Capture the Latest Technology in Health Care Sector with Health Informatics Program
Centennial College's Health Informatics
program enjoys a strong focus that prepares students for the combination
of computer science and health care they will experience in their
positions as software developers, health data analysts, database
developers, systems implementation specialists and business/systems
analysts. While the field offers a range of careers, those who graduate
from the Health Informatics program concern themselves with the
resources, devices and methods that optimize the acquisition, storage,
retrieval, and use of information in health and biomedicine as applied
to areas such as public health, clinical care, dentistry, nursing,
pharmacy and biomedical research. Graduates of the Informatics
Technology program are able to analyze and model data, develop
healthcare databases and apply different computer medical-imaging
techniques.
To get students fully trained for the
field in three years, Health Informatics courses focus on
object-oriented software design methodologies, user-oriented interface
design, structure of healthcare information systems, telehealth, data
security and privacy in healthcare systems. Specific technologies
covered by Health Informatics courses include: C#, Java, J2EE, Oracle,
MS-SQL Server, Unix/ Linux, Microsoft's .NET, HTML/ XML, Rational/
WebSphere, Data warehousing and Data mining, and BI tools in healthcare
systems and more.
While the program consists of 36 Health
Informatics courses, here are the Top 5 most vital topics covered within
the Health Informatics program.
Structure of HCIS: This Health
Informatics course sees students explore the administrative and
technical environment of health care informatics as well as the
techniques of data capture and storage employed in this profession.
Tools, Algorithms & Methods for HCIS:
Health Informatics program students explore contemporary health
informatics tools, algorithms and methods. Coursework emphasizes the use
of HL7 as a standard for exchanging information between medical
applications, and the use of BI tools, such as Crystal Reports and SAS,
for analyzing and manipulating health care data.
Data Warehousing and Data Mining in HCIS:
Data warehousing techniques allow organizations to extract data from
disparate data sources and transform it into actionable information.
This course covers basic data warehousing and data mining concepts and
tools that can be used to create and manage data warehousing and data
mining systems.
Data Security and Privacy Policies in HCIS: This Health Informatics course in Canada
introduces students to the issues of storing and transmitting patient
information safely. As such, they learn the different technologies
available for encryption and signing of electronic transmissions.
Computer Techniques in Medical Imaging:
First, this course explains core concepts related to digital images
manipulation in the medical field and then it follows up with examples
processed in a freely available software package.
It is also worth noting that the
Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists has deemed the Health
Informatics program as meeting the national technology accreditation
requirements established by the organization. As such, the Canadian
Technology Accreditation Board has accredited it with national status.
The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and
Technologists also recognizes the Health Informatics program as having
met all the academic requirements for certification in the Technologist
category.
Health Informatics program applicants
must possess at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or
equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Students must also possess
compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment, or equivalent; and
Math 11M or U, or 12C or U, or skills assessment, or equivalent.