|
Biomedical and Health Informatics is an emerging and quickly growing field that uses computer technology for the improvement and advancement of health care. The field encompasses several disciplines including health sciences, computer science, management, biostatistics and information technology.
Biomedical and Health Informaticians are experts in the intersection of computer systems and health care, designing, implementing and using systems while collaborating with medical and health care professionals. Data from these systems help make decisions easier in health care delivery, research and education. More benefits of Biomedical and Health Informatics include the increased safety, quality and efficiency of health care for individuals and populations.
I was drawn into health informatics because it combines three different yet overlapping disciplines - health care, information technology and business. Being involved with people, computers and information in ways that can improve the health and heath care of others is very rewarding. Another exciting aspect of health informatics is that it is so dynamic and rapidly growing with lots of opportunity as a career. It is a place to be if you want to make a difference and be challenged while you do it.
......................
Michael Kirshner, DDS, MPH
Assistant Dean, School of Allied Health Professions
Program Director, Health Informatics
Oregon Institute of Technology, Portland Campus
Health care reform and advances in technology have pushed the need for informatics in health care to a tipping point. The 2009 federal stimulus package, for instance, targets millions of dollars of funding for informatics development. The package includes the goal of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) for every United States resident by 2014 in order to increase efficiency, decrease costs and medical errors, improve communication across providers and allow for better medical studies to help the advancement of health care. Combined with other reform efforts, this has wide-scale transformation effects and has a huge impact on Biomedical and Health Informatics workforce needs.
Biomedical and Health Informaticians often practice several roles simultaneously.
They are self-motivated and are good problem-solvers and managers. They like analyzing and interpreting data and understand what information is useful for doctors, nurses, administrators, consumers, patients and policy makers. Biomedical and Health Informaticians also enjoy working with people in a cross-section of fields and are good at bringing professionals together to reach the goals of a project!
Where Biomedical and Health Informaticians Work
Biomedical and Health Informaticians work in a variety of settings including:
- Health Care Facilities
- Educational Institutions
- Industry including insurance and Internet companies
- Government
- Research Facilities
Educational and Licensing Requirements
Currently, there is no state or federal licensing or credentialing for Biomedical and Health Informaticians. Employers help define educational requirements in this emerging field. See:
Biomedical and health informatics gives one the opportunity to use information technology (IT) to improve individual health, health care, public health, and biomedical research. Although the focus is and should be more on information than technology, it is enjoyable to put one's skills with IT to use toward goals such as making health care safer and more efficient as well as helping to lead advances in research to improve health and fight disease.
There are many types of jobs in biomedical and health informatics, and I work in academia as a professor and director of one of the largest educational and research programs in the country. It is exciting to see the interest in our field from our new president and leaders in health care policy who view informatics as a solution to some of the problems in health care. Probably what I enjoy most about my own job is the many different things I do, from teaching and mentoring students to carrying out research in my field.
......................
William Hersh, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology
School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
Biomedical and Health Informatician Earnings
Salaries for Biomedical and Health Informaticians vary by hospital size, clinical background, job position and level of authority. A 2008 compensation survey shows that the average annual base salary for non-clinical informaticians ranges from $77,000 to $89,000. For clinicians who are informaticians, the range is $92,000 to $121,000. The average base salary for higher management informaticians is $146,000.
Employment Outlook for Biomedical and Health Informaticians
There is a high demand for Biomedical and Health Informaticians encouraged by health reform and the push for EHRs. One estimate for the number of these professionals needed in the United States is 70,000, and the Department of Labor estimates a 49% growth in the demand.
Occupations with Skills Similar to Biomedical and Health Informaticians
- Information Technology Managers
- Health Information Managers
- Health Information Technicians
- Database Administrators
- Computer and Information Systems Managers
Explore the following sources for this page for more information:
Also see:
BACK TO TOP |
