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.