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Program - Health Informatics
• Purposes, Goals and Objectives
• M.P.H. Curriculum
• Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics
• Faculty
• Program Course Descriptions
Denton Brosius, Ph.D.,
Associate Program Director, Health Informatics
The New York Medical College School of Public Health graduate program in Health Informatics offers a curriculum leading to the MPH degree as well as a non-degree post-baccalaureate certificate. The purpose of the curriculum is to prepare individuals for a career in the management of health care and public health information systems. The curriculum stresses the retrieval, organization, management, synthesis and communication of health-related information and knowledge.
The delivery of health care is inextricably entwined with the management of information. The Health Informatics Program provides a specific focus on the practical application and management of information systems in support of health care providers and public health organizations. Our close affiliation with major regional health care facilities provides unique opportunities for practical experience in the integration of information systems in the health care environment.
Quality improvement, cost efficiency, productivity and outcome measurement are dependent upon several factors including:
- The ability to obtain comprehensive, accurate, and current health care data.
- The integration of data from diverse sources into a format suitable for application to clinical processes.
- The effective evaluation of risk and management of clinical processes using accepted quantitative methods.
- The ability to summarize complex information in a format which will be effective in modifying patient, provider, and administrative behavior and facilitate systematic change.
All these factors rely heavily upon the effective use and management of computer information systems. Clearly, there exists a need for professionals educated in both the health sciences and in information systems.
Purposes, Goals and Objectives
Health Informatics (HI) focuses on the application of computer information systems to health care and public health. Informatics extends beyond simply using the computer as a tool for computation into the process of knowledge acquisition, storage, retrieval, representation, and manipulation. A major focus of Informatics is the support of information systems for reasoning, decision-making, and learning. Health Informatics encompasses the fields of information science, computer information systems, and educational technology in support of health care delivery, education, and management. The graduate program in Health Informatics at New York Medical College's School of Public Health combines broad education in the health sciences and public health combined with a strong focus on the information sciences.
The major goal of this program is to educate professionals who will evaluate, use, and manage the application of information methods and computers in the health care and public health environments. This program emphasizes the retrieval, organization, integration, and effective management and communication of information and knowledge. Positions appropriate for graduates of this program include Healthcare Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) Managers, IS and IT Consultants, Systems Analysts and administrators in offices of health information management systems.
A master of public health (M.P.H.) degree and a certificate program are offered.
This curriculum is offered as a degree track under the program in Health Quantitative Sciences, the division of the School of Public Health which focuses on the analysis, management, and presentation of health data.
Curriculum
The master's degree in Health Informatics requires a 45-46 credit course of study that can be completed in 2 years (full-time) or 3-4 years (part-time). The curriculum includes the common core of courses required of all MPH students at New York Medical College's School of Public Health. Additional courses within the HI concentration provides students with expertise in a wide spectrum of the information sciences. Students completing the curriculum will be knowledgeable in database design, computer security, networking and the Internet, visual and object-oriented programming, and human-computer interactions.
A major focus of the program is to educate students to employ expertise in the information sciences to effectively deploy and manage health information systems in a real-world environment. To facilitate this goal, courses in the Health Informatics track employ case studies and information systems-based student projects to emphasize practical application of lecture material. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in ongoing Health Informatics projects at New York Medical College and affiliated institutions. Examples of current projects include:
- Creating a Clinical Decision Support System for Primary Care Physicians. Department of Medicine, New York Medical College.
- Implementation of Internet-based distance learning. Westchester Institute for Human Development.
Development of a system for on-line acquisition and analysis of electrophysiological data. Department of Physiology, New York Medical College.
- Design of software for optimization of ultrasound-guided prostate radiotherapy. Department of Radiology, Westchester Medical Center.
- World Wide Web site development in the Health Sciences. School of Public Health, New York Medical College.
- Finally, all students are required to complete a capstone internship at a Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) facility.
As with all tracks in the Graduate School, the Informatics curriculum is divided into three broad areas:
- the health core courses required of all masters of public health students
- the track concentration courses required of students within a specified track
- elective courses
The following courses are all 3 credits, unless otherwise noted.
M.P.H. Curriculum - 45 - 46 credits
- Required core courses:
Health Care in the United States
Health Economics
Behavioral and Social Aspects of Public Health
Environmental Influences on Human Health
Health Quantitative Sciences I
Health Quantitative Sciences II
Thesis
Practicum (1 credit)
- Required concentration courses:
Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences
Information systems concepts and Languages
Management of Health Information Systems
Systems Analysis and Design
Database Management Systems
Distributed Information Systems and Networks
- For Practicum and electives: See Academic Advisor
Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics
This 15-credit certificate program is designed to educate individuals in the core concepts of computer-based health information management. This focused learning experience will enhance the credentials of those currently practicing in the fields of health care and public health. The certificate may serve as an entry into further study toward a graduate degree in Health Informatics. The certificate program comprises the following components:
· Overview of Health Informatics as a profession
· Quantitative evaluation of health data
· Management of information systems in a health care or
public health environment
· Health information systems analysis and design (from a general
health sciences point of view or from a clinical point of view)
· An in-depth study of one major health information system
component (database, network, or decisions support)
Required courses: 15 credits
Health Quantitative Sciences I
Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences
Management of Health Information Systems
and either Systems Analysis and Design or Clinical Decision Analysis
Plus one of the following:
· Database Management Systems
· Distributed Information Systems and Networks
· Decision Support Systems
Health Care in the United States
This course provides a comprehensive overview of healthcare programs and policies in the United States. Lectures enable students to understand the major constituencies involved in healthcare and introduce them to current public health issues, healthcare delivery systems, and factors that determine health policy
Health Quantitative Sciences I
This course, the first of two methodology courses, provides an introduction to the uses and interpretations of measures of health and disease. The course covers principles of epidemiology, measures of disease frequency and screening, and stresses applications of these concepts. Normal and binomial distributions and the idea of sampling distributions are introduced. Computer manipulation of data is also introduced.
Health Quantitative Sciences II
The second course in the Health Quantitative Sciences series concentrates on methods of evaluating risk and assessing differences among groups. Observational and experimental study designs are discussed and applied to medical research. Bivariate statistical tests, including parametric and non-parametric procedures, and computations for risk ratios are covered. Students are exposed to data management and analysis using statistical packages. Prerequisite: Health Quantitative Science I
Health Economics
This course explores the concepts of scarcity, social choice, rationing, resource allocation, efficiency, investment, and market forces and their relationship to health services delivery and health policy. A variety of analytical principles and methods are examined and applied to issues including healthcare financing, cost containment, regulation, access, insurance, productivity, and program evaluation.
Behavioral and Social Aspects of Public Health
An overview and introduction to the way in which behavioral and social factors contribute to health. The course covers a wide range of topics: theories of behavioral science which have been applied to health behaviors; socio-cultural factors in disease etiology and the role of social conditions and social policy in addressing critical public health problems; individual, group, community, and technology-based strategies for health behavior change; and current issues in behavioral science for health promotion including its application to achieving the Healthy People 2010 goals.
Environmental Influences on Human Health
This survey of the major environmental determinants of human health covers physical, chemical and biological sources of exposure; routes of exposure in humans; etiology of environmental disease and mortality; and the complexities of environmental public policy. Topics include airborne pollution, contaminated water and food, solid and hazardous waste, and risk assessment as a tool for regulation. Students have the opportunity to tour a local public works facility.
Introduction To Computers And Informatics In The Health Sciences (prerequisite: permission of instructor)
An in-depth study of the use of computers and Informatics in biomedical applications. Hardware, software, and applications programming. Data collection, analysis, and presentation studied within application areas such as patient monitoring, medical records, computer-aided diagnoses, computer-aided instruction, M.D.-assistance programs, laboratory processing, wave form analysis, hospital information systems, and medical information systems.
Information Systems Concepts And Languages
Introduces the student to the computer concepts that underlie the development of information systems. Addresses current operating systems (DOS, OS/2, UNIX, Windows/NT), their interfaces, and features available to the user. Also included is an overview of a structured visual programming language (Visual BASIC or Borland C++ Builder). Prerequisite: One Undergraduate programming course or equivalent
Management Of Health Information Systems
The goal of this course is to provide the student with a clear understanding of the various management, organizational, and ethical issues involved in the information systems function in the heath sciences environment. Also addresses some of the possible approaches available for effective management of IS resources. (Prerequisites: Health Care in the United States, and Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences)
Systems Analysis And Design
This course is designed to give students the skill to develop information systems using the Information Engineering methodology. Covers IS planning activities and stresses modeling, healthcare business area analysis, and Health Sciences system design techniques. An ongoing project, coupled with the sustained use of integrated Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools forms a central theme of the course. (Prerequisite: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences)
Database Management Systems
This course is designed to familiarize the students with data base management systems. Database concepts, data modeling and database implementation are discussed.. Emphasis is on the data-oriented system design methodology. Issues related to planning, design, organization, and administration of clinical databases will be discussed. Students perform logical and physical design of the database for a health sciences case study problem using a CASE tool in groupware environment. Implementation in a PC environment, like Access or SQL-Server, and the use of tools like Visual Basic, C++Builder, Delphi, PowerBase and Crystal Reports is required. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences and Information Systems Concepts and Languages)
Distributed Information Systems And Networks
Designed to give students an understanding of distributed computing, its underlying technologies, and the concepts needed to design communication architectures to meet distributed systems requirements of a health sciences environment. Also addresses management of these systems, and the role of open standards for distributed systems. Technologies covered include local area networks, wide-area networks (including the Internet and World Wide Web), client/server systems and distributed databases. (Prerequisite: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences and Information Systems Concepts and Languages)
Elective Courses
To fulfill their program requirements, students, with the assistance of their academic advisor may select courses from a variety of courses within the Health Informatics track or from other programs in the Graduate School. Courses from other programs that may satisfy the degree requirements are courses in statistics and epidemiology (e.g., Intermediate Biostatistics, Regression and Analysis of Variance, Logistic Regression, Applied Epidemiology, and Advanced Epidemiology), as well as courses in fields relating to health management (e.g., Grants and Contract Development, Business Planning in Health Care Organizations).
Electives available in the Health Informatics track are:
Object-Oriented And Visual Programming Paradigms
This course is designed to help students create object-oriented health science information systems by modeling objects in the real world. This model is then used to generate a design that is independent of language and or environment. As a final step, mapping to a specific language (Object Pascal or C++) is also addressed. Given the trend towards rapid application development, the use of visual development environments (Visual BASIC, C++ Builder, Delphi) is also addressed. The course stresses object and modeling during the analysis stage; it addresses macro and micro development processes during the design stage. Issues relating to reuse, quality assurance, documentation, and maintenance of objects is also covered. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences and Information Systems Concepts and Languages)
Clinical Decision Analysis
Using formal methods for analyzing complex patient-management problems. Structuring problems as trees. Applying data from the literature to estimate the likelihood of outcomes. Quantitating the value of health outcomes. Calculating the strength of preference for one strategy over others. Decision analysis as a guide to clinical research and as a policy tool. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences and Health Quantitative Sciences I & II)
Digital Computers and their Application in Health Care
For students desiring an intensive exposure to medical computer application. The flexible format of the course permits a variety of projects in computer medicine. Examples include projects in medical databases; interactive patient interviewing; computer-aided instruction; patient/physician education; data collection, organization, retrieval, display, and analysis; and M.D.-assist programs. (Prerequisite: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences, Information Systems Concepts and Languages, and Management of Health Information Systems)
Decision Support Systems
This course focuses on computer-based systems aimed at supporting decision making in healthcare or public health organizations. It provides an overview of human decision-making, contrasting individual and pluralistic decision processes and models, and outlining the support needed for them. Architectural issues, as well as methodologies for developing these support tools, are addressed. A design-oriented perspective is adopted, based on the notion that systematic design will engender more effective support. Development of a prototype system forms part of the course. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences, Management of Health Information Systems, and Systems Analysis and Design)
Applied Computer Simulation in the Biomedical Sciences
The intent of this course is to provide students with the ability to use simulation as a problem-solving tool. Issues concerning measurement, understanding dynamic systems, and feedback and control as they apply to real world systems are covered. Validation and verification of models is also stressed. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences, and Health Quantitative Sciences I & II)
Emerging Information Technologies in the Health Sciences
This course introduces students to technologies that they will be exposed to in the Health Sciences IS environment. It also covers basic concepts for IS. It involves lectures and demonstrations of emerging and potentially popular new information technologies, and labs for hands-on application and experimentation with the technology. Other activities includes field trips, guest speaker sessions, etc. The content of this course will vary with time. (Prerequisites: Introduction to Informatics in the Health Sciences, and Information Systems Concepts and Languages)
Thesis
It is expected that the thesis will be an original scholarly work involving an analysis of new or existing date on a subject relevant to the field of health informatics. It should be noted that theses may require review and approval by the university's Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to initiation of any thesis work. Students should work through their program director to determine whether their thesis topic requires IRB review. Further, students must maintain regular contact with their program director during their thesis work to insure that their activities continue to meet the standards and regulations governing health care research.
Practicum
Students beginning their M.P.H. studies in the Fall 2000 semester or later must complete a practicum. This is to assure that students have practical experience to support academic skills and information acquired within the broad filed of public health before they enter the world of public health practice. To fulfill this requirement, students will generally register for a one-credit pass/fail course in excess of the 45 credits required for the degree. Students who can demonstrate appropriate practice experience prior to beginning their M.P.H. studies may apply for a waiver.
Students
Students in this program come from a range of educational and employment backgrounds. Consistent with the quantitative tracks of epidemiology and biostatistics, we attract students with recent baccalaureate degrees in the areas of biomedical sciences, computer sciences, or information systems. However, as evidenced by these tracks, we also generate interest among older students with a substantial work history. These backgrounds include:
- Individuals currently employed as administrators in the health care sector.
- Individuals currently employed in the information technology sector.
- Health care professionals (Physicians, Mid-level practitioners, Registered Nurses)
- Medical Students
Application requirements. Applicants should have a minimum of a bachelor's degree with a major in a science-related field as well as three or more years of work experience in a health- or computer-related field. We also have applicants with advanced degrees who wish to specialize in Informatics in a health care or public health setting.
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 from their undergraduate studies. Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 may enter as non-matriculants. Non-matriculants may file for matriculant status after they have successfully completed 9 graduate credits with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Applicants are expected to have significant computer or information systems experience prior to matriculation. This experience may be obtained from a formal educational program or from work experience. Experience in one programming language (preferably 'C' or Java) and familiarity with basic windows-based computer applications is required. Deficiencies in these areas may be removed by specific course work.
Faculty
Faculty for the program are drawn from sources within the University and from the surrounding community. The University has several faculty members within each of the schools with expertise in a variety of areas of information processing, computing, and networking. Moreover, the campus is located within an area that is rich in information technology resources. The headquarters of IBM and several of its satellite facilities are located only a short distance from the campus. We draw on the expertise available in the University and the community in order to recruit quality faculty for the program.
Expected outcomes
The purpose of the curriculum is to prepare individuals for a career in the management of health information systems. The curriculum stresses the retrieval, organization, management, synthesis, and communication of health-related information and knowledge. Graduates of the program are expected to attain competency in five areas:
Applied User Skills:
Graduates will have basic literacy in computer skills, as demonstrated by proficiency in word processing, literature searching, spreadsheets, electronic communications, Internet use, and graphics and slide presentation.
Research Methods:
Graduates will demonstrate basic proficiency in experimental design, data acquisition, information processing, data analysis, evaluation and writing skills. In addition, graduates will understand issues relating to the responsible conduct of research, including ethical issues, informed consent, privacy, and the function of the Institutional Review Board.
Computer Science:
- Computer Programming and Data Structures. Graduates will be able to design, implement, document, and debug computer programs using a modern, visual programming environment. They will also understand basic data structures concepts such as lists, trees, and graphs.
- Database Management Systems. Graduates should understand the different types of database structures including flat-file, relational, object-oriented and object-relational. They should know how to use standard methods of data modeling, relational design, implementation, testing and evaluation. There will be particular emphasis on understanding the enterprise-wide electronic health care record and in designing information systems for a managed care environment.
- Computer Networks. Students will acquire a practical understanding of the hardware and software components of local and wide-area computer networks, including the Internet, World Wide Web, and the National Information Infrastructure. They will be able to apply computer networks for the delivery of health-related data and information, and will become familiar with the areas of telemedicine and teleinformatics.
Information Science:
- Medical Coding Systems. Students will understand the concepts of thesaurus and coding systems for cataloging, information and data retrieval, controlled vocabulary, and standard nomenclature. In addition, they will understand the issues involved in information and data entry and retrieval required to connect diverse information systems across the enterprise.
- Information Search and Retrieval. Students will understand the various types of text retrieval systems and the concepts of indexing and cataloging. They will be aware of the health care information resources available including the National Library of Medicine databases, and WWW-based search engines.
Health Care and Health Care Systems:
- Content and Organization of Health Care. Students will understand the organization of the health care system and the services it provides. They will be familiar with medical terminology and the roles and information needs of different health care professionals.
- Health Care Information Systems. Students will have a basic understanding of medical informatics, hospital information systems, decision support systems, and the technical requirements of electronic medical records, telemedicine, and managed care. They will be familiar with the design, evaluation, and management of information systems across a spectrum of health care systems including laboratories, clinics, medical offices, radiology departments, home health care, and health education. They will also understand the evaluation and analysis of health information systems, health care decision support systems, and enterprise-wide health care record systems.
Summary
The graduate program in Health Informatics at New York Medical College's School of Public Health provides an educational opportunity distinct from other graduate programs in our region. The program has not been designed to provide a technical education in systems development or in Medical Informatics research and teaching; nor does it aim to educate professionals in general business administration. The Health Informatics program provides a specific focus on the practical application and management of information systems in support of health care providers and public health organizations. Our close affiliation with major regional health care facilities provides unique opportunities for practical experience in the integration of information systems in the health care environment.
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