Health care information encompasses the databases and computer programs which make up the information systems designed for hospitals and medical clinics to store and maintain medical records.
The best online health care information schools should possess either regional or national accreditation from an accrediting body that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition, you can often recognize top online health care information schools based on:
In choosing the best online health care information school for you, you should consider the following factors:
The following levels of health care information degree online programs are available:
The amount of time it takes a student to earn an accredited online health care information degree depends on the level of health care information degree being pursued and the pace of the student.
Typically, the breakdown is as follows:
Courses designed to earn an online degree in health care information require students to gain in-depth knowledge of the health care field, to understand database administration, to become experts in patient privacy, and to understand technical customer service. Typical health care information courses include:
This course is designed to examine computer and other electronic modalities that assist patient and client management.
This course focuses on the advanced concepts of managing digital clinical information and other electronic storage media of information in health care facilities.
This course examines the roles of information systems in supporting administrative and clinical decision-making in health care organizations.
This course involves a research-based project in delivery systems, health care policy, and health care workforce challenges.
This course introduces planning, acquisition, and implementation of systems as well as evaluation of current systems.
As highly desired members of a medical team, health care information specialists assist patients and medical professionals with client management and accurate treatment. Students should have a passion for providing quality health care by ensuring strong database management, health care confidentiality, and accurate, up-to-date information. In addition, students may specialize in a particular area of interest, including:
An accredited online degree in health care information is an essential step to earning a position in this specialized field within health care. Some opportunities for graduates include:
A health care information specialist manages information systems for a particular medical facility.
A health care information specialist determines a need for a medical institution, develops a database or computer program, and manages and updates that program. Health care information specialists work directly with medical professionals to create updated, efficient programming that follows all privacy rules for a medical institution. They must not only have excellent computer and database skills, but also a thorough understanding of the health care system and its needs.
Health care information specialists can earn an average salary of about $30,000 per year. Job growth is expected at a rate much faster than the average, as medical institutions are moving to paperless formats, and are more concerned about information privacy and security.
The path of how to become a health care information specialist may begin with obtaining an internship upon graduation from an online health care information degree program, in order to gain real-life skills in a related specialty. Customer and technical support positions are commonly used as an entry-level position within the field. Some employers will prefer candidates who have obtained official certification.
| School | Certificate | Associates | Bachelors | Masters | PhD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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University of Phoenix-Online Campus
3157 E. Elwood Street
Phoenix, AZ, 85034 http://www.uopxonline.com
|
X | ||||
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Miami Dade College
300 NE 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL, 33132 http://www.mdc.edu/main/
|
X | ||||
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Ohio State University-Main Campus
190 N. Oval Mall
Columbus, OH, 43210 http://www.osu.edu
|
X | ||||
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University of Central Florida
4000 Central Florida Blvd
Orlando, FL, 32816 http://www.ucf.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN, 55455 http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php
|
X | X | |||
|
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
1400 NE Campus Parkway
Seattle, WA, 98195 http://www.washington.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
Florida International University
11200 S. W. 8 Street
Miami, FL, 33199 http://www.fiu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Broward College
225 E las Olas Blvd
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33301 http://www.broward.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Riverside Community College
4800 Magnolia Avenue
Riverside, CA, 92506 http://www.rcc.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Temple University
1801 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19122 http://WWW.TEMPLE.EDU
|
X | ||||
|
East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park, CA, 91754 http://www.elac.edu/index.htm
|
X | ||||
|
American River College
4700 College Oak Dr
Sacramento, CA, 95841 http://www.arc.losrios.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Excelsior College
7 Columbia Cir
Albany, NY, 12203 http://www.excelsior.edu
|
X | ||||
|
City College of San Francisco
50 Phelan Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94112 http://www.ccsf.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
University of California-Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA, 95616 http://www.ucdavis.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
2624 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH, 45221 http://www.uc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Texas State University-San Marcos
601 University Dr
San Marcos, TX, 78666 http://www.txstate.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2200 E Kenwood Blvd
Milwaukee, WI, 53201 http://www.uwm.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
425 University Blvd
Indianapolis, IN, 46202 http://www.iupui.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
DeVry University-Illinois
3300 N Campbell Ave
Chicago, IL, 60618 http://www.devry.edu
|
X | ||||
|
The University of Tennessee
527 Andy Holt Tower
Knoxville, TN, 37996 http://www.tennessee.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
University of Utah
201 Presidents Circle
Salt Lake City, UT, 84112 http://www.utah.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Dr
Lawrence, KS, 66045 http://www.ku.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Ave
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314 http://www.nova.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University at Buffalo
3435 Main Street
Buffalo, NY, 14214 http://www.buffalo.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Florida State College at Jacksonville
501 W State St
Jacksonville, FL, 32202 http://www.fscj.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Columbus State Community College
550 E Spring St
Columbus, OH, 43215 http://www.cscc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
4200 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, 15260 http://www.pitt.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Central New Mexico Community College
525 Buena Vista SE
Albuquerque, NM, 87106 http://www.cnm.edu
|
X | ||||
|
East Carolina University
East 5th Street
Greenville, NC, 27858 http://www.ecu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA, 2115 http://www.northeastern.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Hillsborough Community College
39 Columbia Drive
Tampa, FL, 33606 http://www.hccfl.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Illinois at Chicago
601 S Morgan
Chicago, IL, 60607 http://www.uic.edu/index.html/
|
X | X | X | ||
|
Pasadena City College
1570 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA, 91106 http://www.pasadena.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Santa Rosa Junior College
1501 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA, 95401 http://www.santarosa.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Columbia University in the City of New York
116 St and Broadway
New York, NY, 10027 http://www.columbia.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
The Community College of Baltimore County
7201 Rossville Blvd.
Baltimore, MD, 21237 http://www.ccbcmd.edu
|
X | ||||
|
San Diego Mesa College
7250 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA, 92111 http://www.sdmesa.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
University of Toledo
2801 W Bancroft
Toledo, OH, 43606 http://www.utoledo.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus
107 Whitehurst
Stillwater, OK, 74078 http://www.okstate.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Weber State University
3848 Harrison Blvd
Ogden, UT, 84408 http://www.weber.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Owens Community College
30335 Oregon Rd
Perrysburg, OH, 43551 http://www.owens.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Fullerton College
321 E Chapman Avenue
Fullerton, CA, 92832 http://www.fullcoll.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Los Angeles Pierce College
6201 Winnetka Ave
Los Angeles, CA, 91371 http://www.piercecollege.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Southwestern College
900 Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA, 91910 http://www.swccd.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
College of the Canyons
26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd
Santa Clarita, CA, 91355 http://www.canyons.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Illinois State University
North and School Streets
Normal, IL, 61790 http://www.ilstu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Milwaukee Area Technical College
700 W State St
Milwaukee, WI, 53233 http://matc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Los Angeles Valley College
5800 Fulton Avenue
Los Angeles, CA, 91401 http://www.lavc.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Los Angeles City College
855 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA, 90029 http://www.lacitycollege.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Northwestern University
633 Clark St
Evanston, IL, 60208 http://www.northwestern.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Tulsa Community College
6111 E Skelly Dr
Tulsa, OK, 74135 http://www.tulsacc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Boise State University
1910 University Dr
Boise City, ID, 83725 http://www.boisestate.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Stanford University
450 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA, 94305 http://www.stanford.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Foothill College
12345 El Monte Rd
Los Altos Hills, CA, 94022 http://www.foothill.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
San Diego City College
1313 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA, 92101 http://www.sdcity.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Administration Bldg Suite 1070
Birmingham, AL, 35294 http://www.uab.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Delgado Community College
615 City Park Ave
New Orleans, LA, 70119 http://WWW.DCC.EDU
|
X | ||||
|
Moorpark College
7075 Campus Rd
Moorpark, CA, 93021 http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/index.shtml
|
X | X | |||
|
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
104 University Circle
Lafayette, LA, 70503 http://www.louisiana.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Saint Louis University-Main Campus
221 N Grand Blvd
St. Louis, MO, 63103 http://www.imagine.slu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Camden County College
College Drive
Blackwood, NJ, 8012 http://www.camdencc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Rochester Institute of Technology
1 Lomb Memorial Dr
Rochester, NY, 14623 http://www.rit.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Northern Kentucky University
Nunn Drive
Highland Heights, KY, 41099 http://www.nku.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Joliet Junior College
1215 Houbolt Rd
Joliet, IL, 60431 http://www.jjc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Kean University
1000 Morris Ave
Union, NJ, 7083 http://www.kean.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Santa Fe College
3000 NW 83rd Street
Gainesville, FL, 32606 http://www.sfcollege.edu
|
X | ||||
|
The University of Montana
Missoula Montana
Missoula, MT, 59812 http://www.umt.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Ventura College
4667 Telegraph Rd
San Buenaventura, CA, 93003 http://www.venturacollege.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Oklahoma City Community College
7777 S May Ave
Oklahoma City, OK, 73159 http://www.occc.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Ferris State University
1201 S State St
Big Rapids, MI, 49307 http://www.ferris.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Laney College
900 Fallon St
Oakland, CA, 94607 http://laney.peralta.edu
|
X | ||||
|
MiraCosta College
One Barnard Drive
Oceanside, CA, 92056 http://www.miracosta.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Victor Valley College
18422 Bear Valley Rd
Victorville, CA, 92395 http://www.vvc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Schoolcraft College
18600 Haggerty Road
Livonia, MI, 48152 http://www.schoolcraft.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Park University
8700 NW River Park Dr
Parkville, MO, 64152 http://www.park.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Stark State College of Technology
6200 Frank Ave NW
North Canton, OH, 44720 http://www.starkstate.edu
|
X | ||||
|
San Jose City College
2100 Moorpark Ave
San Jose, CA, 95128 http://www.sjcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
2525 Pottsdamer St.
Tallahassee, FL, 32307 http://www.famu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Delaware County Community College
901 S Media Line Rd
Media, PA, 19063 http://www.dccc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Solano Community College
4000 Suisun Valley Rd
Fairfield, CA, 94534 http://www.solano.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Phoenix College
1202 W Thomas Rd
Phoenix, AZ, 85013 http://www.pc.maricopa.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Hinds Community College
505 East Main Street
Raymond, MS, 39154 http://www.hindscc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Long Island University-C W Post Campus
720 Northern Blvd
Brookville, NY, 11548 http://www.liu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Ohlone College
43600 Mission Blvd
Fremont, CA, 94539 http://www.ohlone.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
San Diego Miramar College
10440 Black Mountain Rd
San Diego, CA, 92126 http://www.sdmiramar.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Davenport University
6191 Kraft Avenue S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI, 49512 http://www.davenport.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Chattahoochee Technical College
980 S Cobb Drive Dr SE
Marietta, GA, 30060 http://www.chattahoocheetech.edu
|
X | ||||
|
College of San Mateo
1700 W Hillsdale Blvd
San Mateo, CA, 94402 http://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Louisiana Tech University
305 Wisteria
Ruston, LA, 71272 http://www.latech.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 http://www.cmu.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
St Philips College
1801 Martin Luther King Dr
San Antonio, TX, 78203 http://www.alamo.edu/spc/
|
X | ||||
|
Regis University
3333 Regis Blvd
Denver, CO, 80221 http://www.regis.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Skyline College
3300 College Dr
San Bruno, CA, 94066 http://skylinecollege.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Merced College
3600 M St
Merced, CA, 95348 http://www.mccd.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Tufts University
38 Professors Row
Medford, MA, 2155 http://www.tufts.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
3520 Central Parkway
Cincinnati, OH, 45223 http://www.cincinnatistate.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Western Carolina University
176 Central Dr
Cullowhee, NC, 28723 http://www.wcu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Lakeland Community College
7700 Clocktower Dr
Kirtland, OH, 44094 http://www.lakelandcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne St
Houston, TX, 77004 http://www.tsu.edu
|
X |
Students in computer science programs are far more focused on the technical side of computer science than on the creative side. Personally, I wish I would have known that before enrolling in my program.Read Full Interview
