The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) will be offering its first-ever online Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) degree program to address the growing need for professionals who can use data to improve the quality of care.

This new program is part of a larger effort for SHRS to bring more of its graduate degrees online. The MSHI program will enroll its first cohort in January 2020. The school is poised to bring three more programs online with Noodle Partners through fall 2021.

SHRS is addressing the growing national demand for health informatics professionals to analyze trends, make projections, monitor outcomes and help improve patient care. Jobs related to health informatics are expected to grow by 20% by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with salaries ranging from $58,000 to $183,000.

“With this expected rapid job growth, there will be high demand for top-notch professionals in this field,” said Bambang Parmanto, professor and interim chair in the Department of Health Information Management. “The online MSHI will train professionals who can then apply their health care business and clinical knowledge, as well as skills in informatics and analytics, to improve health care in the digital age.”

The online MSHI program will have three tracks and four certificates available for students to specialize their education in addition to earning their graduate degrees. These tracks include data science, registered health information administrator and health supervision management.

The fully online program features options for internships or in-person projects within a student’s home community to further explore specific research interests. There is no requirement for students to come to campus in Pittsburgh unless desired.

The on-campus version of the HI program begins this fall.