The healthcare industry continues to grow steadily, keeping pace with America’s aging population. As more healthcare providers seek to improve their IT systems for patient healthcare information records, the demand for qualified candidates for healthcare IT jobs will also grow. IT professionals interested in health information systems will find that there are many jobs available to them outside hospitals.
Database Administrator
A healthcare database administrator typically works for data hosting firms or cloud service providers. Database administrators are responsible for protecting the healthcare information database from potential data loss and overseeing backups of important information. They also maintain the database structure, update permissions and merge old databases into new ones as needed.
Information Security
As the volume of healthcare information stored in databases grows, the risk of security breaches rises as well. Healthcare providers and insurance companies alike have an obligation to protect the healthcare information of their patients and clients. Jobs in information security in the healthcare information systems field include positions at cloud providers, healthcare IT consulting firms, software development companies and healthcare provider networks.
IT Systems Trainer
Healthcare organizations need specialized training for their doctors, nurses and other staff to use their electronic health records (EHR) systems. The EHR software company typically hires IT systems trainers to work on-site or in multimedia presentations to teach healthcare staff how to use their software. This type of healthcare IT job might require travel to different sites for training events.
IT Support Specialist
Along with providing training, EHR software companies generally employ IT support specialists at a help desk to support organizations using their products. The IT support specialist may help the IT staff for a healthcare provider, or they may work directly with healthcare staff who need help troubleshooting issues with the EHR software. An IT support specialist might work in an office, travel to work on-site with healthcare providers or work from home.
IT Systems Analyst
Another healthcare IT job outside the hospital is the role of IT systems analyst. A systems analyst must be proficient with the EHR software in a healthcare setting; they must also understand the function and goals of the organization as a whole. The analyst studies the organization’s current systems, makes recommendations for improvement, and even helps the organization implement those recommendations.
Director of IT
Software companies, health insurance companies and IT consulting firms need IT directors to manage their teams of IT specialists, analysts, trainers and developers. The director must understand the organization’s overall patient care objectives and be able to manage the necessary staff to complete those objectives while meeting their contract obligations. An excellent director of healthcare IT will understand the EHR system, as well as best business practices and personnel management.
Software Developer
Software developers are in continual demand in the healthcare IT field. The software companies who provide EHR systems need developers not only to design and test new software products but also to maintain and upgrade their current EHR software offerings. Software developers in healthcare IT need to understand the overall systems necessary to provide excellent patient care, and they must be able to create the appropriate models for use in writing the software code.
The healthcare IT field is wide open for computer and technology professionals looking for a career outside of the hospital environment. IT professionals can move beyond hospitals into healthcare IT jobs in network administration, database management, software development and other industries, ranging from information security to health insurance.
Learn about the Southeastern Oklahoma State University online MBA with an emphasis in healthcare information systems program.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Computer and Information Technology Occupations
InformationWeek: EHR Jobs Boom: 8 Hot Health IT Roles