5 Fantastic Careers in Health Informatics
- Clinical Informatics Manager
- Informatics Nurse
- Clinical Informatics Specialist
- Health Informatics Specialist
- Clinical Analyst
Health Informatics Careers
Health informatics, which deals with the acquisition, retrieval and use of health information to improve on patient care, is a growing field and one that offers various health informatics careers. From associate and bachelor’s degree programs to master’s and doctoral degrees, health informatics programs are in abundance. Regardless of how little or how much education an individual chooses, he or she will be qualified for some position in health informatics.
1. Clinical Informatics Manager
The clinical informatics manager is in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations of a healthcare facility’s clinical information system. They also monitor budgets, manage staff, and make sure all systems are in compliance with the legal and professional regulatory standards. Before a candidate can become a clinical informatics manager, he or she must first work in health informatics at a lower level and obtain some experience in this field. Clinical informatics managers earn an average annual wage of $90,106.
2. Informatics nurse
Informatics nurses act as liaisons between the clinical department and the IT department. In addition to their nursing duties, they have administrative duties such as evaluating the healthcare facility to see what clinical IT processes will make it more efficient. Informatics nurses also train the nursing staff on any new systems and make sure the staff is current and knowledgeable on the latest technology. They also act as a liaison and collaborate with vendors, IT and the entire nursing staff. Informatics nurses must have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing. PayScale reports that informatics nurses earned an average annual wage of $75,518 as of July 2018.
3. Clinical Informatics Specialist
Clinical informatics specialists are registered nurses who are interested in the clinical and administrative duties in a healthcare facility. They work with the processes used to digitalize medical records, create new processes, strive to improve current procedures and document changes to the staff. The individual must have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing and have several years of work experience as an RN before he or she can work as a clinical informatics specialist. The average yearly wage for clinical informatics specialists is $74,013.
4. Health Informatics Specialist
The health informatics specialist has duties similar to the informatics nurse but focuses more on implementing the technology in the healthcare facility. They develop educational documents for any procedures and systems, train and assist staff if there’s a problem and perform troubleshooting. A health informatics specialist must be current of all new regulatory and compliance standards. An individual may obtain on-the-job training to become a health informatics specialist, but many choose to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or a similar field. Health informatics specialists earn an average yearly salary of $61,141.
5. Clinical Analyst
Clinical analysts are not required to be RNs, but this is not to say that experience in the healthcare industry would not beneficial for this position. The clinical analyst should have at least a bachelor’s degree in social science, life science or a related field. Clinical analysts working in leadership positions are often required to have a master’s degree. Clinical analysts are in charge of the healthcare facility’s entire clinical information systems and database, they diligently evaluate the data to improve efficiency and workflow. Clinical analysts earn an average annual salary of $66,795.
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With the emphasis on providing good and affordable healthcare to everyone, healthcare-based careers are plentiful. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that health care occupations should grow 18 percent between 2016 and 2026. With that said, it’s easy to see that health informatics careers can be an exciting and rewarding choice today.