This team-based course provides students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned in coursework to design, develop, and implement a solution to a real problem in the medical informatics domain. Project teams also will be responsible for submitting a final project report, and for making a final presentation to project stakeholders. (Completion of first year courses)

Admission Requirements

  • Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
  • Have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher preferred.
  • Submit official transcripts (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work.
  • Submit a current resume, personal statement, and two letters of recommendation.
  • Complete an interview with the program chair (for those without health care or IT work experience).
  • It is recommended that applicants have a minimum of three years of experience in a health care, health-related, or information technology organization. Applicants who do not meet this requirement may be asked to complete certain undergraduate courses as a bridge for the content knowledge required for the graduate program.
  • Applicants from international universities are required to submit GRE scores.
  • A test of English Language aptitude (TOEFL) is required of all applicants and course registrants whose native language is not English. 

Cost

The online MS in Health Informatics requires 30 credits and costs $1,237 per credit hour (Academic Year 2021 – 2022). This tuition reflects the RIT Online discount of 43% off the traditional campus-based program cost.

Keep in mind that there are many options available that may help you lower your costs including: 

  • Military tuition benefits
  • Support from employers 
  • Private scholarships 
  • Financing 
  • Payment plans

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