As part of the MBA in Healthcare Management, you could opt for specialisation in Health Information Technology which aims to prepare professionals who can work as IT managers in Hospitals and Healthcare organisations. Graduates preferably from Engineering / Technology background can opt for the specialisation in HIT.
Specialisation in Health Information Technology
Healthcare is the largest segment of GDP in most countries, accounting for 12-18% of the GDP of the country. Healthcare delivery worldwide is challenged with high costs that are constantly growing. However, over 50% of these costs are wasted on inefficient administration and procedures, creating a massive cost burden on the economy.
The value of using healthcare information technology to improve patient care and reduce costs is now being recognized across the globe. Steve Ballmer (Former CEO, Microsoft) states, “The number one issue we face in health care is keeping quality high while reducing costs. Moving medical records online will improve the way health care is delivered – computing will deliver greater efficiency to medicine.”
While access to funding has become easier, most hospitals and healthcare organizations are facing significant challenges in deploying and using HIT:
- Substantial industry shift from paper-based processes to electronic processes (e.g. electronic medical / health records)
- The cost and complexity of HIT implementation
- Lack of qualified software/technology professionals needed for HIT implementations
As countries transform their healthcare system over the next 10-15 years, there is a need to make strong investments in building the HIT ecosystem – HIT infrastructure, HIT applications, HIT professionals and end-user training. Technology outsourcing organizations are likely to play an important part in supporting this transformation – especially organizations which have the ability to provide healthcare domain expertise coupled with the ability to offer both local and offshore services.
From a future perspective, healthcare IT is a very exciting field.
- Specialised domain knowledge: HIT professionals builds deep healthcare domain knowledge – across healthcare standards, applications, workflows and regulations
- New technologies: HIT is increasingly using latest technologies including mobile, cloud computing, web technologies, and advanced BI/analytics
- Differentiated skills: Given that HIT is a relatively new field, it provides an excellent opportunity to build differentiated skills – a key to a long-term successful career
- Global opportunities: Strong global demand for experienced HIT professionals
Interesting Career Opportunities in Health Information Technology
Today, healthcare IT is a booming, global industry that presents a vast number of opportunities for professionals worldwide. Career opportunities in this burgeoning field cater to a wide variety of technology skills and interests. There is an opportunity to build extensive healthcare domain expertise – and you don’t need a medical degree to have a successful career in healthcare IT!
HIT professionals have the opportunity to work in a wide range of areas including:
- Clinical Applications
- Healthcare Business Intelligence and Analytics
- Healthcare interoperability
- Consumer health and population care management
- Cloud Computing and Mobile Health
- Compliance, information privacy, and security
- Architecture – design and architect healthcare applications and systems
- Software development – build enterprise-class applications in healthcare
- BI / ETL – integrate and analyze healthcare data to enhance care and cost performance for better decisions
During the course of the semester, students who would opt for doing specialization in Healthcare Information Technology will get to cover the following courses –
- Introduction to Healthcare Software Engineering/ Introduction to Web Tools/ Database Management System /Healthcare IT Standards and Health Information Exchange /Clinical Health
- Information System/ Regulatory Aspects and IT Security Operations / Basic Bioinformatics and Translational Bioinformatics
- Introduction to Java / Object Relational Database Management System / Data mining
