SIUE’s Online Healthcare Informatics Program Ranked #6 Nationally
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville online master’s in healthcare informatics has been ranked sixth in the nation by affordablecolleges.com for the second consecutive time.
Healthcare informatics professionals integrate the worlds of medicine and technology by combining their expertise in data management, patient care and information technology systems. The master’s in healthcare informatics emphasizes the application of state-of-the-art computing technologies to healthcare.
“The combination of our faculty and the SIUE administration, along with information technology personnel and community healthcare partners, has led to the successful implementation of our fully online master of science in healthcare informatics program,” said Program Director Frank Lyerla, PhD, RN. “This collaborative approach produces marketable graduates ready to meet industry demand.”
The ranking involves factors such as graduation rate, retention rate, financial aid offerings, and more, providing programs that offer the best return on investment, not just low tuition prices.
“SIUE developed this program in a corporate partnership with BJC HealthCare in 2010 to ensure their workforce would be well-trained to meet demands related to implementing electronic health records and securing patient data across the system,” said Mary Ettling, interim director of the Office of Educational Outreach. “Meanwhile, the program has evolved in format to better accommodate the demands of working adults, allowing students to complete coursework online, and to apply newly learned skills in or to advance to new positions.”
According to affordablecolleges.com, careers such as director of clinical informatics, chief medical information officer and clinical data analyst are available to master’s graduates. Management and leadership positions in healthcare informatics typically pay more than $100,000. With growth projected at 22% between 2012 and 2022, career opportunities in healthcare informatics are plentiful.
For more information, visit siue.edu/healthcare-informatics or contact Lyerla at flyerla@siue.edu.
Photo: Frank Lyerla, director of SIUE’s master’s of healthcare informatics program.
