About the Profession

A recent national survey found that 70 percent of health insurers, 48 percent of hospitals and 39 percent of pharmaceutical/life sciences plan to increase hiring of health informatics professionals over the next two years (PWC, 2012). The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment in computer systems design and related services will grow more rapidly than most other industries by 2028. Concurrently, health care jobs will grow by 4 million, accounting for 26 percent of all jobs in the US economy (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). Healthcare CIOs indicate their biggest barrier to implementing EHRs is a shortage of IT staff, including those with clinical expertise (CHIME, 2010). Additional needs will be for individuals with analytic skills to answer questions of how to improve patient outcomes. Hospital executives and health care providers will need to be comfortable and “agile” in defining and getting optimal value from their clinical information systems. Organization will need individuals skilled in data analytics in order effectively manage patient care in cost-effective manner.

(Sources: Price Waterhouse Coopers, PwC US Survey; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Statement; College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Report, Staffing Survey)

Health Informatics Field

You may learn more about the field of informatics by visiting the professional organization site for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, and the American Medical Informatics Association.