Online Health Information Technology Degree Programs

Health informatics specialists apply information technology to the particular needs of the health care industry. Online degrees in health informatics offer students the technology background they need to develop medical recordkeeping systems for hospitals and research centers. Health informatics is crucial to the daily function of health care institutions, where reliable information transmission is everything.

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Health informatics training resembles the information technology curriculum, but with an emphasis on health information and on the user interface. Skills in network administration, security, and database administration can improve your marketability. Online undergraduate and graduate certificate programs are popular among working professionals interested in expanding their job skills and specializing in a particular area. Students seeking entry-level positions in health informatics are best served with a bachelor''s or master''s degree in the field. Doctoral degrees qualify the student for research and university teaching positions.

Health Technology on the Job and in the Classroom

Online degrees in health informatics include a curriculum of core science classes, computer science, statistics, and database management. Advanced training allows students to specialize in a particular area of health informatics, such as bioinformatics, public health, and organizational, social, or clinical informatics.

The latest field in health sciences is bioinformatics, or the use of high technology to speed research and development in diagnosis, treatment, and cure of disease and injuries, or in the creation of new medicines and foods. Specialists in information technology find themselves in need by most of the major subfields including marine biology, environmental science, biochemistry, botany, ecology, food science, geoscience, microbiology, physiology, biophysics, and zoology.

The Diversity in Online Health Technology Degrees

Today''s students have a wide range of degrees and specializations from which to choose. Some coursework is offered online on a continuing basis. Other classes are delivered in short-burst intensives, running over a series of weeks, or on successive weekends. Online certificate, bachelor''s, and master''s degree programs allow you to specialize in health care information technology, informatics, health care administration, and health information technician training.

Health informatics is a new and rapidly expanding field, with plenty of opportunity for the qualified information technology professional. Earnings can be excellent. For example, the 2007 median annual wage for computer database administrators was $67,250, with a high end of $106,860.

Advanced degree work in information technology, health care management, or engineering and natural science management can qualify working health informatics professionals for management, consulting, or development team leadership positions.

Post-graduate business technology training in change management, enterprise integration, budgeting, and project management can accelerate advancement into top administrator positions. Natural science managers, for example, who have completed a master''s in engineering management or graduated from an MBA degree program earned a 2007 median annual wage of $104,040.

The job outlook for health information technicians is excellent, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting an 18 percent increase in jobs during the 2006-2016 decade. Positions for health service managers are expected to climb by 16 percent during the same time period.