Health Informatics Graduate Certificate Programs

Updated: Nov 13, 2024

An up-and-coming field, health informatics (also referred to as ‘healthcare informatics’ and ‘medical informatics’) involves the use of information technology to support the creation of tools and procedures that allow healthcare providers to diagnose and treat patients. Professionals who work in the field of health informatics affect patient outcomes by making it easier for those who provide direct care to patients to access the information they need. Many healthcare professionals who are interested in moving into the field of healthcare informatics choose to work toward an online certificate in the field, rather than going through the full process of earning a health informatics graduate degree.

What Are the Online Health Informatics Graduate Certificate Requirements?

Admission requirements for health informatics graduate certificate programs will vary from school to school. If a student finds that they’re close to meeting a program’s standards but fall short in one or two categories, it can be smart to reach out to the school’s admission team directly to find out if there are other criteria (such as volunteer work in healthcare settings, membership to healthcare professional organizations, or success in other graduate programs) that may work to increase the likelihood that you’ll be admitted to the program.

Common admission requirements for online health informatics graduate certificate programs include:

Successful completion of a bachelor’s and master’s degree from an accredited university
GPA requirements, typically 3.0 or higher
Declaration of intent to complete the certificate program and/or a statement of purpose
Letters of recommendation
Resume or CV

What Type of Classes Are Included in the Online Health Informatics Graduate Certificate Curriculum?

Most graduate certificate programs for health informatics combine IT and healthcare information to prepare graduates to begin creating technical solutions to healthcare data issues as soon as they complete the program. Regardless of exact course requirements, most health informatics graduate certificate programs work to develop well-rounded students who are able to consider how their work directly affects patient outcomes.

Classes that students may take while earning a health informatics graduate certificate include:

Biomedical sciences and health information technology
Electronic health records
Health informatics
Advanced health informatics

What Type of Career Can I Pursue with an Online Health Informatics Graduate Certificate?

Professionals who choose to earn their health informatics graduate certificate will likely find that they have many career options upon graduation. Some students earn this certificate in an effort to move forward within their current healthcare organization, while others choose this certificate to open up career opportunities within a new, niche area.

Careers that may be available to students who earn their online health informatics graduate certificate include:

Information Systems Manager: Information systems managers maintain current information technology systems and plan/develop new systems within a healthcare organization. Professionals at this level often work directly with high-level management to ensure smooth day-to-day network functioning.
Computer Network Architect: A computer network architect works to maintain, troubleshoot, and manage current networks, and may also work to develop new networks within a healthcare system. People in this position may also be referred to as network engineers. Network architects need to be aware of healthcare business practices and be sure that the healthcare system’s networks are acting in a way that makes financial sense for the future of the organization.
Healthcare Database Administrator: Some administrators in this role design and test healthcare information systems, while others work directly with the maintenance and security of a healthcare system’s current database. In this role, it’s important for an administrator to be able to spot a problem before it starts to ensure patient confidentiality.
Network/Computer Systems Administrator: Professionals who work as information security analysts are in charge of ensuring that a hospital’s data is secure. This is essential for hospitals and other healthcare systems to stay within HIPAA regulations. In addition to ensuring the security of data systems, professionals in this position may also work with email security, network connections, workstation issues, and more.