Healthcare Informatics

Course Overview: Health Informatics is the study of the resources and methods for the management of health data, information and knowledge. In this course, we will review how organizations manage and use data for healthcare services delivery, management and innovation.  This will include the use of analytics to ensure patient safety and quality of care; what and how are standards used for data collection, health information exchange and interoperability; how do we ensure the integrity, reliability and security of healthcare data; and the roles that genomics and other bioinformatics data plays in the health informatics landscape.

Delivery Method & Length of Course: Fully Online instruction using a combination of assigned readings, online interaction with other students, and short essays.  Each assigned area will be in one week increments for a total of seven weeks duration.

Materials Required:  Health Informatics – Practical Guide for Healthcare and Information Technology Professionals 6th Edition, Robert E. Hoyt Editor

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Foundations in Healthcare Management

Course Details:

Week 1 – Overview of Health Informatics

  • What is health informatics
  • What does it encompass
  • Transforming data into knowledge

Week 2 – Healthcare Data Quality and Standards

  • Data collection and data quality
  • Standards
  • X12 Transactions & Code Sets
  • Clinical data standards (LOINC, SNOMED, etc)
  • HL7
  • CDA

Week 3 – Data Governance and Reporting

  • Data management
  • Data governance
  • Operational and regulatory reporting
  • Quality reporting

Week 4 – Big Data and Analytics

  • What is big data?
  • Analytics and Business Intelligence
  • Data science
  • Disease registries
  • Disease management
  • Population health management

Week 5 – Genomics and Bioinformatics

  • Bioinformatics
  • Genomics
  • Personalized medicine
  • Pharmacogenomics

Week 6 – IT Security

  • HIPAA Security & Privacy
  • Security programs
  • Handling data breaches
  • Threat identification
  • Cybersecurity
  • Current Risks

Week 7 – Health Information Exchange and Interoperability

  • State and Federal Health Information Exchange
  • Interoperability
  • Care coordination
  • Current status of HIE in the US