As a new and rapidly growing field, health informatics careers are in high demand. This discipline involves aspects of both health care and information science. Individuals entering the field of medical informatics must be well educated in both information science and health care. They need to be capable of acquisition, storage, protection, retrieval, and utilization of large amounts of data. As demand for health informatics professionals continues to grow, so do the areas of specialization within the field. If you’re interested in a health informatics career, here are some options currently available.
Clinical Informatics Specialist
As a clinical informatics specialist, you would work as part of the administrative team in a medical facility. You would be in charge of devising new processes for improving operating procedures and documentation. You would also be responsible for transferring paper records to the digital network. You will need to earn your bachelor’s degree in nursing and get your nursing certification to become a clinical informatics professional. Having a solid understanding of the technology that nurses use regularly is essential.
Nursing Informatics Specialist
A nursing informatics specialist position involves the development and execution of effective patient care plans. You would work closely with other nursing staff and medical professionals to train on new record-keeping protocols. You would be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of patient care plans and eliminating redundancies. Nursing informatics specialists analyze and alleviate the logistical technology concerns involved in patient care.
Electronic Medical Record Keeper
An electronic medical record keeper is responsible for inputting patient data such as symptoms, treatments, and diagnoses into the healthcare facility’s software applications. The information entered will then be used by medical researchers, insurance companies, and health administrators to organize and plan for the future of the organization. It is the job of the electronic medical record keeper to ensure the accuracy and completion of patient records based con physician consultations. They also code patient data and collect information for medical research studies.
Clinical Informatics Manager
Clinical informatics managers supervise the administrative aspects of daily operations in a healthcare facility. The position involves overseeing budgets, training staff members, and compliance with government regulations. To become a clinical informatics manager, you must first gain experience as a clinical information specialist.
Chief Medical Information Officer
The responsibilities of a chief medical information officer may vary depending on the organization. Some may work in a hospital setting while others work in academic settings or with government agencies. Typically they are responsible for constructing IT systems that support the flow of information across multiple information systems to provide excellent patient care. They often sit on several IT governance boards to affect policy decisions. To become a chief medical information officer, you will need at least a master’s degree, if not a P.h.D.
No matter what your specialty interest in health informatics, there is plenty of demand for those with the technical skills and education. You will have the opportunity to improve the healthcare system from the inside.