What is Health Informatics?

Working in healthcare does not mean that you need to be a direct caregiver, such as a nurse or doctor. You have several other options, including careers in health informatics. 

But what is health informatics, and how do you pursue it? This article defines health informatics and discusses how to get started. Read on to learn about this growing field, including health informatics jobs, degrees, salaries, and more.

What is Health Informatics?

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) defines health informatics as “the integration of healthcare sciences, computer science, information science, and cognitive science to assist in the management of healthcare information.”

Health Informatics vs Nursing Informatics: What’s the Difference?

Health informatics is an umbrella term that involves many different areas, including:

• Nursing
• Medicine 
• Biomedical
• Pharmaceutical
• Data analysis
• Public health

Nursing informatics is a subcategory of health informatics directly related to nursing. Informatics nurses are registered nurses (RNs) who work at the intersection of technology and nursing. The nursing informatics specialty combines nursing, communications, computer science, and information science knowledge.

Your career goals will determine if you should earn a degree in health informatics or a more specialized subset. However, even if you earn a general health informatics degree, you can still work in most fields.

7 Popular Health Informatics Jobs

What can you do with a health informatics degree? An informatics education opens several doors, allowing you to pursue a career that matches your goals and interests. Seven of the most popular and in-demand health informatics jobs are as follows:

1. Biostatistician

A biostatistician applies mathematics and statistical methods to answer questions related to public health, biology, nursing, and medicine. Biostatisticians collect and analyze data to help develop, implement, and monitor research studies. 

2. Clinical Informatics Specialist

Clinical informatics specialists work closely with data entries and visual image storage systems to collect information on existing practices. In addition to collecting and analyzing data, clinical informatics specialists will train new employees.

3. Health Informatics Specialist

This health informatics job focuses solely on capturing and transmitting new health information. Additionally, some health informatics specialists will design new tools and capture and analyze data.

4. Clinical Informatics Manager

Clinical informatics managers are responsible for overseeing a health informatics team. They supervise employees, oversee hiring and firing, and conduct training. Depending on the position, they may report to a director or the hospital's CEO or work independently as subcontractors.

5. Bioinformatics Scientists

A bioinformatics scientist conducts research specifically to examine large molecular datasets. These datasets may include DNA, microarray, and proteomics data. They are also responsible for developing software and custom scripts that automate data mining and manipulation. 

6. Informatics Nurse

Informatics nurses are registered nurses (RNs) who work at the intersection of technology and nursing. The nursing informatics specialty combines nursing, communications, computer science, and information science knowledge. This health informatics job requires an RN license, bedside nursing experience, and a nursing informatics certification.

7. Informatics Pharmacist

Informatics pharmacists are licensed pharmacists who specialize in clinical information and drug distribution systems. They use their clinical and information technology expertise to improve drug administration safety and medication management processes. 

Why Are Healthcare Informatics Professionals in Demand?

As our population ages and expands, the demand for all types of healthcare professionals will grow. 

Health informatics careers, in particular, are more in demand because they examine various aspects of healthcare, including EMR, public health, and data sets. Electronic health information generated by medical providers and other healthcare professionals will require healthcare informaticists to analyze the data to create meaningful, informed decisions.

The BLS estimates that the employment of health information technologists and medical registrars will grow by 16% from 2023 to 2033, significantly faster than all other occupations.

Health Informatics Salary

Your health informatics salary will depend on the career you pursue. ZipRecruiter reports that the median annual health informatics salary is $82,781 or $40 per hour.

However, different jobs have different salary expectations. For example, a biostatician earns a median annual salary of $119,702, while the average nursing informatics salary is $98,409.

Health Informatics Degrees

A master's in health informatics is the most common degree for those interested in the field. These programs teach you to create data systems and processes that improve healthcare delivery, patient care, and population health outcomes.

Other degrees suitable for health informatics careers include:

• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
• MPH in Epidemiology
• MPH in Health Policy and Management
• MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is an excellent resource for finding an accredited health informatics program. 

How to Get Started in a Health Informatics Career

Starting a career in health informatics will ultimately depend on your career goals. For example, to become a biostatistician, you would first pursue a degree in mathematics or statistics. Those interested in working in nursing informatics will want to earn a BSN degree. 

1. Earn a relevant bachelor's degree from an accredited university
2. Gain working experience in your chosen field
3. Earn an advanced degree (master’s degree)
4. Apply for desired positions
5. Earn additional credentials from the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)