Health Informatics Master’s Degree Offered at Mississippi College

Mississippi College Graduate School Dean Debbie Norris

Mississippi College’s new graduate program in health informatics will help professionals respond to changing federal regulations.

Offered entirely on-line, MC classes range from e-medicine business models to the legal aspects of healthcare administration.

As healthcare leaders meet the demands of the federal Affordable Care Act, they’re also seeking to trim medical costs. It’s a challenging field that experts predict will continue to grow over the next decade.

“With the increased attention on reducing healthcare costs, expanding access to quality care and improving the quality of services, health informatics is recognized as a critical component of healthcare reform,” says Mississippi College Graduate School Dean Debbie Norris.

Health Services Administration Director Melanie Fortenberry leads the program on the Clinton campus with assistance from instructor Wendy Copeland.

“Health informatics is exploding onto the scene in all areas of healthcare delivery,” Fortenberry said in mid-June. “We are expecting to see a marked increase in enrollment once classes are fully developed and the word is out.”

MC’s master’s degree joins similar programs at schools around the USA, including the University of Texas campus in Houston, the University of South Florida, the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and the University of Illinois in Chicago.

The health informatics degree is designed for people experienced in the handling and processing of sensitive and critical medical information on-line to give them the very latest job skills. Typically, they will bring a minimum of two years of recent job experience.

MC graduate student Derek Melton, an administrator at St. Dominic Hospital, says he likes the convenient on-line health informatics format at the Baptist-affiliated university.

He’s learning, while continuing to work full-time at the Jackson hospital. In addition, the Clinton public schools parent can catch up on his health informatics studies on his computer at remote locations. That allowed Melton to devote time to his MC studies at his son’s Boy Scout camp near Hazlehurst.

Other classes in the program include ethics in health services administration and integrated electronic medical records. There are ten graduate level classes in the 30-hour program. Students should be able to earn their degree within a year or a little longer.

Salaries for health informatics professionals across the nation can vary quite a bit. It can range from more than $61,000 to as high as $84,000 to $100,000 annually, depending on the region.

For more information, contact Melanie Fortenberry at 601-925-3982 or Meg Shaw McCaa, assistant director of online programs at 601-925-7715.