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MSHI Curriculum

The MSHI degree is an innovative program in Health Informatics, an emergent field at the intersection of information, people, process, and technology within healthcare organizations. The 39-credit curriculum is developed in accordance with the Health Informatics Competencies established by the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Courses for the MSHI program are offered online, providing the convenience of completing the degree remotely. Upon completion of the MSHI program, graduates will demonstrate competency in the following areas:

  • Health
  • Information Science and Technology
  • Social and Behavioral Science
  • Health Information Science and Technology
  • Human Factors and Socio-Technical Systems
  • Social and Behavioral Aspects of Health
  • Social, Behavioral, and Information Science and Technology Applied to Health
  • Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
  • Professionalism
  • Leadership

Degree Requirements

Students pursuing the MSHI degree are required to complete 30 credits of core courses associated with three foundational domains -- Health, Information Science & Technology, and Social & Behavioral Science - and 9 credits of courses in an area of specialization (track). Although not required, students can also earn credit for an applied internship within a healthcare facility and/or complete a thesis or large informatics project. All students will be required to develop a Professional Portfolio that must be approved by a committee of faculty before the MSHI degree is conferred.

 

Health Informatics Core Course Work (required)

30 credits

Track / Specialization (required)

9 credits

Required Course Work (Includes Professional Portfolio)

39 credits

Course Work plus Internship (optional)

42 credits

Course Work plus Thesis or Project (optional)

42 credits

Course Work plus Thesis/Project + Internship (optional)

45 credits

Total Required Credits plus Optional Credits

39 to 45 credits

 

Health Informatics Core Courses

30 credits

Students will take core courses in the following foundational domains based on the CAHIIM accreditation requirements:

  • Health (18 credits)
  • Information Science & Technology (9 credits)
  • Social & Behavioral Science (3 credits)

Health Core Courses - 18 credits

HI 5500

U.S. Health System

3

HI 5520

Health Informatics

3

HCA 5560

Healthcare Quality and Performance Improvement

3

HCA 5575

Health Law and Bioethics

3

HI 5522

Health Information Governance

3

HI 6670

Managing Health Informatics Projects

3

Information Science & Technology Core Courses - 9 credits

HI 5530

Health Informatics Application Development

3

HI 6635

Health Information Systems & Interoperability

3

HI 6631

Healthcare Database Design

3

Social and Behavioral Core Courses - 3 credits

HI 6625

Social and Behavior Aspects of Healthcare

3

Total Credits

30

 

 

Specialization / Track Courses

9 credits

Student will obtain specialized knowledge in an area of healthcare by taking courses in a track of their choice, selecting from the available tracks listed below.

  • General Informatics Track -- Upon approval by the Program Director of Health Informatics, students will select three courses (9 credits) from any of the other tracks. Upon completion of this track, students will have broad knowledge of several areas within the Health Informatics discipline.
  • Rural Health Informatics Track -- This track will focus on utilization of informatics theories, concepts, and methodologies to address challenges of providing healthcare in rural areas and providing rural healthcare providers with access to tools needed to better serve rural patient populations. Students completing this track will be skilled and prepared to serve as technical specialists and community support consultants in enhancing care in rural communities.
  • Clinical Informatics Track -- The focus of this track is application of informatics and information technology in the delivery of healthcare services. Emphasis will be placed on utilizing healthcare information to enhance quality of care, increase patient safety and enhancing patient outcomes. Upon completion of this track, students will have the knowledge and skills to work within the clinical environment as a Health Informaticist.
  • Data Science & Analytics Track -- Data science and analytics is an interdisciplinary field devoted to understanding scientific methods, processes, and systems to extract (mine) data in order to develop insights and inferences from healthcare data to enhance healthcare and patient outcomes. Upon completion of this track, students will have acquired data mining and analytical skills necessary to serve as quality data analysts, data scientists, improvement analysts, and/or evaluation specialists.
  • Consumer (Personal) Health Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2021 Rollout) -- The consumer health informatics track focuses on use of health informatics by consumers/patients. Emphasis will be placed on techniques and tools to enable patients and consumers to engage with clinicians, preventative medicine, and monitoring and controlling disease. Upon completion of this track, students will be equipped to serve as an Informaticist in the development, implementation, and/or support of tools utilized by patients and family members to manage their healthcare.
  • Population Health Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2022 Rollout) -- The focal point of the population health informatics track is application of informatics in areas of public health, including surveillance, prevention, preparedness, and health promotion. This track will prepare students to develop applications and/or analyze healthcare data looking for patterns associated with patient populations.
  • Clinical Research Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2022 Rollout) -- The Clinical Research Informatics track focuses on the use of informatics in the discovery and management of new knowledge relating to health and disease. This track will focus on enhancing care and outcomes entry into a PhD program and/or to pursue a career in health or biomedical informatics research.

Tracks / Specializations

 

General Health Informatics Track – Customized Track

 

Upon approval of HI Program Director, students will select 9 credits from other tracks to comprise a general track

Track Course 1 – Selected course from tracks below

3

Track Course 2 – Selected course from tracks below

3

Track Course 3 – Selected course from tracks below

3

Rural Health Informatics Track

 

HI 5540

Fundamentals of Rural Healthcare

3

HI 6641

Rural Health Informatics

3

HI 5542

Rural Health Research and Community Enrichment

3

Clinical Informatics Track

 

HI 6528

Electronic Health Records & Decision Support Systems

3

HI 5524

Healthcare Workflow Process

3

HI 6620

Evaluation & Implementation Methods in Healthcare

3

Data Science & Analytics Track

 

HI 5526

Health Data Analytics

3

HI 5534

Data Visualization

3

HI 6636

Natural Language Processing

3

Consumer (Personal) Health Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2021 Rollout)

 

HI 6627

Consumer Health Informatics

3

HI 5528

Consumer Behavior Theory & Technology

3

HI 5529

Enhancing the Patient Experience & Satisfaction

3

Population Health Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2022 Rollout)

 

HI 6637

Fundamentals of Population Health

3

HI 6638

Population Health Informatics

3

MPH 6601

Applications in Epidemiology

3

Clinical Research Informatics Track (Anticipated Fall 2022 Rollout)

 

MPH 6602

Biostatistics

3

HI 6610

Qualitative Research Methods in Healthcare

3

HI 6612

Scientific Writing and Publication

3

Professional Portfolio Development (required) -- Throughout the MSHI degree, students will be required to develop a professional portfolio demonstrating achievement of core competencies, knowledge, and skill in the three foundational domains essential to Health Informatics. In selected MSHI courses, students will complete assignments that provide the opportunity to acquire such knowledge, skill, and competencies. Deliverables of these key assignments will be added to the professional portfolio. The student will develop the portfolio under the guidance and direction of the Health Informatics Program Director.

In the final semester, students will present their portfolio to a committee of faculty to demonstrate their level of knowledge and competency. The faculty committee, comprised of the Health Informatics Program Director and an additional two graduate faculty, will assess the oral defense and the portfolio document and cast a vote regarding their approval of the portfolio, i.e., their view as to whether the student has reached an acceptable level of competency. The student must receive approval from the committee (pass the defense) before the degree is conferred. If the student does not pass the oral defense, under the direction of the Health Informatics Program Director, they will have the opportunity to complete additional assignments and/or courses to increase their level of competency. Students will have two chances at the oral defense of the portfolio.

Thesis or Project (3 optional credits) -- Although not required to obtain a MSHI degree, students may complete a Master's Thesis or a large Health Informatics Project under the direction of the Program Director.

HI 6650

Health Informatics Thesis

1-6

HI 6660

Health Informatics Project

3

Applied Healthcare Internship (3 optional credits) -- To gain real-world experience, students may complete an internship within a healthcare organization. Students selecting this option are required to complete a minimum of a 180-hour internship within a healthcare organization. During the internship, the student will complete a large healthcare informatics project under the direct of the preceptor and the Health Informatics Program Director.

HI 6540

Health Informatics Internship

3

Request More Information

 

Want to learn more about the MSHI? Contact Dr. Velma Payne by email at Paynvelm@isu.edu or by phone (208-373-1952), to schedule a meeting or receive additional information.

 

 

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