Healthcare Informatics

The B.S. degree program in Healthcare Informatics focuses on the management, analysis and reporting on data and information from healthcare systems including hospitals, medical offices, health insurance plans, government healthcare providers and medical research, with the goal of using such data to improve patient care delivery.  Students are prepared to turn healthcare data into useful information which will help improve patient care and enhance fiscal and system efficiencies.  This is accomplished by creating or implementing databases and other technology systems, recommending informatics solutions, and effectively collecting, storing, and accessing medical data for operational assessment.  Students will understand and use data interfaces within and amongst healthcare departments and providers.

In addition to learning how to analyze, synthesize, and report on healthcare data and information, graduates of this program will develop management and technical skills leading to positions including Decision Support Managers, Project Managers, Project Designers, and/or Research Managers.

Admission Requirements:

• High school diploma with a minimum overall average of 80% or a GED with a score of 2625.

• High school courses in Biology and Algebra.

• Those lacking one or more of the high school courses must take a college equivalent course and receive a grade of 2.0.  These courses must be taken prior to the start of the first semester or within the first semester of study.

• A 2.0 GPA is required for transfer credit.
• All incoming students will be required to purchase and bring to class a laptop computer running the most current version of Windows software or its equivalent.  As computer specifications change rapidly, the exact specifications for the laptop computer will be provided to students at the time of their admission into the program.

Minimum Degree Requirements:

• A total of 131/133 academic credits, 30 of which are in the academic major with 71 credits in Liberal Arts. Up to 30 credits can be transferred into the program for the academic core courses and 30 credits for Liberal Arts.  Candidates who hold a baccalaureate degree have no limit on the number of Liberal Arts course credits for transfer based on individual transcript review.

• Candidates who have work experience in the fields of computer science, engineering, business, or healthcare may qualify for course credit.

• A student may earn up to 30 credits through the college level examination program. (CLEP), Excelsior Exams and DSST exams.  A student cannot duplicate earned credit though an exam.  In sequential courses a student who has taken a higher level course cannot earn credit by taking an exam for a lower level course.

The Certificate program in Healthcare Informatics focuses on the management, analysis and reporting on data and information from healthcare systems including hospitals, medical offices, health insurance plans, government healthcare providers and medical research, with the goal of using such data to improve patient care delivery.  Students are prepared to turn healthcare data into useful information which will help improve patient care and enhance fiscal and system efficiencies.  This is accomplished by creating or implementing databases and other technology systems, recommending informatics solutions, and effectively collecting, storing, and accessing medical data for operational assessment.  Students will understand and use data interfaces within and amongst healthcare departments and providers.

The certificate program is designed for those who have earned a baccalaureate degree in healthcare, engineering, business or computer science.  Depending on the baccalaureate previously obtained, upon graduation from the certificate program students may enter professional fields in Nursing Informatics, Healthcare Informatics, Medical Informatics, or Bioinformatics.  Graduates will be prepared to sit for exams as a Certified Healthcare Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems.

Admission Requirements:

• Minimum of a Baccalaureate degree typically in the fields of healthcare, business, engineering or computer science.
• High school or college level Biology and Algebra.

• A 2.0 GPA is required for transfer credit.
• All incoming students will be required to purchase and bring to class a laptop computer running the most current version of Windows software or its equivalent.  As computer specifications change rapidly, the exact specifications for the laptop computer will be provided to students at the time of their admission into the program.

Minimum Degree Requirements:

• The Healthcare Informatics certificate program requires a total of 36 credits.  A total of 15 credits (no more than 50%) can be transferred into the program through college study or work experience in the fields of computer science, engineering, business or healthcare.  These credits may be earned through the College Level Examination program (CLEP), Excelsior Exams and or DANTES College Examinations (DSST).  A student cannot duplicate earned credit through an exam.  In sequential courses a student who has taken a higher level course cannot earn credit by taking an exam for a lower level course.