Rowan College At Burlington County Launches Healthcare Informatics Program

Rowan College at Burlington County will launch a new degree program in Healthcare Informatics this fall, the college announced this week. It said it is launching the new course in response to growing workforce demands. Registration for the first semester of classes is underway.

The degree program combines electronic health records, health information management and computer science. Professionals in healthcare informatics work with information systems, cybersecurity management, and computer software and define how health information is captured, used and transmitted.

“RCBC’s new associate degree offering in Healthcare Informatics will prepare students to use technology to improve patient outcomes in a variety of medical settings,” Rowan College at Burlington County President Paul Drayton said. “It is a growing field nationally and there is an immediate need for skilled workers in this field locally.”

The program addresses the need for more trained information technology professionals who can work in healthcare settings. They are needed to handle the surge in electronic health records following the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) in 2009.

Students will complete the course through a combination of online, classroom and hands-on learning, through an internship. It combines medicine, management, finance, information technology, and law into one curriculum.

Graduates will be prepared to work for software vendors, hospitals, long-term care facilities, insurance companies and consulting services, among other fields.

The college currently offers associate degrees in Health Information Technology (program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education), Cancer Registry Management (program is accredited by the National Cancer Registry Association) and Healthcare Informatics, and certificates in Coding, Electronic Health Records, and Cancer Registry Management.

The college created the new program in collaboration with Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, which is looking to fill healthcare technology positions. While there are bachelor’s degrees in health informatics, the college says this associate degree is the only one of its kind in the country.

“Deborah Heart and Lung Center approached RCBC with the proposal to build this degree program because of their reputation for high-quality academics and highly-skilled graduates,” Deborah Heart and Lung Center President and CEO Joseph Chirichella said. “We don’t need to wait for students to achieve their bachelor’s degree before they can be hired. With our input and RCBC’s program, we know there will be a great pool of qualified candidates.”

“As the healthcare industry advances, there is a greater need for employees who are trained in both electronic health records and computer science,” Rowan College at Burlington County Director of Health Information Technology Susan Scully said.

Prospective students need to apply to Rowan College at Burlington County and then to the Healthcare Informatics program. Current students should apply to the program as soon as possible.

For more information and admission requirements, visit rcbc.edu/hit/admission-requirements. For more information on programs and requirements, visit rcbc.edu/hit.

The attached image was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County