Healthcare informatics professionals are enjoying satisfying work lives along with the security of knowing their field is enjoying strong and sustained growth.
Those are some of the findings from the survey data compiled by Bisk Education and USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida. The two organizations combined for an in-depth study of the still new field. The joint effort produced a survey examining everything from the salaries of different health informatics positions to overall job satisfaction as well as thoughts about the profession’s future.
The survey spotted trends by exploring the current state of the healthcare IT Industry as recounted by professionals who work in it. It highlights those details, providing insight into the type of work health informatics professionals perform, the money they make and how happy they are with their work.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive when it came to healthcare IT professionals’ opinions on job satisfaction and growth in the healthcare IT industry.
Thoughts on Job Satisfaction
- “I find my current career very rewarding. I would recommend the field to others. I do like that the journey to my present career included a background of varied work experiences in pharmacy.” — Clinical IT Senior Pharmacist
- “I have a much better work-life balance (since switching from ICU management to healthcare IT).” — Nursing Clinical Applications Systems Analyst
Examining Education and Technology in the Health Industry
- “The healthcare industry is rapidly embracing digital technology and transforming healthcare services. The IT industry needs to learn medical coding concepts and principles, including Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 coding to facilitate successful generation of health data. This is important for value-based compensation and population health management.” — Health IT Professional
- “Considering the advancement of nursing informatics and the need for technology for patient care documentation, I am pursuing a certificate in nursing informatics and possibly a master’s degree in this field.” — Staff RN
The Future of Health IT
- “We see healthcare IT as THE field to be in over the next 15 years.” — Health IT Company President
- “Government and industry mandates to use and share electronic health data to improve population health and improve overall patient outcomes with chronic conditions while reducing costs are quickly shaping this industry. I see high career growth opportunities in this field over the next few years as we are only just starting on the journey of what healthcare IT can do.” — Regional Enterprise Sales Manager
- “Healthcare costs are higher in the U.S. than any other country and one of the ways to help get those costs under control is to invest in IT. Having patients’ information and medical images accessible anywhere through IT solutions will save time and allow for better continuity of care. Although we have made great strides in improving the interconnectivity of healthcare data, there is still a long way to go.” — Regional Director of Business Development
The combined efforts of Bisk Education and USF Health have cast a spotlight on sentiments shared among professionals holding various positions in the healthcare industry.
The profession is thriving and should continue to grow, according to responses such as this one from a clinical informatics manager: “It is my belief that almost any member of a healthcare team can transition into Informatics. I am a physical therapist by training/education. I have been working in Informatics for nearly 10 years and I am currently the manager for the informatics team for our health system (multi-hospital system with 90 hospital-owned physician practices). Thank you for this survey!”
