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McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics


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Five Reasons You Should Care About Health Care Informatics


Wednesday, June 29th, 2016

It's no secret health care informatics is changing the medical landscape. With implications for provider efficiency, patient engagement, health outcomes and more, Health IT is a powerful field. More than ever, we at SBMI believe in the value of pursuing a degree in biomedical informatics.

There are big shifts happening in the industry, and new breakthroughs happen almost every day. From data mining to the implementation of cutting-edge therapy, Health IT is more than the latest trend. Because of its profound impact, it’s here to stay.

Here are five reasons you should care about Health IT — and consider a degree that will launch you into the field.

Health IT is a growing field

In the next five to seven years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the health care industry will need 50,000 new Health IT workers. With an average salary of six figures for Health IT professionals, and with 50 percent growth in the number of chief medical informatics officers (CMIOs) in the last decade, Health IT is a growing and highly valued field, full of opportunity.

Read more: How much do Health IT professionals earn?

Health IT is interdisciplinary

What do a physician, a computer scientist and an engineer have in common? They, along with many other professionals, are pioneering the integration of informatics into health care, creating substantial change in the field.

No one can tackle health care’s challenges and opportunities alone. Biomedical informatics is powerful because it is so interdisciplinary, bringing together many different perspectives to transform medicine.

Read more: Four backgrounds that prepare you for a health informatics career

Health IT is improving patient care

By connecting data points from patients everywhere, researchers and data scientists can better identify trends. This allows them to improve upon health care as a whole as well as its processes.

Whether providing clinical decision support or finding new ways to repurpose drugs, Health IT professionals are mining data, developing systems, and architecting solutions that ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes.

Read more: Health information technology and patient safety

Health IT is engaging patients

As consumers become more tech savvy, they're transforming into active participants in their own health. As a result of constant improvements to data quality and user interfaces, patients are able to enter into meaningful dialogue with their providers.

What's more, wearable devices allow patients to feel engaged in their health. This ultimately encourages healthy behaviors that help prevent disease and improve quality of life.

Read more: The importance of patient engagement

Health IT is changing our health care model

As we move deeper into our digital age, technology is our greatest tool for creating an efficient and compassionate health care system. Despite inevitable growing pains, health informatics paves the way for streamlined workflows, more effective communication, and faster treatment.

Through technology we are able to truly revolutionize the field, capturing data more effectively and analyzing it at rates never before possible. The applications for this are endless, and already we're seeing changes in patient care as a result.

Read more: How is IT shaping patient care?

Health IT: Making an indelible impact on the health care landscape

With no sign of slowing, the technological advancements made through Health IT are integral to the future of health care. But progress won’t continue unless great minds continue to join the movement. To pursue your career in Health IT, we invite you to apply to UTHealth SBMI today.