Capella University defines health informatics as \u201cdriving changes in health care, through the use of data, that will ultimately lead to improved patient care, improved population health, and lower costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health informatics is a career path that\u2019s going through astronomical growth, with demand far exceeding supply.<\/p>\n
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There are numerous reasons for this growth, including the rapid rise of health care technology itself. However, the primary factor is government mandates. First came 2009\u2019s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), part of which is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH). HITECH allocated billions of dollars towards the construction of complementary information systems. Next, 2010\u2019s Affordable Care Act (ACA) built on HITECH\u2019s foundation and reinforced the idea of health care IT as a critical component of patient care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ACA added requirements for health care providers to implement a more effective and efficient system,\u201d says Capella faculty member Christopher Miller, PhD. \u201cHealth care has been behind the times in adopting EHR [Electronic Health Records] and IT overall than other industries.\u201d He notes that the lagging in EHR adoption has led to numerous errors, privacy, and security issues.<\/p>\n
Capella adjunct faculty Doug Bird, PhD, agrees. \u201cHealth care\u2014the way we treat illness\u2014has improved over 200 years. But the way we\u2019ve documented things in health care has basically stayed the same for 200 years. We\u2019ve used paper and writing implements since the days of Florence Nightingale.\u201d The change from paper to digital technology has been a major revolution in health care. \u201cThere were some very visionary, very progressive hospitals in the 90s that saw the advantages of taking the paper documents and computerizing them,\u201d Bird says. \u201cThey saw it as advantageous\u2014fewer errors, more efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n
But once HITECH\/ACA mandated all health care groups that wanted to continue working with Medicare needed to adapt a technological foundation, the demand for informatics specialists rose exponentially, especially for those with backgrounds in hands-on health care. \u201cIt\u2019s not just an IT issue,\u201d says Bird. \u201cOrganizations that approach it that way are not going to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
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There are two distinct forms of health informatics: nursing and administration. Nurse informaticists have a clinical background and, as Bird notes, speak the medical\/clinical health care language. They understand clinical workflow\u2014what happens from the time the patients arrive until they leave. Because they have that clinical background, they\u2019re much better prepared to develop efficient workflow and see gaps or needs in the health care delivery system.<\/p>\n
Health administration informaticists have a higher level function. They need to learn how EHR systems will impact organizational, operational, and staffing needs.<\/p>\n
Both nursing and health care administration informaticists need to work with integrating the ICD-10 (the World Health Organization\u2019s medical classification list, including codes for diseases, diagnoses, complications, etc.) into their systems, and what\u2019s more, making their internal systems work with those of other health care systems. This interoperability is a key component of the ACA requirements. It will allow clinicians to more easily receive and send patient information to other clinicians, providing patients with better access to care and greater safety and efficacy.<\/p>\n
Both Bird and Miller emphasize that this is not strictly an IT function. \u201cIT is struggling to keep up with all this stuff,\u201d says Miller. \u201cThey\u2019re already at full capacity with their regular IT functions.\u201d They also aren\u2019t specialists in health care. \u201cSpecialization will be key,\u201d says Miller. \u201cOrganizations are looking for informaticists who have training in these kinds of systems, but who also have experience in nursing and health care administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
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At this point, demand greatly surpasses supply. The potential for qualified health care informaticists is almost unlimited. Bird and Miller see this new specialization as a significant growth area, and one that will continue to see demand as technology changes rapidly. It\u2019s a great opportunity for people in the health care field to build on their existing knowledge in a new way, or to develop a new career path that\u2019s rooted in their previous experience.<\/p>\n
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Explore Capella\u2019s master\u2019s-level and certificate programs in health care informatics and nursing informatics:<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n This is the first post in a three-part series on the growing field of health informatics. Post Two: The Difference Between Health Care and Nursing Informatics<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"NursingHealthCareInformatics_CTA[1]\"](\"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2015\/10\/NursingHealthCareInformatics_CTA1.jpg\")
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