What are Health Informatics Tools?

Health Informatics-The Basics

Although broadly defined, health informatics is essentially a field that operates as the intersection of computer science, information science, and health care. Health informatics is also referred to as health care informatics, health information systems, medical informatics, healthcare informatics, clinical informatics, biomedical informatics, and nursing informatics. Health informatics deals with the devices, methods, and resources that are necessary to optimize the retrieval, storage, acquisition, and use of information in biomedicine and health.

Health Informatics Tools

There are a variety of health informatics tools that individuals working within the field make use of. Some of them include clinical guidelines, formal medical terminologies, computers, and information and communication systems. These tools are applied to fields as diverse as pharmacy, dentistry, clinical care, nursing, occupational therapy, public health, medical research, alternative medicine, and physical therapy.

Careers In Health Informatics

Individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in health informatics should note that there are a wide variety of positions available. Some of them include:

1. Health Informatics Consultant

In being employed as health informatics consultants, individuals permit healthcare facilities to keep employment overhead costs manageable while simultaneously complying with upcoming federal mandates. Health informatics consultants can complete a variety of tasks like:

• Installing software
• Updating networks
• Training teams
• Monitoring systems and troubleshooting

2. Health Informatics Director

People who work as health informatics directors meld their technology expertise with their “people skills” in order to integrate and organize the flow of information across several unique divisions. Generally, health informatics directors are responsible for:

• Training teams to understand and work with technology
• Recording, analyzing and mitigating technology challenges and issues
• Meeting with individuals like pharmacy staff, nurses, and physicians to explain and implement technological protocol changes

3. Nursing Informatics Specialist

Nursing informatics specialists are individuals who use their experience with offering efficient and effective patient care plans to work effectively with an increasingly technological world. Some of the responsibilities that a nursing informatics specialist might fulfill include:

• Training other nurses about how to change record-keeping protocol
• Working towards the reduction of redundancy and inaccuracy in the development and implementation of patient care plans
• Analyzing and addressing technology logistics for direct patient care

Other Considerations

If you are interested in pursuing a career within the field of health informatics, you should know that learning about the different careers available and tools used within the field is important and advantageous. Additionally, you should note that individuals who opt to work within the health informatics sector can prepare themselves to do so by attaining internships. Generally, health informatics internships give people the opportunity to acquire the hands-on experience necessary to excel within the field once they obtain a job. Additionally, the internship can give individuals the opportunity to network with other people who have already established themselves within the field.

Conclusion

If you are thinking about pursuing a career in health informatics, you should know that learning about things such as vocational options and available tools can prepare you to excel within the field. Additionally, learning about different health informatics tools and career options can help you determine whether this vocational field is a good fit for you.