Health innovation from health information

Careers in health informatics are available in many forms. Those with strong technical backgrounds may find roles as application designers and developers, consultants, system analysts, and entrepreneurs. Individuals with analytical and quantitative skills could become quality improvement analysts, data miners, evaluation specialists, or clinical and public health researchers. Policy-minded graduates might be part of a new generation of informatics-enabled policy analysts and engage with ongoing health reform. Those who enter the program from the health professions will be able to assume positions as medical, nursing, or public health information or technology officers who envision new solutions to health care and delivery.

Employment outlook

Forecasts of national demand provide a strong indication of high level of future demand in the area of health informatics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, projects that health information management and health informatics employment will grow nearly 18% by 2016. The Bureau projects a need for more than 6,000 new professionals each year through 2014.

Similarly, according to the Occupation Outlook Handbook 2010–2011, employment in the health informatics field is expected to grow (projected 20% increase) much faster than the average across all fields. Graduates with a strong understanding of technology, computer software, and electronic records management will be in particularly high demand.

Graduates of the program will work in a wide range of settings and roles within them. Their activities will reflect the positioning of this program to prepare leaders at the forefront of a dynamic field.

A sampling of settings:

    • Small information technology companies, including start-ups
    • Public health agencies: local, state, national
    • Hospitals, clinics, and other health care settings
    • Payer organizations
    • Health care and technology consulting firms
    • Research and development organizations, including universities and pharma
    • Professional organizations and societies

A sampling of job types:

    • Corporate technology or innovation officer
    • Medical / nursing / public health information officer
    • Health application designer / developer
    • Change manager / workflow re-designer
    • Consultant / analyst / strategic planner
    • Program evaluation / quality improvement specialist

Career resources

Opportunities for individuals who have been educated in the field of health informatics are available in for-profit, non-profit and government sectors. We encourage you to visit the following sites to explore the range of job titles and job responsibilities in the field of health informatics.