Department of Clinical and Health Informatics

Course Description:
The course covers human factors topics with focus on healthcare. The topics include basics of human computer interactions, design and evaluation of healthcare interfaces, and role of usability in patient safety. The students will evaluate design of healthcare systems, including EHR modules, health information display (dashboards, health education material), social networks for health, mobile health (apps, sensors, wearables, and devices) and medical devices. The students will also develop functioning prototypes for healthcare design solutions.

Course Description:
This course will address security issues as they impact health information systems. Physical security of the hardware and software including redundancy, back up and restricted access will be discussed. Security and appropriateness of access will be addressed in terms of both hardware and software solutions. Data integrity, audit ability and system integrity will be considered along with the unique problems, such as the hacking of implantable devices, wired, wireless, and cellular networks, as well as the challenges of personally owned devices. Solutions to these concerns will be discussed in terms of industry standards, those that already exist, and those that are still evolving (i.e. Blockchain). Hands on experience with Splunk, a network security monitoring program. Features and functionality of Splunk include search, reporting, and analytics using machine data.

Course Description:
This course is designed to provide informatics students with an overview of the key concepts regarding implementation of a clinically-oriented information system (e.g., an electronic medical record, computer-based provider order entry). The course will examine how health data are collected, how they are used and the impact of electronic records on the health data. The course will review standards, standards development, languages used, usability and issues related to information processing in health care. The course will review the impact of electronic records and patient portals on health and health care including, legal, financial, and clinical design issues. Challenges encountered during training and go-live will be discussed. Students will receive hands-on experience with an electronic health record in the training environment.

Course Description:
Unlike much of the world, American health care standards are frequently developed by private organizations rather than the government. The Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) create an alphabet soup of organizations that are often not well known to people within health care, let alone those just entering the field. This course will explore the history of a variety of SDOs, examining their membership and focus domain. Students will examine the role of the major SDOs and their impact on the structure and function of health care delivery in the United States. The relationship between U.S. and international standards organizations will be reviewed.

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to both systems analysis and project management. The student will have the opportunity to learn more about the approaches and tools available for systems analysis. Additionally, the student will learn more about the roles, responsibilities, and duties of a project manager. Moreover, the student will learn project management methods and the core activities of a project manager as well as the tools and techniques required to ensure the success of a large health care information technology project such as the implementation of a system or the evaluation of an existing system. Specific emphasis will be on training and support during go-live, total costing of projects, and explicit change management techniques.

Course Description:
This course provides foundational knowledge relevant to Public Health Informatics (PHI), and exposes students to emerging research and application areas in this field. Topics covered include: public health registries and databases, surveillance systems, data exchange and standards, interoperability issues, the role of informatics in health promotion, use of web 2.0 informatics tools to understand behavior change, public health communication and dissemination, public health policy, and project management.

Course Description:
The course will provide an overview of telehealth in the context of the general health care system. It will survey the application of telehealth in various medical specialties and different settings, e.g., rural, military/aerospace and corrections. The course will identify key issues in implementing and operating a telehealth program, including technology, economics, law/ethics, training, protocol development, and evaluation.

Course Description:
The ability to manage change - people, process, and technology - may be the most important factor in successful implementation and in producing sustained outcomes from applied health informatics projects. This course will cover the theory and principles of change management, with a particular emphasis on healthcare and information technology innovation at both the individual and organizational level. Tools and techniques for developing comprehensive change management plans will be presented. Case studies of successful and failed change efforts will demonstrate applications of these principles and techniques.