FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Students at Douglas College will soon become experts in information governance, health policy, data analytics and more thanks to the new Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (BSc-HIM), the first degree of its kind in Canada.
"We're seeing an exponential rise in available health data right now. If we don't develop the workforce and infrastructure needed to manage that data efficiently, then more and more people lose the services they need from the Canadian health system, or suffer from substandard care due to mismanaged patient information," said Dr. Pamela Cawley, Dean of Health Sciences. "Educating people on how to identify, collate and analyze health data is critical to inform the choices doctors and nurses make on the ground, ensuring equitable care for all."
The Health Information Management (HIM) industry demands trained professionals who can ensure that Canadians get the informed patient care they need. As of this year, the Government of Canada has committed to funding the digitization of health data to improve access to virtual care, and last year saw North America as the single largest region in the $31 billion-dollar medical e-records market.
"Health information management as a field is rapidly expanding, with careers unfolding in analytics, policy development, research, and innovation,” said Dr. Cawley. “Graduates of this unique program will be the ones to guide the course of this field’s evolution.”
Students in the HIM program get real-world experience working with medical information through two internships and a practicum built into the program. As a hybrid program offered partially online and partially in-person, the degree is uniquely designed for professionals who work full-time in healthcare and want to advance their skills and education, ultimately leading to careers including policy research, management, IT analysis, data administration and more.
The program offers three career pathways to choose from: information intelligence, operational leadership and management, and health analytics and governance. According to Dr. Patricia Visosky, program coordinator and Vice Chair of the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA), this framework guarantees that graduating classes will be able to answer the HIM field's diverse needs, which have broadened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This degree responds to the trends we're seeing in the Canadian and international health landscape," Dr. Visosky said. "Health information is a topic that dominated the news and social media for years, with story after story coming out on data accuracy, collection, privacy and usage. Now that public interest in health data has been renewed, the demand for specialists in health information management and governance has risen accordingly."
The first intake for the Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management is September 2023. Interested applicants looking to complete pre-requisites for the degree can enrol in the Certificate in Academic Foundations for Potential Health Information Management, set to launch in January 2023.
Douglas College is the largest degree-granting college in B.C., combining the academic foundations of a university and the employer-ready skills of a college to graduate resilient global citizens who adapt, innovate and lead in a changing world.
For more information, visit douglascollege.ca.
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