Health informatics jobs growing

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Bernie Monegain is the Editor of Healthcare IT News. Bernie covers hospitals and IDNs, industry trends and is responsible for overall coverage decisions.

A new report from Burning Glass Technologies shows that the health informatics sector continues to produce jobs.  Since 2007, postings for health informatics jobs have increased 10 times faster than healthcare jobs overall, according to Burning Glass.

Using data from online job postings, Burning Glass, a Boston-based labor market analytics firm, partnered with the Education Advisory Board, a membership-based research company, to examine the health informatics job market.

[See also: Millennials fancy healthcare, tech jobs.]

The study found that healthcare informatics includes a range of positions that involve the collection, handling and processing of clinical information for a variety of purposes, from billing to medical quality assurance. Also, informatics has become increasingly integrated into the management of clinical care.

[See also: Why is informatics the top new career?.]

Other key findings:

• Health informatics jobs constitute the 9th largest share of healthcare occupation postings.
• As with many other parts of the economy, entry-level jobs have been upgraded to higher skill -? and in this case certificated -? positions.
• The health informatics sector offers substantial opportunities for educators and training providers who can offer IT training to health care professionals and clinical training to IT professionals.
• Medical record clerks, the lowest skilled health informatics jobs, have declined while more specialized medical coder roles, which typically require a certification and specialized clinical knowledge, have increased.
• Clinical expertise has become a requirement for higher-level health information management jobs. Nearly a third of clinical analyst postings specifically request an RN or background in nursing.
• The bid data revolution, which driving changes in so many fields, has arrived in healthcare, evidenced in the explosive growth of clinical applications. This emerging field requires a workforce that has deep expertise both in IT and clinical care.

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