Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics

As hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies continue to onboard health informatics professionals, those who obtain proper education and training are more likely to realize the benefits of having multiple employment opportunities. A Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics offered through the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine can help clear the path for entry into one of the fastest-growing careers in healthcare. This 100% online program offers the chance to earn graduate-level credit without committing to a full degree track, and the best part is, if you want to continue and earn your degree, all 12 credits earned will be considered for credit in continued study. According to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), health informatics jobs are on the rise as employers look for very specific, hard-to-find skills to fill key positions.

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

Whether you’re a health informatics professional looking to advance your career potential with a new credential or you’re interested in transitioning into health informatics from another career, a Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics can help position you to contribute to healthcare transformation. The program also opens the door for tech-savvy medical professionals who want a career change.

This program is especially designed for:

• Physicians
• Nurses
• Physical Therapists
• Pharmacists
• Mental Health Workers
• Other Healthcare Providers
• IT Professionals
• Health Information Managers
• Occupational Therapists
• Community Health Professionals
• Public Health Professionals
• Dieticians
• Speech Therapists

HEALTH INFORMATICS CAREERS

An online education from USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine provides excellent preparation for a career in healthcare. The Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics helps prepare students who can pair their education with the necessary experience for careers in both the private and public sector of the healthcare industry.

Job titles may include:

• Chief Information Officer
• Chief Medical Information Officer
• HIM Director
• Health Informatics Director
• Health Data/Information Resource Manager
• Health Information System Application Designer
• Compliance Officer
• IT Consultant

$164,070

Median salary of computer and information system managers in the U.S.*

**Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Computer and Information Systems Managers, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/computer-and-information-systems-managers.htm.

National long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions, and do not guarantee actual job growth. Information provided is not intended to represent a complete list of hiring companies or job titles, and degree program options do not guarantee career or salary outcomes. Students should conduct independent research for specific employment information.

With a Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics, you’ll learn how to manage health data and medical information, supervise the electronic health record acquisition and implementation process, as well as explain how information systems assist healthcare organizations in achieving their strategies for improving care delivery and patient outcomes.

All prospective students applying for the MS in Health Informatics, Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics, MSHI Healthcare Analytics or SAS Approved Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Analytics program must meet the following criteria for admission:

• Complete your application: $65 non-refundable application fee required

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university in the biological, chemical, computer or management information sciences or other acceptable field, or the equivalent bachelors and/or graduate degrees from a foreign institution* is required.

• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Any bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university (or the equivalent from a foreign institution) is required.

• Maintained a minimum overall grade point average of 3.00 out of a possible 4.00 with a minimum grade point average of 3.00 in the sciences

• Resume

• Provide two professional or academic letters of recommendation. Letters from friends and family members will not be accepted.

• Provide Statement of Purpose. Please include a short statement about why you are interested in the program and use this statement to speak about your application’s strengths and weaknesses. See Admissions Overview for more information.

• Certificates Only: Certificate Departmental Approval Form

• While these are not required, GRE, MCAT or VAT standardized test scores or evidence of substantial health informatics experience can be submitted to enhance an application.

• Healthcare analytics program candidates should understand basic statistics. Experience in data management and statistical software is preferred but not required.

*International students may be required to submit additional information, if applicable.

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Students will have exposure to a wide range of health informatics activities through USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine. By integrating informatics in the modern patient-care setting, the Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics gives students the education and knowledge to enter or advance in the health informatics field. Students of the program will learn the latest processes for electronic storage and secure sharing of vital patient medical records to increase the quality of patient care.

This program’s core curriculum requirements include four (4) courses worth three (3) credit hours each. Graduate certificate students can complete the program 100% online and in as few as eight (8) months. Courses include:

• Introduction to Health Informatics is a discussion of the various facets of health informatics of interest to the healthcare professional.
• Health Data Management is a comprehensive course that delves into the areas of data management and database technologies. The course covers a wide range of topics, including relational database systems, structured query language (SQL) and the intricacies of data warehousing and analytic databases. Additionally, it provides insights into the utilization of online analytic processing (OLAP) tools to support decision-making. Other topics include data quality issues, emerging cloud databases and a brief introduction to data mining techniques.
• Foundation in Management Information Systems engages with various facets of MIS, including acquiring, storing and interpreting information of interest to the informaticist and healthcare professional.
• Integrated Electronic Medical Records provides an overview of the functions, limitations, opportunities and challenges presented by this very rapidly developing branch of information technology in the healthcare environment.