Graduate Certificate - Health Informatics (T419) (Optional Co-op)

The evolution of information and communication technologies is transforming the health care system and creating new ways of accessing and exchanging information that will impact the health care sector. Health care and information systems professionals currently employed or with experience in a health care or technology environment, or who have an interest in the advancement of information technologies in the health care delivery sector, will be interested in this program.

The Health Informatics graduate certificate program brings together professionals in health-related and information technology sectors to develop specialists in health informatics who can respond to the current and emerging needs of health care systems. This intensive program is designed for IT, health care or related professionals who aspire to enter into a health informatician/analyst role, or practitioners who wish to enhance their experience with formal education. Students will be engaged and supported by a team of health informatician/business system analyst professionals and faculty in developing critical skills and competencies in the areas of:

• Health care systems, technologies and trends
• Ethical, professional, legal and policy implications of health information systems technologies and health information standards.
• Problem identification and analysis
• Documenting and analyzing health care organization, health-user and solution requirements
• Process, workflow and system/solution modelling
• Project management
• Technical writing
• Leadership and management
• Business and system analysis techniques and core-professional competencies such as analytical thinking and problem solving, communication and facilitation, and interactional skills

The Health Informatics program provides breadth and depth of applied knowledge in the field of health informatics. A key characteristic that sets this graduate certificate program apart is the applied nature of the curriculum. Students will be immersed in the process of health informatics/analysis through case studies, industry projects and practical work experience, and will be responsible for developing solutions. The uniqueness of this program is in creating graduates with work-ready skills built through applied, hands-on experience.

Graduates of the program will have acquired knowledge, skills and competencies relevant to professional certification programs in Health Informatics/Information and Management Systems.

Graduates will be able to:

• Formulate change strategies to implement appropriate health information systems technologies (HIST) within the health care setting.
• Apply business and system analysis techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of health information systems technologies within a health-related setting.
• Design and protoype web and mobile health apps.
• Integrate relevant standards and professional, ethical and legislative requirements with the appropriate health information system technologies.
• Design training and education for the effective use of HIST.