image of IT professional sitting and working with a healthcare professionalInformation technology workers who are looking for a new challenge may find fertile ground for job growth in the healthcare industry working in the area of health informatics. Health informatics takes aspects of information technology and combines it with medical information, creating and maintaining electronic healthcare records for patients.

It’s a field that is growing, partially because of a federal mandate requiring medical facilities to adopt electronic healthcare records by 2014 or face stiff penalties.

Moving from IT to HI

Health informatics allows technology workers to move into a growing healthcare industry without having to completely learn a new job from the bottom up. It also provides a new career for people in an industry (information technology) that often leads to burnout.

Healthcare is a good fit because of the electronic healthcare records mandate, which requires any medical facility that bills Medicaid or Medicare recipients to adopt “meaningful use” of electronic medical records by Jan. 1, 2014.

Given that situation, medical organizations are seeking not only health informatics workers, but also managers for health information systems, according to the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Those organizations include hospitals, public health organizations, research laboratories, medical software firms, insurance agencies, pharmaceutical companies, colleges and universities.

Here are two of the careers you can pursue in health informatics and health information system management.

Chief of Medical Information (CMIO).  A chief of medical information (CMIO) can also go by the title of director of medical or health informatics, and oversees health records for medical facilities that often tie into national databases. This allows for patients to get the best care possible no matter where they are in the world.

The nationwide electronic healthcare database is a work in progress, but with the medical industry moving in that direction, jobs may be plentiful for those with experience in information technology.

The specific duties of a CMIO will vary depending on the organization, but, according to the USF Health website, some of the jobs could include:

  • evaluating an organization’s IT system and recommending changes and upgrades
  • designing and applying software systems
  • overseeing the conversion of medical data into electronic data
  • devising methods of leveraging healthcare data to improve medical services

Typically, another key component of a CMIO’s job is training physicians and other medical personnel on how to use an electronic healthcare system.

While the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not provide exact numbers on the CMIO profession, the federal agency projects a 22% growth rate for medical and health services managers in general.

Healthcare IT Project ManagersIn this important job within a healthcare organization, the chief duty is to oversee complicated projects involving technology. As with project managers in all industry, those working in healthcare strive to complete projects with maximum efficiency –- in other words, under budget and on time.

Project managers focus on the details of processes within a business, looking for ways to improve production and make better products or offer better services in an efficient manner.

Typically, the biggest project for healthcare IT project managers is overseeing the conversation of patient medical records into an electronic database.

Numerous Organizations Have Jobs for Health Informatic Workers

The healthcare industry is so vast that there are many different places a person can work. They include:

Hospitals. More than one-third of all healthcare workers are employed in hospitals. While it is a dynamic atmosphere, potential hospital employees should also be aware that many of these jobs come with a great deal of stress.

Health Maintenance and Preferred Providers. These organizations offer healthcare insurance coverage and often have a large number of IT positions.

Clinics. This area includes everything from medical facilities that offer MRIs, physical therapy, treatment for diabetes, dialysis, chemotherapy and treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

Research. These labs don’t work directly with patients but still amass numerous records while conducting experiments and doing research into new medical treatments or pharmaceuticals.

Home care, nursing homes, assisted living and long-term care. These facilities deal with medical care for the elderly.

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