MS in Health Informatics

USF Health’s Master of Science in Health Informatics addresses both technological and operational aspects of informatics with a focus on the integration and interoperability of technology. Courses provide broad technical skills as well as the organizational competencies needed for senior-level positions.

Health Informatics Careers?

Upon completing the Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) degree program, you will have the skills needed to enter the e-health workforce in some of the following positions if you can match your education with the necessary experience:

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

In 2019-2020, USF Health’s MSHI program had an employment rate of 94% within one year of graduation (based on available graduate information).

$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.

IN THIS PROGRAM, STUDENTS WILL LEARN HOW TO:

• Describe information systems used in healthcare and explain their relationship with data, people, procedures, hardware and software.
• Manage data via relational database systems and the structured query language (SQL) and understand data warehousing, online analytical processing, data quality issues, emerging cloud databases and data mining techniques.
• Integrate electronic medical records with patient care and provide a higher quality of care through better management and availability of medical information.
• Manage the process of electronic health records acquisition and implementation.
• Develop and assess the tools used to represent medical data.Assess the functions, limitations, opportunities and challenges of information technology in the healthcare environment.
• Define medical language and classification systems.
• Comply with laws and regulations applicable to managing patient information.
• Communicate effectively with informatics teams and healthcare stakeholders.
• Consider the ethical issues that can arise during the delivery of healthcare with respect to health information.
• Describe clinical workflows from an e-medicine business models perspective.
• Manage healthcare projects using the PMBOK® Guide.

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.