What is a Master of Science (MS) in Health Informatics?
Health informatics is a rapidly emerging discipline that offers new frontiers requiring innovative leadership. Emerging technology provides an understanding of the value of health informatics and how it can reduce healthcare costs, increase access and patient safety, and improve the quality of healthcare services.
The masters in health informatics from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions at Grand Canyon University can help you use information technology, both hardware and software, for better decision-making and better patient outcomes.
Graduates are eligible to take the Certified Professional in Health Informatics (CPHI™) certification exam through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Courses that prepare students for the certification exam focus on:
- Healthcare politics and economics
- Legal and ethical principles in healthcare
- Healthcare research and application
- Analysis of healthcare research
- Healthcare information systems and technology
- Data management
- Electronic health records
- Health data for process improvement, cost containment and effective healthcare delivery
- The history, application, impact and future need for informatics in healthcare
Note: The final 16 weeks of this program include a practicum that incorporates a project plan related to a major area of health informatics such as health information management or information systems. The project is grounded in current informatics research and methods.
Why Earn Your MS in Health Informatics at GCU?
The MS in Health Informatics degree program at GCU integrates faith, work and learning. The curriculum, taught by specialized full-time faculty, introduces GCU’s Christian worldview. It teaches students the moral and ethical obligation of Christian health informatics professionals to respect, and encourage others to respect, the sensitive nature of patient information and their obligation to comply with all regulations, laws and ethical standards for working with health information.
Masters (MS) in Health Informatics Requirements
Students are not required to have a specific undergraduate degree. Any bachelor’s degree is acceptable for this program. For questions about standard admissions requirements into GCU graduate programs, visit the graduate admission page.
What Can I Do with a Masters (MS) in Health Informatics?
Graduates of this program can seek out a variety of career opportunities such as automating clinical care, building new operational data systems, training healthcare workers in the use of computer systems as well as collecting and analyzing data to improve patient care.
Depending on strength and focus, careers include:
- Project manager
- Project designer
- Researcher
- Systems analyst
- Administrator
- Informaticist
- Data analyst
Settings include:
- Hospitals
- Primary care facilities
- Doctors’ offices
- Insurance companies
- Pharmacies
- Technology suppliers
- Consulting firms
- Government agencies
Program Core Courses
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.
Online
Pursue a next-generation education with an online degree from Grand Canyon University. Earn your degree with convenience and flexibility with online courses that let you study anytime, anywhere. GCU offers the most experienced leadership in delivering online degree programs. Full-time faculty members and fully trained adjunct instructors, equipped with strong academic backgrounds and practical experience in their fields, support you every step of the way. Designed with the career-oriented professional in mind, our online classes provide an intimate environment that stimulates engaging and challenging discussions. Choose from programs across our distinct colleges, in high-demand employment areas. Classes begin frequently.
Evening
Grand Canyon University’s evening programs cater to the demands of working professionals who prefer an in-person learning environment. Our night classes meet just once per week and offer the interaction and discussion of a typical college classroom. Night classes are designed for a specific number of students, providing a warm and nurturing environment that supports an engaging experience. In an evening cohort, you will progress through your degree program with the same career-minded classmates, providing an opportunity to network and forge relationships that go beyond the classroom. Classes begin frequently at various locations, including our main campus.
* Please note that this list may contain programs that are not presently offered as program availability may vary depending on class size, enrollment and other contributing factors. If you are interested in a program listed herein please first contact your University Counselor for the most current information regarding availability of the program.
* The Department of Education defines how an institution must calculate a program's On-Time Completion rate for federal disclosure purposes. The On-Time Completion rate is based on a program's published required number of months to complete all degree requirements as provided in the institution's catalog. Completion statistics are updated every January and are based on the cohort of students who started the program in the same year and then graduated within the published program length.
Online and Evening program disclosures (24 months)* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.