Career Outlook
Information management is critical to the provision of health
care in the 21st century. The tools of medical informatics
help make patient care safer and more effective, and the increased
use of electronic patient records promises enormous cost savings
and improved efficiency. As modern health care becomes increasingly
dependent on information management, employment prospects
for those skilled in the field of medical informatics will
continue to grow. Graduates of Northwestern's MMI program — whether
their backgrounds are medical or technical — will benefit
not only from the growth of the health care industry but also
from an increasing demand for efficiency in health care.
Health care professionals — clinicians, administrators, researchers
and educators — with medical informatics training will be able to
perform their jobs better and advance more rapidly in their careers. Information
technology managers will discover increased demand for their services
focused on health care. To comply with federal legislation mandating the
use of electronic medical records, jobs for medical records and health
information technicians are projected to increase 18 percent through 2016,
driving a projected 16 percent increase in jobs in medical and health
services management.
The top job in medical informatics is the executive position of CMIO,
Chief Medical Information Officer, one of the fastest-growing
positions in health care, according to the Association of
Medical Directors of Information Systems. Typically the CMIO
is a board-certified or board-eligible physician who maintains
a part-time clinical practice while devoting the majority
of his or her time to developing and implementing IT strategies
and educating users of clinical information systems. According
to HealthExecutive.com, "Physicians with informatics expertise
and leadership skills are... in demand... and the majority
earn at least $250,000, plus bonuses." CMIOs
are leaders in improving the safety and efficiency of health
care.
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