Breaking Down Health Informatics

If you are interested in using data, technology, and innovation to improve patient outcomes without the demands of direct patient care, health informatics may be the perfect career for you.

What is Health Informatics?

Health informatics is a relatively new discipline within the field of healthcare. As the industry shifts to electronic medical records (EMRs), proper collection, management, sharing, and interpretation of patient and medical data has become increasingly important. Technology plays a vital role in this transition — especially when it comes to telehealth and mobile healthcare.

Although it might be relatively new in the field, informatics careers are in very high demand. Informatics, health technology, and health information management have all experienced significant growth over the last few years and demand is expected to rise even further. In fact, health informatics is one of the fastest-growing healthcare careers in the U.S.

What’s the Difference Between Health Informatics and Health Administration?

Students often ask what the difference is between the online Master’s in Health Administration (MHA) and the online Master of Health Informatics (MHI). Below are some of the key differences to consider when choosing the program that’s best for you.

Health informatics professionals deal with the management of health data and technology — where healthcare and IT merge. MHI ​​graduates go on to work as administrative healthcare professionals serving the data analysis, and IT needs of patients, physicians, clinicians, and regulatory bodies.

Health administration professionals are responsible for managing the daily operation of a facility — providing executive leadership, oversight, and direction. Graduates with an MHA work in healthcare organizations, consulting firms, government and non-government organizations, and insurance companies.

What Can I Do With an Online Master’s in Health Informatics?

Health informatics careers encompass many different specialties and settings. Below, you’ll find a sampling of potential careers and their average salaries graduates can pursue with a health informatics master’s from UC Online.

Chief Informatics Officer

Median Salary: $280,000*

Healthcare executives who typically manage the health informatics platform and work with IT staff to support the design, implementation, and use of technology within a healthcare organization.

Health Informatics Director

Median Salary: $167,000*

Executive-level managers responsible for the implementation of technology designed to improve the quality of patient care and streamlining systems, processes and reporting.

Director of Risk Management

Median Salary: $139,000*

Oversee and manage healthcare risk managers and ensure high-quality healthcare is provided following all applicable regulations.

Why Choose University of Cincinnati Online for Your Healthcare Informatics Master’s?

Not only is UC Online affordable with flexible, asynchronous classes, it’s also a nationally-ranked, tier-one research institution boasting impressive graduation, retention, and post-graduate employment rates.

• Our master’s degree in health informatics program is ranked #2 on Study.com’s list of “Best Online Master’s Degrees in Health Informatics” (2021)
• University of Cincinnati Online’s Master of Health Informatics is ranked in the Top 10 on College Consensus‘ list of “Best Online Master’s in Healthcare” (2021)
• Master’s in Health Informatics online faculty includes professors from the “#1 Data Science School in the U.S.” Predictive Analytics Today (2020; 2021)
• Our program ranked in the “Top 20 Globally” and “Top 10 Nationally” by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) (2020)

If you’re ready to begin your master’s in health informatics, contact an advisor today to get started.

* Salary information is from Salary.com and is current as of December 2021.