Health informatics program aids workers in expanding field in health IT [Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal]

The Center for Adult and Continuing Education at Misericordia University offers an undergraduate certificate in health informatics to meet the need for a skilled workforce in the expanding field of health information technology.

Health Informatics is an emerging specialty that focuses on how technology is used in the delivery of health care services. In recent years, informatics has made many contributions to health care, such as. applications of technology to administrative and financial transactions, like billing and inventory control, electronic medical records and by making health evidence research more accessible to health professionals, researchers and patients.

Informatics now has begun to be applied more to the clinical realm, as well as through such applications as reminder-and decision-support systems, order entry systems, telemedicine, teleradiology, online prescribing and e-mail. Informatics is the catalyst needed to achieve the quality and financial improvements expected in the federal health care reform initiatives.

Employment opportunities in this area are bright, making it attractive for people who want to retrain from other jobs like accounting, and move into family-sustaining jobs in health care. The federal government estimates there are currently about 25,000 jobs available in the field and this need will grow at about 18 percent per year for the next half dozen years.

Dr. Mark Diehl, director of the Health Informatics Program at Misericordia University, has designed the program to provide professional and continuing education, health informatics research and community outreach services. The undergraduate certificate program is delivered through on-line courses as part of the Center for Adult and Continuing Education's popular Expressway Accelerated Degree program.

Health Informatics as a specialty field addresses both clinical and business applications, including financial transactions, privacy issues, health care research and Internet-based consumer research. It also extends into clinical and patient care areas like telehealth, teleradiology, on-line prescribing and electronic health records. Both the master's degree and the undergraduate certificate programs feature courses in information management and information technology, as well as courses in ethical and medico-legal issues, project management and technical leadership.

Expressway has a proven track record of providing convenient and flexible options for adult learners who want to return to school or continue their education. At $320 per credit, Expressway also offers a low tuition rate as well.

The program is designed for professionals and students in health fields, such as nursing, medical imaging, occupational therapy, physical therapy, management information systems, information technology and business. The 15-credit undergraduate certificate seeks to assist professionals who are employed in the field already to improve their educational background and skills. The certificate can be completed in as little as two semesters in a part-time format. Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to analyze, design and implement technology within health care organizations. The courses can also be applied toward a Bachelor of Science degree in health care management.

Dr. Diehl is a licensed health care provider who has more than 30 years experience specializing in HCI and the complex fit of information systems and information management with the business and clinical communities. He is a nationally recognized leader in the health informatics standards community, and is an invited author and speaker at professional conferences.

He has extensive expertise in information management strategy, information governance, clinical data management, business and clinical intelligence, data architecture and modeling, and clinical data warehouse design. He has also created and delivered numerous classroom and distance learning courses in data modeling and data warehousing. His professional interests include health information models and data architectures, and the impact of information technology on the health care provider and patient.

Dr. Diehl is a licensed dentist and served 24 years in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, retiring as a commander in 1996. He received the American Dental Association's 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award for informatics standards activities. He joined the American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics in the early 1980s where he helped to advance medical informatics standards activities. Dr. Diehl is also a U.S. delegate to the International Standards Organization'sCommittee on Health Informatics.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education and chemistry from Kutztown University, a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Temple University, a Master of Arts in health services management and computer data management from Webster University and a Master of Public Health from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Diehl also earned ADP certification with president's honors from the City Colleges of Chicago.

Contact the Center for Adult and Continuing Education at (570) 674-1225 or visit www.misericordia.edu.