Health Informatics and Information Management

An introduction to the US healthcare system and the role of informatics. Examines clinical, research, and administrative applications of information technology applications used by healthcare professionals. The course will cover the history of the field, an introduction to clinical data, electronic health records, decision support systems, computerized order entry, and consumer applications.

Prepares students to appraise, implement, and optimize Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology to support the utilization and management of clinical information. Students will describe information infrastructure, data, and databases; employ processes for implementing healthcare information systems and clinical decision support tools; relate privacy and security issues to healthcare information; and explain personal health records and EHR applications used in acute, ambulatory, and specialty services.

Explore human factors principles and the application of usability assessments for the development and use of health information technology by clinicians and patients. The course covers the role of human factors and human-computer interactions in medicine, usability assessments and user-centered design, and theories of cognition, memory, and technology.

Examine the field of consumer health informatics and apply analytic methods, system analysis and design, and research methods to address issues related to patient use of health information for individual decision-making. Students will also apply current theoretical models and research to gain knowledge regarding the information structures that facilitate patient engagement.

Strategies for designing, implementing, auditing and evaluating the technical, physical and human components of an information security system that adheres to a healthcare organization’s legal, ethical and organizational requirements

A capstone seminar in which students present the results of their Final Research Projects and explore current issues relative to the field of Health Informatics in a rapidly changing healthcare delivery system. All health informatics students will conduct a formal presentation of their final research project. Faculty, staff, the student body, and the public will be invited to each presentation. The presentations are held virtually and aired live as well as recorded for later viewing. Enrolled students will present the background, research question/hypotheses, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions based on their research from their final research project.

Working closely with the instructor, each student completes the applied research project and prepares a final manuscript that can be submitted for potential publication in a peer-reviewed journal or conference proceedings. The goal of the final applied research project is to increase students' research competencies through actively engaging in the research process. Not only will this further the student's education, but there is the potential that a student will have their work published and recognized by health informatics researchers and professionals.

Introduction to computer programming with a focus on the phases of the systems development life cycle. Topics include: preliminary investigation, physical and logical documentation, detailed investigation of requirements and alternative specifications, analysis and design techniques, implementation considerations, development of logical and physical data flow diagrams, data modeling, prototyping, and tools.

Topics in Health Informatics.

Studies terminology common to medicine; utilizing word elements as a basis for building medical terms and analyzing meanings; defining, pronouncing, and spelling commonly used medical terms; conversion of layman’s terms to appropriate medical terminology. In addition, terminology of specific medical allied health specialties (surgery, dentistry, radiology, etc.) and abbreviations are reviewed.

Introduces the variety of drugs used for disease treatment for each body system. A general understanding of how drugs work, their potential and limitations, as well as their diversity and number will be explored.

Introduces the field of health information management. Content areas include an overview of the electronic patient record, professional roles within the field, professional organizations and the professional Code of Ethics; the content and structure of manual, computerized and hybrid health record and the standards that govern the development of the record within a health care facility; viewing medical documents and e-forms. Hands-on lab experience will be used by students to develop their confidence and competence with employing this type of clinical information technology in the practice of their profession.

Applies technology to HIM practice including electronic health records, clinical information systems, and management information systems in HIM. Hands on experience with electronic systems and technology applications for creating, managing, and storing and retrieving electronic health data will be used by students to develop their confidence and competence with employing this type of clinical information technology in the practice of their profession.

Includes courses not a part of the regular Health Information Management curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity.

Studies of the U.S. judicial system; hospital, medical staff and other professional liability; health information as evidence; consent for treatment; retention and release of medical information; the health record as a legal document; risk management, prevention and potential; confidentiality of health information; and a patient's right to know.

Focuses on the roles of classification systems, vocabularies, and terminologies in the healthcare setting. Topics include the collection, maintenance, utilization, and retrieval of specified healthcare code sets, clinical terminologies, classification systems and data in healthcare facilities. The course will focus on the application of standard code sets most commonly used in healthcare facilities in the U.S.

Focuses on the roles of coding management, clinical terminology standards, and administrative data sets in the healthcare setting. The course will focus on the methods and processes used to ensure efficient and compliant coding operations and will explore current and emerging reimbursement methodologies in healthcare in the U.S. The course also addresses the structure, collection and utilization of commonly used clinical terminology standards and explores the relationship between clinical data standards and processes to achieve standardization in health information exchange.

Includes courses not a part of the regular Health Information Management curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity.

Managing coded data in healthcare organizations; uniform data sets and healthcare informatics standards for health data collection; evaluation of data quality; DRGs, MS-DRGs and other case mix systems; revenue cycle management; data collection for enterprise; reportable and specialized databases; data mining of healthcare data.

Calculates meaningful clinical, administrative, vital, and public health statistics; addresses medical staff organization and function; evaluation of patient care; clinical information analysis; integrated quality improvement activities; patient safety; case management; utilization management; risk management; and performance improvement processes.

Focuses on the concepts, principles, tools, and strategies utilized in managing operations within a performance improvement model. It includes problem solving and decision making models as well as tools and techniques for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the available resources which comprise a Health Information Service.

Provides a foundation for designing databases and analyzing healthcare data to enhance clinical and administrative decision-making. Topics include database management, data analysis, data reporting, SQL, statistics, data mining, and data visualization. Students will have practical experience with software applications used in the healthcare industry.

Analyzes health record content and format; regulatory and accreditation requirements; privacy & security requirements, data standards and classification systems; computerized information systems; reimbursement and compliance issues; quality measures and reporting, and current trends and issues in a variety of types of primary healthcare settings.

Focuses on the role of applied research in health care services, health informatics, and health information management. Topics include research design, research methods, evaluation and outcomes research, research process, data analysis, the data-to-information-to-knowledge continuum, and ethical issues in research. Students will analyze published research projects, develop a research proposal and data collection tool(s), prepare an IRB submission, conduct and present the results of an applied research study.

Focuses on the common functions, procedures and staffing requirements in hospital-based health information services.

This is a supervised professional practice experience (internship) that includes managerial or other related professional practice roles and experience in health information management departments and other health information related areas. Hospitals, medical centers, clinics and alternative healthcare facilities across the United States are used. An administrative project, visits with users of health information (finance, decision support, registries, etc.) or unique healthcare facilities or agencies are an integral component of the clinical internship.

Seminar is a student-centered experience revolving around internship experiences. Students discuss and present professional practice experiences; share learning experiences, and present project work. In addition, employment preparation and career opportunities are a focus. HIM professionals in unique career settings are invited to interact with the students. Preparation for the credentialing examination is explored to help the student transition successfully into the professional world.

Includes courses not a part of the regular Health Information Management curriculum but taught because of a special need, interest or opportunity.

Focuses on advanced investigation in an area of special interest. Topic must be approved by the department chair; may be related to a problem existing in a healthcare facility or may be research oriented.

Focused on providing students with the expertise to conceptualize and strategically plan and build the appropriate health information infrastructure for supporting the knowledge requirements of the healthcare organization. Topics to be addressed include information systems theory and strategic planning; clinical information systems applications and operations analysis, data and technical infrastructures for the electronic health records; information system acquisition and implementation, and the regulatory, standards and ethical environments and future trends of health information systems.

Addresses database theory, methodologies for database design and issues related to database administration. Emphasis is on requirements and methodologies for assuring data integrity and security in healthcare enterprise information systems, specifically in relationship to the database environment.

Covers the techniques, strategies and the need/use of Information Technology (IT) tools for data collection, data analysis, reporting and knowledge management. Offers learners the foundational terminology, concepts, models, processes and tools associated with decision support and knowledge management systems to leverage data into information and knowledge to enhance care processes, data quality, cost effectiveness and decision-making, ultimately increasing the strategic acumen of the organization.

Build on knowledge and proper use of medical vocabularies and classification systems commonly used in contemporary healthcare systems. Clinical and administrative data standards are necessary for semantic interoperability which enables effective exchange of health information. Emphasis is placed on learning about medical vocabularies and classification systems for an area of domain coverage in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Working with an assigned Final Applied Project advisor, the student completes the applied project and prepares a project report to be submitted to the department for final approval. The goal of the Final Applied Project is to increase students' cognitive sophistication through an activity that requires reading, thinking, and writing, to only further the student's education, and make a meaningful contribution to HIM practice.

A capstone seminar in which students present the results of their Final Applied Projects and explore current issues relative to the field of Health Information Management in a rapidly changing health care delivery system.

Explores the complex connections among strategy, leadership, change management and emerging issues in healthcare. Focuses on collaborative problem solving, strategic planning, thinking and management skills in health care with emphasis on the phases of business planning, implementation and evaluation while emphasizing the importance of leaders’ capacity to anticipate, envision, and work collaboratively toward a viable organizational future. This course prepares students to embrace innovation and planning to ensure successful execution.

Orients students to the methods and tools used for conducting research. Students will gain an understanding of the research process, including how to identify research problems, create appropriate research questions and hypotheses, and rationalize the importance of evaluating the problem. Additionally, the course will cover ethical considerations in research, including methods for ensuring the protection of human subjects. Students will apply their learning by creating a complete research proposal. The proposal will address a research problem related to their discipline of training, and students will prepare an application for review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). By the end of the course, students will have gained a foundational understanding of research methods and will be prepared to conduct ethical and effective research in their field.

Addresses a growing need to adequately train health care leaders in the field of health care compliance and various topics in health care compliance, including corporate compliance (fraud and abuse), privacy, risk management and identity theft. Essential elements of a corporate compliance program will be presented as well as primary federal legislation addressing fraud and abuse. Privacy of patient information will be discussed in terms of the HIPAA and HITECH regulations. Risk management concepts will be presented as well as identity theft as relates to medical identity theft.

Focuses on the concepts, principles, tools and strategies utilized in managing operations within a performance improvement model. The course includes tools and techniques for planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and improving productivity and performance in Health Information Management. All of these concepts are addressed through the lens of various leadership theories and strategies.

A special offering presented by the HIM graduate program to present new and/or emerging developments in the field of health information management.

Opportunity available, with the approval of the graduate advisor, for a student to pursue a special project or special studies in an area of health information management that is not covered by the existing curriculum.