BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UC Berkeley Extension announces the launch of the fully online Professional Program in Health Informatics, a four-course sequence that prepares clinical and nonclinical professionals to understand and deploy health informatics. By understanding the underlying information and computer science and health care best practices that comprise this in-demand career, professionals from both medical and IT backgrounds will have the skills—in as little as three months—to meet the growing use of technology in health care delivery.
This launch comes at a time when health informatics positions are growing an average of 14 percent annually. This is in part due to a projected 4 million new jobs in the overall health care industry, in which there is a larger reliance on the use of electronic health records to support care quality and population health while reducing costs.
“The rapidly changing healthcare environment offers many new opportunities in health informatics, but also requires workers to continue to build skills over time as industry and organizational needs change,” says lead instructor Melanie Meyer. “This Professional Program in Health Informatics will help working professionals build new skills in these critical areas.”
“This is exactly what UC Berkeley Extension excels at,” adds UC Berkeley Extension Director of Behavioral Health Sciences Stan Weisner. “We develop and offer up-to-date curricula in a range of health, business and related technology fields to prepare students for real jobs so that they can compete in a dynamic workforce environment.”
The Professional Program in Health Informatics will be open for enrollment in July 2018 and is designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals by being fully online. Students can begin their courses when they enroll and can complete each course in as little as three months.
The curriculum includes instruction in the various facets of health informatics, including how patient information is acquired, stored, retrieved and used in a variety of applications; technology to improve population health, including telehealth; interoperability, standards and health information exchange; and a deep dive into electronic health record systems.
Upon completing the four-course program, working professionals—depending on their background, interests and experience—will be better prepared to enter positions such as informatics lead, clinical informatics specialist, digital health specialist, EHR project manager, population health application analyst, a wide variety of consulting positions and so much more.
Get Started
To learn more about the Professional Program in Health Informatics, visit extension.berkeley.edu/cert/health-informatics. Students can enroll in courses beginning July 1, 2018.
About UC Berkeley Extension
Founded in 1891, UC Berkeley Extension is the continuing education branch of the University of California, Berkeley. Today, Extension offers more than 2,000 courses each year, including online courses, along with more than 70 professional certificates and specialized programs of study. Free and low-cost public events are also frequently held as part of Extension’s service to the local community.
