MS in HEALTH INFORMATICS

Course Description

This course is designed to prepare students for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the health care professions. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success.

Course Description

The purpose of this course is to prepare students in mathematical, probability, and statistical concepts for their upcoming studies in quantitative methods. The course is intended for those students who have not had any prior statistical education, although students who have had statistics should also consider taking the course as a refresher.

Course Description

This course introduces fundamentals of the U.S. health care system and the role and value of informatics in the practice of evidence-based research and medicine. Students learn key concepts of health care information infrastructure, systems, technologies, applications, and data standards that are critical for optimizing patient care. Students also examine how health care providers and caregivers use technology, information, and knowledge to improve patient care, administration, research, and education across the rapidly evolving health care system.

Course Description

This course examines the application of information systems in health care settings, beginning with an analysis of the broad meaning and nature of information and systems. The focus narrows to utilization of computer technologies, configurations, and applications as tools to benefit health care environments. Emphasis is placed on the challenges related to the development and implementation of effective information systems in light of a rapidly and continuously changing health care model, evolution of technology team member roles and responsibilities, and advancement of technological requirements within the health care system.

Course Description

This course examines health care information resources and their impact on administrative functions, interfaces, data security and integrity, and business processes. Topics include use of relational database management software to construct tables, develop forms, create and execute queries, design and deploy reports, and advance database concepts to automate contemporary business processes. Students are able to distinguish between various network hardware technologies and associated data communications protocols in order to direct how organizations design and implement data networks. Prerequisites: HIM-515, HCI-600, or NUR-514; and HIM-615.

Course Description

This course prepares students to evaluate, implement, and optimize electronic health record (EHR) technology to support the management and use of clinical data. Students examine the architecture of EHRs and analyze the challenges of their design and use, including system integration requirements, distributed user bases, storage of complex data, high security requirements, and the diverse information needs of various end users. Students also apply project management techniques to the planning and implementation of EHRs. Prerequisite: HIM-650.

Course Description

This course introduces techniques for extracting data and creating knowledge from health care data sets. Students examine methods for describing, summarizing, and presenting data. There is specific focus on understanding the needs of information users, identifying organizational objectives, and ensuring that the analytical methodology chosen meets those needs. Prerequisite: HIM-650.

Course Description

This course examines the security, privacy, and compliance issues that guide the design and use of health information systems and health care data. Students analyze the regulatory environment and differentiate the regulations, laws, and ethical practices that guide information governance and the uses of data with particular emphasis on patient confidentiality and privacy. Information security tools and strategies for risk assessment, third-party risk management, and audits are also examined. Prerequisite: HIM-615.

Course Description

In this course, students apply principles of human factors engineering to the design of optimal user interfaces that improve clinical processes. Students examine clinical decision support and clinical workflow analysis, modeling, reducing data entry errors, and usability testing in efforts to improve the experience of end users while prioritizing patient safety and the delivery of quality health care.

Course Description

In this course, students learn key leadership principles and skills critical to their development as health care professionals capable of leading change initiatives that align with the strategic vision of health care organizations and the evolving landscape of health care. Students assess their own leadership qualities, an organization's readiness for change, and barriers that may affect the adoption of innovations and quality improvement processes. The course emphasizes systems thinking while students work toward honing problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills necessary for leading initiatives within health care organizations.

Course Description

This course provides students the opportunity to integrate what they have learned in the program in an applied project related to a major area of health informatics, such as health information management, information systems, or health informatics. Students are expected to demonstrate leadership and advanced critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in the development of a comprehensive and professional project plan and solution that is grounded in current informatics research and methods. Practicum/field experience hours: 150. Prerequisites: HCA-680, HCI-660, and HCI-670.