What is Informatics in Healthcare?

An infographic that explains the Master in Health Informatics program and how it combines healthcare and health technology
Informatics in healthcare is the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, and application of technology-based innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning. The benefits of informatics in healthcare As an industry, health informatics connects people with health technology to better improve healthcare outcomes and safety. The field of health informatics covers health data collection, storage, reporting, and communication – and maintains a mission to advance operational efficiencies to streamline comprehensive care and protect patient data. As developments to those processes are continually made through design, implementation, and configuration, the health informatics career field continues to expand. How is informatics used in healthcare? Informatics is used to achieve higher quality care. Informatics serves as a tool for patients to…

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Health Informatics at UNE Online – Program-Specific FAQ

Health Informatics Questions Answered
In this post, we answer questions about Health Informatics at UNE Online. Every single day, our Enrollment Counselors field some really great questions from prospective students. Here are a few common questions about Health Informatics: To enter the health informatics program, does your bachelor’s degree need to come from a specific field? No, your bachelor’s degree does not need to be in a specific area. We have people from all walks of life in our health informatics programs. We tend to have more students on the clinical side of things (doctors, nurses, physicians, and pharmacists) but we also have some students on the IT spectrum of the industry, as well as students coming in with an insurance background. The field…

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Top 5 Health Informatics Jobs on the Rise

Health Informatics Jobs in Action
When looking at careers in health informatics and the associated healthcare informatics salary, many people ask ‘Is Health Informatics a good career choice?’ As healthcare systems look to capitalize on big data and its endless applications, health informatics jobs have become increasingly vital. Consequently, as the health informatics field continues to accelerate, higher education programs are emerging to meet the demand by developing graduate programs in Health Informatics. Graduates with a Master’s in Health Informatics benefit greatly. Health Informatics – a good career choice According to the World & U.S. News Report on Online Health Informatics Master’s Degrees, “obtaining a graduate degree in the health informatics field widens your opportunity for career advancement and strengthens your competitive edge,” making…

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Jobs in Health Informatics

Jobs in Health Informatics
Jobs in health informatics involve professionals who use data to help healthcare providers achieve better health outcomes. Health informatics connects people, technology, and data to improve the safety and quality of patient health; not only for individual patients but for entire populations. Health informatics graduates and professionals are helping to transform the healthcare industry by moving towards a more advanced and patient-focused model of care. In this diverse field, practitioners collaborate across many different work environments to ensure that security and simplicity always remain within reach. Jobs for Health Informatics graduates The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 32 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster…

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Ambassador Spotlight: Janet Quiring – Health Informatics Program

Student Spotlight Janet Quiring Health Informatics program
Janet Quiring is a student in the Master of Science in Health Informatics program here at UNE Online. We spoke with her recently about her thoughts on the program, how she leveraged her strengths to find her practicum placement, and what aspects of real-life cybersecurity her practicum is exposing her to. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Health Informatics? I’ve had a career in the pharmaceutical industry for many years now. The industry is great, and I’ve enjoyed it, but at some point, you step back and look at how the market is changing. I’ve seen the whole dynamic of medicine shift, and I felt that I…

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Healthcare’s New Digital Era

Student Spotlight Janet Quiring Health Informatics program
Healthcare systems’ and facilities’ response to COVID-19 has uncovered technology applications and remote care capabilities that are steering the industry even faster into a new digital era—while simultaneously reshaping the outcomes of patient care, delivery of disease management, and the pace at which health professionals can extract transformative information from patient data. With the most vulnerable of populations, like elderly residents and those living in densely populated areas, presenting an unprecedented challenge, the healthcare field swiftly responded with remote monitoring technologies and artificial intelligence to help redefine how patients experience care in the future.  AI & Telehealth Lead the Way In an effort to minimize exposure and prevent front-line health workers from turning victim to COVID-19, health systems around the…

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Outcomes led by health technologies are inspiring hope for fighting COVID-19

Student Spotlight Janet Quiring Health Informatics program
Health data has proven itself an invaluable tool in delivering quality care delivery, enhanced patience experiences, and valuable insights towards developing more effective treatment protocols. In critical health situations that affect varying groups of a population, like a global pandemic, the foundation for fighting the crisis and correcting its trajectory is built on data. Global healthcare systems have responded to COVID-19 with a united approach to expedite recovery and establish prevention methods for public health safety. Specialized health technologies are charging this mission. These are the leading five that are producing real-life applications and results. 1. Remote Patient Monitoring Varying companies have emerged with innovative technologies and apps that help manage the spread of COVID-19 and monitor patients who have…

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Some states are open, while others remain closed. Which choice is best? Health experts weigh in

Student Spotlight Janet Quiring Health Informatics program
A recent Gallup poll determined 73% of Americans “think there’s a shortage of coronavirus tests” in the U.S. Additionally, the poll also concluded that there’s been a 23% drop in adults adhering to self-isolation measures the week prior to the poll. Feelings and opinions on the issue of when to safely resume state businesses remain mixed. Healthline spoke with four healthcare professionals, each of whom serve the field in distinct ways—security, infectious disease, public health, and global epidemiology. Here’s what they offered in response to key questions. What will be used as identifiers for states to reopen? Amira Roiess, PhD, MPH, professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at George Mason University shared: “We want to keep track of the number…

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Congratulations Class of 2020!

Graduation video for the Class of 2020
Hooray to the class of 2020 – you made it!!  We love graduation because it’s the one time of year that we get to physically see the depth of beauty that we’re helping bring to our students’ lives. Because we can’t see you in person this year, we asked our faculty and staff to submit short video messages for you. The first video is a compilation of short clips from these messages.  4-minute video (get tissues)   This 27-minute video features full-length messages to the Class of 2020 from our faculty and staff. You’ll see messages from some of the instructors and Student Support staff that you’ve come to know during your program. Throughout each of the video messages, one…

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Technology is proving key to speeding our return to everyday life.

Graduation video for the Class of 2020
In late March, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with state and local governments to facilitate a geolocation initiative to analyze coronavirus spread and compliance measures as many states wait for proper COVID-19 testing kits. Aimed at identifying high-traffic territories and efficacy of stay-at-home measures against the spread of coronavirus, the data from this initiative will help public health officials understand how people are adjusting to enforced measures, what areas are prone to crowds, and which locations are most frequented by residents. As noted in the piece published by Forbes linked below, there are currently 3.8 billion smartphones in use across the world, which could potentially allow government and health officials to effectively leverage technology to slow…

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How countries successfully balance public trust as health data sharing hastens

Graduation video for the Class of 2020
As of April 2020, approximately 30 countries have taken action to enable digital technology as a containment strategy for COVID-19. Through the use of these apps, combined with health data sharing capabilities, health systems must balance the good of the public health with patient privacy regulations to preserve and strengthen public trust in health technology. Across Europe, several countries are discovering this rapid response to critical treatment through data and health data sharing may help reshape the future of healthcare and serve as a leading model for future use. “Some of these have been snap responses but they are generally positive and will pave the way for people to come together and say that we need a proposition for taking…

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Telehealth is the solution for one leading U.S. Pharmacy

Graduation video for the Class of 2020
Recent and evolving CDC recommendations for social distancing measures and stay-at-home protocols have energized Walgreens to expand its teleheath capabilities, providing broader, effective care to patients when and where they need it.  Walgreens announced the expansion plan on Thursday, April 9th using its Find Care™ platform. Find Care™ by Walgreens exists as both a digital platform and marketplace connecting patients in need to providers, health care services, lab testing, urgent care, local clinic services, and more. Through partnership with an expanding list of participating providers like Providence St. Joseph Health, Novant Health, and AmWell, Walgreens is able to address acute and chronic care needs. It added specific efforts in the expansion to meet growing patient needs during this unprecedented time.…

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Spotlight: Toho Soma, Health Informatics Program

Toho Soma
Toho Soma has two Master’s degrees: a Master of Science in Health Informatics, and a Master of Public Health. This makes him uniquely qualified to work at UNE on program evaluation and quality improvement for various projects in the Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH), including Primary Care Training and Enhancement, Chronic Disease Prevention Evaluation, and Statewide Substance Use Prevention Services. He also supervises a team of evaluators in CEPH. He was previously the Director of Public Health for the City of Portland, ME, and currently serves on the boards of the Maine Health Access Foundation and the Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership. Here, he talks about what motivated him to earn his master’s in health informatics, his …

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7 Examples of Health Informatics Coming in the Near Future

MRI Resonance Imaging is one of our examples of health informatics coming in the near future
Health informatics, which is the intersection of people, technology, and data to improve the safety and quality of patient care, can be found in many forms. A few examples include patient portals, electronic medical records (EMRs), telehealth, healthcare apps, and a variety of data reporting tools. But what comes next? We assembled a list of seven examples of health informatics technologies or advances that are either being explored or improved in the field right now. Learn more about a career in health informatics with our infographic 1. Voice Dictation Now that healthcare organizations have moved their medical records to digital systems, health informaticists are diving into the possibilities of improving artificial intelligence voice recognition to digitally transcribe healthcare providers’ notes…

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4 Major Health Information Technology Benefits

Health Information Technology Benefits
It’s strange to imagine life before we had access to the world’s repositories of knowledge in a slim metallic device that fits in our pockets. Technology has surged through our lives and our society, propelling us into an unexpected yet exciting future. One of the most significant advances in information technology is the widespread adoption of the electronic health record in American healthcare organizations. While implementation has not been perfect, there are several notable benefits that come from the transformation of health information technology: 1. More health data, plus an improved ability to analyze and apply that data As our white paper explains further, healthcare data is accumulating faster than ever before. EHRs were created in part to address and…

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Analysis of a Health Informatics Job Description

Illustration of man with many arms pointing to various electronics to depict a Health Informatics Job Description
One of the most fascinating aspects of health informatics is its versatility. Professionals from many backgrounds—healthcare, computer science, insurance, pharmacy, business, and more—have found their niche within the field. The duties on a day-to-day basis can vary from handling support tickets to holding training sessions to meeting with healthcare professionals and beyond. Still, you may wonder if your talents and skills are the right fit for the job. To provide a clearer picture of the health informatics field, we combined a number of informatics-related job descriptions so that we could go through the major responsibilities and daily duties with you point-by-point. Please note that the health informatics job description below is a simplified amalgamation from a number of advertised related…

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Webinar: A Day in the Life of Health Informatics

A Day in the Life: Health Informatics Webinar featuring the title and three circle-cropped images of the presenters
Are you curious about health informatics, but want to know more about what your day-to-day workload, life, and environment might look like? You’re in luck! In our webinar, which live-streamed Thursday, April 25th, UNE Online Health Informatics alumni Irene Chen (of Harvard Children’s hospital) and Michele Marshall (of medical technology company BD) each gave a walk-through of their typical day at work, highlighted successful projects, and compared and contrasted responsibilities in their respective workplace settings. Watch the Webinar With former Program Director Megan Landry as moderator, these experts also recalled their graduate school journey with UNE Online, including which Health Informatics courses had the biggest impact on their working lives. Viewers submitted questions which were answered during the final Q&A…

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Policy - An Interprofessional Approach

A series of illustrated, intertwined gears to depict how How our online, interprofessional public policy course works
Have you ever wondered what people mean when they talk about policy? What is it? Who needs it? How does it work? Why should I care about it? UNE Online’s new public policy course, Policy: An Interprofessional Approach (GPH 702) is a great way to find out answers to these questions. You will work with students from other disciplines to better understand how policy impacts individuals, communities and populations and the importance of cross-sector collaboration and partnerships. What is Policy? Public policy refers to any federal, state, or local government action that influences individual or agency behavior. It can be laws, executive orders, regulations, ordinances, court rulings, appropriations, or board and committee decisions. Government decision-making impacts all of us personally…

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UNE Online Joins Champions of Health at HIMSS 2019

Title card for HIMSS 2019 Conference with purple, blue, and white text
The HIMSS 2019 Global Conference & Exhibition brings together 45,000+ health information and technology professionals, clinicians, executives and vendors from around the world. Exceptional education, excellent speakers, cutting-edge health information and technology products, and powerful networking are hallmarks of this industry-leading conference. Starting Monday, February 11th, HIMSS 2019 will bring together the brightest industry minds to share current and future developments shaping the health technology landscape. For five days, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with peers, executives, and industry professionals. As a HIMSS Approved Education Partner, UNE Online takes pride in our involvement with the global organization and this annual event. Will you be attending HIMSS 2019? Explore some of the Conference & Exhibition topics that the…

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New England HIMSS 2018 Maine Conference Hosted by UNE Online

2018 New England HIMSS Conference
UNE Online is proud to host the 2018 Maine Conference, presented by the New England Chapter of HIMSS this November. Reserve My Ticket About HIMSS, New England Chapter The New England Chapter of HIMSS is proud to have one of the largest regional membership bases with participants representing all six New England states. As of June 2018, this chapter welcomed 3,325 members. Chief among the missions the chapter is pursuing is to foster professional growth, relationships, knowledge, and collaboration among healthcare information management professionals throughout the New England territory. Additionally, the organization is committed towards developing educational programs, networking opportunities and provider/patient events like the 2018 Maine Conference to meet the ever-changing interests of its chapter members. National Vision, Local…

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Health Informatics Focus Areas - One Year Later

Students in Library studying their Health informatics focus areas
In October 2017, the Health Informatics graduate programs at UNE Online introduced three new focus areas to give students the opportunity to shape their electives around individual career goals. Restructuring the graduate programs gave students the capability to specialize in one professional area of health informatics, ensuring a valuable return on investment. How are these focus areas helping students find career success one year later? Focus Areas Designed to Meet Employer Needs Health informatics continues to be one of the fastest-growing fields in healthcare, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 20% job growth for health information professionals by 2026. The UNE Online focus areas were developed with this growth in mind, and aimed to provide students with…

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Student Spotlight: Ruthie Pearlman, Master of Science in Health Informatics

Ruthie Pearlman, Master of Science in Health Informatics Program
Ruthie Pearlman is a second-year student in the Master of Science in Health Informatics program. Here she tells us about her experience in the program, her vision for integrating seamless patient experiences with mobile health technology, and her advice for incoming students. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, and what encouraged you to pursue your Master’s in Health Informatics? I graduated in ‘99, lived in Israel for a while, got married, had kids, and worked as an office manager for a nurse midwife for about ten years. When we decided to move to Maine, I took the opportunity to explore different types of jobs that would more closely fit my career aspirations. When I looked into…

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Benefits of Complimentary HIMSS Membership for Students & How to Join

Doctor displaying the process for a student to sign up for their HIMSS Membership
As a HIMSS Organizational Affiliate, the University of New England proudly offers students complimentary membership to the global Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) organization. Moreover, as a  HIMSS Approved Education Partner (AEP), students have the opportunity to learn curriculum that has met the rigorous academic standards set by HIMSS. As a member of this exclusive group, UNE prepares students for advanced knowledge in health information and technology. Moreover, through HIMSS’s Organizational Affiliate program, UNE Online can offer staff and students a plethora of resources they can use to succeed at their jobs and in the industry. This partnership enables UNE Online students to get hands-on experience, network, and even contribute to the industry while they’re completing their…

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Health Informatics Practicum Overview

Health Informatics Practicum Experience
The Master of Science in Health Informatics is a master’s degree that can be completed 100% online in six semesters, or two full years, assuming a student takes two courses per semester. Students enrolled in this program complete ten required courses, two elective courses, and a field practicum experience. We spoke to Nan Solomons, the field practicum coordinator for the Graduate Programs in Health Informatics, about the Health Informatics practicum experience. What is the field practicum experience? At UNE Online, the field practicum experience is made up of two 16-week courses taken concurrently. The two courses that make up this experience are Health Informatics Capstone (HIN 740) and Cumulative Experience in Health Informatics (HIN 745). Course descriptions Health Informatics…

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