Masters in Health Informatics

The Master of Healthcare Informatics is a master’s-level professional degree granted to students who complete a course of study in the knowledge and competencies needed for careers in health informatics, involving the management of patient and public health data for the purposes of collection, retrieval and utilization for the purpose of improving patient care and reducing healthcare costs. Programs can differ according to setting; although practitioner-teacher model programs are typically found in colleges of medicine. Non-health science faculties have also started to offer programmes that specialize in health informatics; for instance, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Health Informatics (University of Hull in Hong Kong) and Master of Commerce in Health Informatics (University of New South Wales, Sydney).

Health informatics (HI) can be defined as “a scientific discipline that deals with the collection, storage, retrieval, communication and optimal use of health related data, information and knowledge”. The discipline utilises the methods and technologies of the information sciences for the purpose of problem solving, decision making and ensuring highest quality health care in all basic and applied areas of the biomedical sciences.