Health Informatics Degrees and Schools

“My master’s degree in health administration was very helpful in providing a business viewpoint to hospitals and the healthcare industry.  Prior to attending graduate school I had a clinical/nursing viewpoint.  Having both viewpoints – the business and the clinical – has been tremendously beneficial.”

--Kathleen Kimmel, RN, MHA, FHIMSS  Vice President Nursing Informatics McKesson Provider Technologies

Imagine combining a health care provider with a technology guru. This is what you get with health informatics; a field that combines health care and technology. The technology involved in nursing informatics fosters a more accurate documentation process and helps automate the collection of data.

Select the health informatics degree of interest below to get more information.

Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Master's Degree Programs

Certificates

Courses

The following are common topics of focus in health informatics degree programs.

  • Management, finance, accounting, legal, health and disease factors, and information resources skills
  • Education on long term care
  • How to use technology for improvement of health care quality
  • Ways to use technology to lower health care costs
  • Electronic information systems management
  • Information security
  • Data integrity regulatory compliance

Training

There are health informatics certificates offered. These certificates typically focus on concepts such as the systems life cycle and data management. To learn more about this certificate, select the below link.

Internships and Practicums

Health informatics internships, also referred to as practicums, are typically required for master's degree students to increase their experience in a target area under the guidance of an experienced nurse. For example, at some nursing schools, the students have two clinical practicum experiences which are two semester credits each.

  These practicums are selected based on the leaning needs of the student.  The student is matched with a master's prepared nurse or other approved professional. The students write goals for the experience which are approved by the preceptor and faculty member. At some schools, the first practicum experience is under the guidance of a preceptor and in the second experience, although still with a preceptor, the student takes on a project-management focused role. 

Generally these practicum experiences are unpaid. The student usually finds their own experience, but the program director or internship coordinator oftentimes helps them with contacts should they need it. Usually clinical sites require contracts between the school and the site, so they must be arranged prior to the actual start of the practicum.

Nursing Informatics Salary

The average nursing informatics salary is $69,500, according to the 2004 HIMSS Nursing Informatics Survey. The salary for this line of work can vary based on factors such as the type of organization an individual is employed, years of experience, level of education, and amount of managerial duties assigned. There is also a great degree of difference in salary based on where a person is located geographically. Respondents of this survey who live in New England, as well as Mid-Atlantic regions typically earned higher salaries than those living in the Western regions. Health informatics professionals in the Western Regions tended to earn a salary of $60,000 or less.

Along with geographic location, another factor that plays a role in the salary of nursing informatics professionals is whether an individual works in a hospital or a vendor organization. Most nursing informatics professionals working in vendor organizations earn $75,000 or more. Those who work in a hospital or health systems typically make less than those working for private vendor organizations.

Another large factor that determines the salary of nursing informatics professionals is the amount of managerial responsibilities involved in the job. Those who manage more employees typically make more money than those who manager just one or two employees.

More Information

To learn more about a career in nurse / health informatics and how earning a degree can help propel your career, select the below link and complete a simple request form. There are no obligations required but this will allow you to get any lingering questions answered.

Nurse / Health Informatics Salaries by State

Health Informatics jobs tend to be one of the highest paying IT jobs across all states. There is a huge need for professionals in this field, and companies and hospitals are willing to pay huge salaries to get qualified individuals in these roles. While in many states these individuals make in the triple digits, in all states they at least make close to that. Salaries for these individuals vary by geographic location. The information below breaks down, by state, the average salaries for health/nursing informaticists. Keep in mind, these numbers are only an average and don’t represent all nursing informatics positions in that state. These figures were derived from www.indeed.com.

Alabama : $107,000
Alaska : $91,000
Arizona : $84,000
Arkansas : $105,000
California : $97,000
Colorado : $88,000
Connecticut : $107,000
Delaware : $95,000
District of Columbia : $117,000
Florida : $93,000
Georgia : $107,000
Hawaii : $74,000
Idaho : $83,000
Illinois : $102,000
Indiana : $94,000
Iowa : $95,000
Kansas : $89,000
Kentucky : $61,000
Louisiana : $96,000
Maine : $71,000
Maryland : $104,000
Massachusetts : $111,000
Michigan : $100,000
Minnesota : $88,000
Mississippi : $107,000
Missouri : $96,000
Montana : $73,000
Nebraska : $90,000
Nevada : $91,000
New Hampshire : $84,000
New Jersey : $107,000
New Mexico : $118,000
New York : $115,000
North Carolina : $98,000
North Dakota : $93,000
Ohio : $97,000
Oklahoma : $91,000
Oregon : $98,000
Pennsylvania : $93,000
Rhode Island : $97,000
South Carolina : $81,000
South Dakota : $89,000
Tennessee : $96,000
Texas : $93,000
Utah : $84,000
Vermont : $89,000
Virginia : $112,000
Washington : $96,000
West Virginia : $117,000
Wisconsin : $77,000
Wyoming : $113,000

*2004 HIMSS Nursing Informatics Survey

Featured Schools

To learn more about our featured schools click on the logo(s) below.
University of Phoenix’ technology degree program curriculum is designed to prepare students with the competencies and skills needed to function effectively in the information technology field. Students can explore specific technology areas while learning to address real-world business opportunities and challenges.
At Walden University Online, you are able to complete your degree on your schedule. Walden’s NTU College of Engineering and Applied Science was founded through the sponsorship of large fortune 500 companies, such as IBM, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard, to enhance the competitive edge of students wanting a career in technology. The NTU College curriculum includes current research and strategies and skills specific to the IT industry. At NTU College they also have world-class scholars (from universities like UC Berkeley and Purdue) and state-of-the-art multimedia technology for an engaging learning experience.
Capella University is the school of choice for many leading corporations. Capella has been selected to be the educational provider by over 100 major companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Farmer’s Insurance. The programs at Capella use a combination of advanced technology knowledge and heavy business focus. The technology curriculum at Capella is regularly evaluated to ensure it is current and relevant.

Other Health / Nursing Informatics Categories
To learn more about Health / Nursing Informatics careers, degrees, schools, and salaries, visit the following links/pages.

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