J. Mack Robinson College of Business offers a full program in Health Informatics. You can use the resources on these pages to learn about this program and to help make a qualified decision on joining as a student.

Why Health Informatics?

The healthcare industry is growing quickly as one of the most important segments of modern society. It accounts for a major portion of public spending. It is important for each of us as a person. It is driven by constant pressures to innovate and perform well. And, not very surprisingly, it is also an industry full of challenges and hopes.

The healthcare industry is information intensive. Up-to-date and reliable information about patient conditions is essential for providing medical services. Information is also required to coordinate the many organizations and people involved in each medical service. Finally, information is needed to administrate the complex economical transactions involved in the industry.

In the January 21, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal (p. B7): “The Obama administration’s plan is to invest $50 billion over five years to encourage broader adoption of health-information technology is expected to include additional incentives for electronic prescribing.” 

Unfortunately, the intensiveness, complexity, and amount of health information have presented considerable challenges in adopting information technology to increase the efficiency and enhance the quality of medical services. Innovation of the healthcare industry is therefore highly dependent on skilled people with competencies in Health Informatics.

What is Health Informatics?

Health Informatics combines knowledge from medical areas, healthcare administration, and information technology. An expert in Health Informatics knows about information technology, how to apply the technology to solve practical problems, and how to manage complex processes of implementing new solutions into organizations. Besides these generic competencies, Health Informatics experts also know about the industry, both from the point of view of providing medical services, and from the point of view of administrating complex medical organizations and processes.

Experts in Health Informatics can, in other words, help the industry effectively adopt information technology to innovate and improve its medical services and the way they are administrated.

How to study Health Informatics?

At J. Mack Robinson College of business you can study Health Informatics on different levels. On the undergraduate level, we offer a major in Computer Information Systems with a specialization in Health Informatics. On the graduate level, we offer a masters degree in Information Systems with a concentration in Health Informatics, and, within the MBA IS program we offer a concentration in Health Informatics.

Please surf these pages to learn more. Also, at any point, feel free to write an e-mail to one of the professors involved. They will be more than happy to answer any questions and tell you more about possible ways in which you can become involved as a student.