Prospectus for Proposed Masters of Science in Healthcare Management and Informatics Degree Program
I. Justification of Need - Employment or Industry Need
In 2009, Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, estimated a need for an
additional 50,000 individuals trained to meet President Barack Obama's goal of all Americans having their medical records in
electronic format by 2014. The needs are equally strong beyond the US in the rest of the world and for professionals beyond
physicians and nurses (external link). A critical focus was placed on training Health IT workforce via curriculum development,
community college training programs etc. (external link).
Atlanta has been declared the Health IT capital of the nation with a healthy demand for qualified individuals to meet the
burgeoning workforce needs of the Health IT sector (Please see Appendix A for an assessment of workforce needs). An
assessment of the workforce needs of the Health IT sector in the greater Atlanta area revealed the following key findings:
 Atlanta ranks 2nd among the top 10 US metro areas in Health IT jobs
 Health IT ranked as the top skill required by companies in Metro Atlanta
 Despite of the growing demand for Health IT workforce by companies around Atlanta, there is lack of trained
workforce with relevant knowledge
 Companies cited support from local institutions for a degree program in Health IT and certification training as a major
requirements
 Knowledge of Healthcare Delivery and Processes, Application Development, Business Process/Data Analyst, Health
Informaticians, Project Manager, and Certification/Proficiency in Epic software, and Health Data Analytics came out as
key workforce requirements (external link)
II.
Demand for the Program
The proposal of the new graduate program in Healthcare Management and Informatics (MS-HMI) is a response of Coles
College of Business to meet the market needs of the thriving Health-IT sector locally (in the greater Atlanta area – also see
Appendix A for further details on workforce assessment). The proposed graduate program in Healthcare Management and
Informatics is designed as an interdisciplinary program spanning three colleges and five departments across campus. The
1
implementation of the program will not only enhance KSU’s prominence in education, engagement, and innovation but will
also support economic development in the state of Georgia.
III.
Non-Duplication of Similar Programs at USG Institutions
The proposal of the new graduate program in Healthcare Management and Informatics (MS-HMI) is based on the assessment of the
demand for Health IT workforce and current offerings of Health Informatics programs across US and the South-East region in
particular. The primary goal of the proposed program is to educate and produce a robust workforce that has the skills and
knowledge of the intersecting domains of healthcare, management, and informatics such that the graduates will be armed to fill
diverse careers as developers, managers, and leaders of the evolving healthcare landscape. There are no premier graduate degree
programs in the USG that are truly interdisciplinary (spanning three colleges and four departments) and which are addressing the
unique domain of Healthcare Management and Informatics. In addition, the curricular contents of the proposed program have been
mapped
to
meet
the
standards
of
CAHIM
accredited
program
in
Healthcare
Informatics
(http://www.cahiim.org/cas_system_resources.html). So far, no graduate program in healthcare informatics has been accredited by
CAHIM in the state of Georgia. Appendix B provides further details on the existing health informatics and health administration
degree and certificate programs in South-East US for comparative purposes.
APPENDIX A - Workforce and Skills Assessment of Health IT Industry
1. http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/business/bioscience-health-it/focus/health-it
2. http://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/community-college-consortia/preparing-health-it-workforce-tomorrow/
3. http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/11/20091124a.html
4. To assess the demand of Health IT sector, we leveraged the report generated by Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MAC) Workforce Council
in 2011 and 2012. The following provides key facts of the MAC Report of the review conducted in 2011 and 2012:
2
3
Positions with the strongest demand
Positions
Application Developer
Currently
employed
2,260
Technical skills needed for key positions*
Analytical
capability
Positions
Clinical
Experience
Data base
mgmt
Knowledge
of healthcare
Current unfilled
positions
190
Projected demand
over three years
1,560
Application Developer
X
X
Business Analyst
X
X
Network
design
X
Business Analyst
1,525
90
1,320
Bus. Intel. Developer
X
X
Client Service/Help Desk
1,500
25
1,235
Client Service/Help Desk
X
X
Project Manager
1,375
170
1,190
Computer Operations
X
Sales Professional
1,375
290
880
Database Administrator
X
735
65
775
Info Security Specialist
X
X
Network Architect
X
X
Project Manager
X
X
X
Sales Professional
X
X
X
Systems Analyst
X
Bus. Intel. Developer
Info Security Specialist
595
25
730
Systems Analyst
1,160
90
700
Computer Operations
1,115
15
505
700
50
505
Database Administrator
Network Architect
750
25
• Overviews on health care delivery were
cited over 137 times as desired support
• Other support included
certification training,
2 year degree with HIT focus,
and computer skills training
X
X
X
X
Soft skills needed for key positions*
Change
management
Positions
Leadership
Application Developer
Business Analyst
• 4 year degree w/ HIT focus were cited
over 100 times
X
* These skills were cited 10 or more times as important
360
Support Desired from Local Institutions
Reporting/
analytics
X
Bus. Intel. Developer
Process
improvement
Project
Management
X
X
X
X
X
X
Client Service/Help Desk
Sales &
Customer
Service
X
X
Computer Operations
X
Database Administrator
X
X
Info Security Specialist
X
X
Network Architect
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Project Manager
Sales Professional
Systems Analyst
X
X
X
X
X
* These skills were cited 10 or more times as important
4
State Level Assessment of Workforce and Industry Needs
Description
Georgia Department of Economic Development
Annual Reports
Georgia Department of Labor Occupational
Trends
1. Occupational Supply Demand System:
http://www.occsupplydemand.org/
2. Georgia Labor Market Explorer:
http://explorer.dol.state.ga.us/
3. Occupational Employment Statistics:
http://explorer.dol.state.ga.us/mis/oes.h
tm
Assessment
- Increase in jobs by 30.8% in FY 2012
- Largest Projects in FY 2012 - Baxter International – Added 1800 jobs;
Greenway Medical techonologies added 400 jobs.
-
Georgia’s Workforce Annual Report
http://explorer.dol.state.ga.us/mis/Current/work
forceannreport.pdf
Reference
STEM Hot careers (2010 – 2020): Medical and clinical technologists.
Projected 200 annual openings.
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations - .09%
Medical and Health Services Managers - less than 0.005%
Biomedical engineers - .02%
Medical Scientists - less than 0.005%
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians – 0.01%
Medical Transcriptionists - less than 0.005%
-
Government and Education & Health Services sectors have shown
growth during the last recession (2007 – 2009)
Health Services has seen an increase of almost 95,000 jobs
-
Calender year job addition forecasted for 2013 : 23.2%
-
Staffing and temp agencies will see continued growth in niche
markets including medical and technical staffing.
2007-2011 job increase of 1.8 percent, driven primarily by
employment gains in two relatively large sectors: surgical
Georgia State University, Economic Forecast
Center
http://robinson.gsu.edu/efc/
University of Georgia, Selig Center for Economic
Growth
http://www.terry.uga.edu/about/centersinstitutes/selig
-
5
Georgia Bio, Life Sciences Partnership
http://www.gabio.org/
-
instruments manufacturing and medical laboratories.
Current Job listing posted.
APENDIX B - Assessment of Health Informatics Programs Across US
University
University of
Alabama
Birmingham
University of
Alabama
Birmingham
Georgia State
University
Georgia State
University
Degree
MS Health
Informatics
MS Health
Administration
MBA/Master of
Health
Administration
MS Health
Administration
Instate
$626 for first
credit hour,
$431
subsequent
$8167 per
semester,
$49,000 total
$20,744 total
Out-ofstate
$1,208 for
first credit
hour, $1,013
subsequent
Cost
Length
48-50 hours,
6 semesters,
24 months
33 months
Georgia
Health
Sciences
University
Masters of
Public
Health in
Informatics
University
of Phoenix
(online in
GA)
Master of
Health
Administrati
on/Informat
ics
Emory
University
$20,744 total
$4,373
$740 per
credit; $115
electronic
materials
fee per
course
$15,800 for
2012-2013
$45,104 total
$45,104 total
$13,118
57-66 hours
36 hours
53 hours, 2
years
40 hours
48 hours, 4
semesters
MSPH in
Public
Health
Informatics
6
Program
objectives
Focus on ICT,
health care
delivery,
leadership
and
management
Place students
in executive
leadership
positions in
health services
organizations
Geared
towards
managers in
healthcare and
business
organizations
7
concentrations
available
Focus on
public
health,
health
informatics,
health care
administrati
on
Online
Mixed
No
No
No
Mixed
Focus on
biomedical
sciences
Yes
No
7