Master's Degrees in Health Informatics: Career and Salary Facts
Health informatics workers may be registered nurses, physicians, pharmacists or health care administrators who use technology to manage health care. Read on to learn about the education programs, careers and earnings potential in this field.
What is Health Informatics?
With the increasing use of technology in health care record keeping, a new field has emerged to blend technology and information science and improve patient care and relations between patient and doctor. This field is known as health informatics. Whether you're a health care professional looking for more job opportunities or an information technology (IT) professional looking to get started in the health care field, you might pursue a master's degree in health informatics. Available degrees generally lead to a Master of Science in Health Informatics or Biomedical Health Informatics.
In a master's degree program in health informatics, you can expect to complete ten courses and a capstone project that combines your classroom learning with research and practical experience. You may be able to complete the program in as little as one year of full-time study, but some full-time programs take two years to finish. Courses may be offered online, in a traditional classroom format or as independent study. Common courses include software management in health care, an introduction to health informatics and data management.
What Careers Exist in This Field?
According to the University of Illinois at Chicago, a master's degree in health informatics can prepare you for careers in administration, management, consulting and education (http://healthinformatics.uic.edu). Some potential career titles include health informatics implementation manager, chief information officer (CIO), health informatics consultant and clinical informatics training manager. Registered nurses and licensed pharmacists that pursue a health informatics master's degree may also find work in sub-disciplines of health informatics, such as nursing informatics and pharmacy informatics.
A chief information officer is responsible for implementation of information systems related to patient care, program and project budgeting, hiring and training staff members, and establishing administrative policies. As a CIO, you'll also consult executives to ensure that changes are made as needed in regard to information handling.
A health information manager is responsible for the security of patient data. As a heath information manager, you'll be responsible for maintenance and security of patient records. You will monitor databases of patient information for accuracy and develop plans to ensure that patient records are coded correctly for insurance reimbursement. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a bachelor's degree is the most common educational requirement for this field (www.bls.gov), but a master's degree may increase employment options.
How Much Can I Earn?
A salary survey on PayScale.com indicated that chief information officers earned anywhere from $94,000 to $248,000 in 2019; this figure includes bonuses and other compensation. Salaries for this position vary depending upon experience and industry. Top-paying industries, according to PayScale.com, include health care, information technology and the financial industry.
In 2019, health information managers earned anywhere from $38,000 to $76,000 including salary, bonuses and other compensation, also according to PayScale.com. Health information managers with 1-4 years of experience earned a median income of $51,000 in 2019, whereas individuals with 10-19 years of experience made $64,000 during 2019.
What are Some Related Alternative Careers?
Human resource managers, insurance underwriters and social and community service managers are similar careers according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and all of these positions require a bachelor's degree. While these fields do not directly relate to information technology, like that of health information managers, they do provide similar services.
Human resource managers plan, direct and coordinate the administrative functions of organizations and often oversee with recruiting, interviewing and hiring of staff. They are often the link between management and employees. Insurance underwriters determine insurance eligibility and potential limits. They determine amounts and premium based upon the applicant's health and other measures. Finally, social and community service managers coordinate and supervise social service programs and community organizations that provide direct services to the public.