9 Career Opportunities to Explore with a Healthcare Informatics Degree

Healthcare informatics is one of the most recent and rapidly growing fields in the healthcare sector.

It mainly focuses on using information technology to support and enhance healthcare delivery, where patients receive care via virtual medical services and telehealth.

Degrees in health informatics teach students how to maximize the availability of data related to healthcare and biomedicine through interdisciplinary courses. As a student pursuing a degree in health informatics, you can learn how to create algorithms and gather, store, and study digital health data to enhance healthcare productivity and treatment patterns.

You can apply for various job roles with a bachelor’s or master’s health informatics degree, and seeking help from LocumSmart can provide clarity on available opportunities, aiding in selecting the most fitting career path aligned with your interests and aspirations in the healthcare field.

However, exploring and getting to know about them is a priority to choose your career pathway, so this article will help you do that.

1.       Health Informatics Consultant

One of the most sought-after job roles for a student with this degree is healthcare informatics consultant.

A healthcare informatics consultant is in charge of the databases and systems that hospitals and other healthcare facilities use to keep track of patients. They invest in training staff on new technology and procedures and collaborate closely with the institution’s IT team, often dealing with medical specialists face-to-face.

For many consultants, a bachelor’s degree is sufficient, but a master’s degree is becoming increasingly important due to competitiveness in this field. You can improve your chances of landing consulting jobs by earning a master of science in healthcare informatics and stabilize your career path in this field.

2.       Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation Manager

A healthcare informatics degree can help you land an EHR Implementation Manager job if you are interested in planning, developing, and deploying EHR software applications.

As an EHR manager, you clearly define the implementation plan and ensure that all organizational resources are per strategic goals. Your duties include setting deadlines, allocating roles, monitoring project progress, and compiling project status information.

It can also include creating unique templates, suggesting software upgrades, and instructing people how to use the program. As an EHR manager, you develop and maintain cooperative ties with the team’s suppliers, partners, and other project-related departments.

3.       Chief Patient Quality Officer

With a degree in healthcare informatics, you can also work as a chief patient quality officer.

The career path of a chief quality officer ensures that the goods and services provided by their company adhere to the highest standards. They employ various analytical techniques to make sure that workers deliver high-quality healthcare. It includes analyzing procedures, finding ways to incorporate new refined processes, and gathering feedback.

Their average salary is around $217,000 to $305,000, but it can differ significantly depending on certifications and experiences.

4.       Chief Medical Information Officer

A Chief Medical Information Officer has a crucial responsibility in the healthcare sector. They lead the frontlines of data protection, communication, and efficiency because of the sensitive nature of the patient data managed by healthcare facilities.

Additionally, they formulate and carry out strategic plans relating to the organization’s long-term IT infrastructure, participating in specific projects like software launches and the creation of new processes.

5.       Clinical Data Specialist

A clinical data specialist is an expert in clinical data management and supports pharmaceutical and clinical trial research with data management.

They review data from clinical trials and research projects, spot data trends, confirm data entry, identify areas for improvement, and produce reports. Their duties also include producing reports and making suggestions for improvement.

As a clinical data specialist, you can collaborate with clients and oversee the conversion process to ensure correct and accessible data. According to a study, the average salary of a clinical data specialist in the United States in 2022 was around $73,000.

6.       Clinical Informatics Analyst

Clinical informatics analysts use healthcare data to improve clinical practices and guide business choices. They are essential members of healthcare teams across contexts. The main focus of their role is data analysis and interpretation, which ranges from redesigning procedures to improving drug safety.

They are also responsible for clearly communicating complex information to all stakeholders.

Collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, using data to make decisions for the business, producing data tools, data visualizations, and dashboards, and creating databases and software to collect data within an organization are all parts of a clinical informatics analyst’s job role.

7.       Health Information Technology Project Manager

The role of Health IT project managers includes supervising immense, frequently challenging initiatives involving technology. They strive to deliver high-quality outcomes and assist in streamlining corporate procedures as efficiently as possible, on time, and within budget.

They make the most recent data easily accessible to physicians, specialists, nurses, and patients to enable improved healthcare decisions and manage finance.

Additionally, coordination of the system and human resources required to modify clinical systems falls within the purview of healthcare IT project managers. The average compensation for a Healthcare IT Project Manager is around $112,200, which can also vary depending on your expertise.

8.       Medical Coding Specialist

A medical coding specialist works in healthcare organizations’ medical records and billing departments. They categorize diagnoses and treatments to make it easier to charge medicare or health insurance providers for payment.

They are also in charge of converting doctors’ reports into practical, standardized medical codes. These professionals operate behind the scenes in several situations, ensuring that all pertinent data is accurately coded in the machines to ensure accuracy and consistency. They may work in other environments like urgent care centers, nursing homes, and therapeutic institutions.

These coding specialists must be certified and have an associate’s degree.

9.       Medical and Health Services Manager

The overall management of a clinic or hospital department is one of the responsibilities of a Medical and Health Services Manager. It includes interviewing and hiring new staff, educating new or existing staff about new regulations, policies, and protocols, and ensuring patients and their families receive quality care across various units.

In general, they ensure that everything in their institution functions correctly and look for ways to enhance the effectiveness and quality of healthcare services.

Conclusion

Health informatics careers can be both demanding and fulfilling. You can work with emerging technologies and use data and analytics as new tools that are changing the healthcare sector. We hope this article will help you pick the right career path in healthcare informatics and succeed in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff Campbell