Navigate Data Management Careers in Health Informatics 2024

The amount of data the healthcare industry generates is expansive, and we need skilled professionals who understand how to capture, organize, store, and keep data secure during its lifecycle. This is especially important with healthcare data due to its sensitive nature.

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Data management roles in health informatics are diverse, with positions offered within hospitals, private medical care settings, small and large medical facilities, healthcare organizations, and state and federal government. Each role plays a critical part in the smooth operation of the health informatics system.

Data Management Careers in Health Informatics

We’re looking at the various health informatics and data management roles more specifically. The salary, education, career opportunities, and job descriptions vary depending on the focus. Before we delve deep into each healthcare informatics position, here are some key facts.

Health Informatics Salary: Salaries in health informatics and data management roles can vary depending on experience, level of education, certification, and geographical location. Salary can be largely determined by the average cost of living in a given area. Those entering the field with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree can reasonably expect to earn an average of $76,000 to $109,000 per year, with $98,409 being the average. [1]

Health Informatics Master’s Salary: A master’s degree in health informatics or a related field opens you up to more career opportunities and higher salary averages. Additional certifications and years of experience also factor into salary configurations. Those with a master’s degree in health informatics or a related field can expect to make an average of $74,000 to $129,837 per year, depending on role, experience, and location. [2]

Ph.D. in Health Informatics: A Ph.D. in health informatics opens doors to the highest-paid positions in the field. Many with a Ph.D. level of education work in research, development, advisory roles, or as chief officers.

Health Informatics & Data Management Entry and Mid-Level Jobs & Careers

Health Informatics Specialist
Health Data Analyst
Health Information Management
Clinical Data Manager

Health Informatics Degree

There are roles in health informatics and data management positions for those with associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. The most common level of education for entry into the field is a bachelor’s degree in health informatics or a related field.

In addition to formal education, a certificate in a specific area of health informatics can provide opportunities for career advancement. A few of the available certificate programs in the field include:

Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
Certified Associate in Health Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS)
Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS)
Advanced Health Informatics Certification (AHIC)

Health Informatics Specialist

A health informatics specialist is considered one of the entry-level positions in health informatics and data management roles. This position centers around overseeing health informatics systems but may also function in analytical and consulting roles.

The primary role of a health informatics specialist is to oversee health informatics systems. You’ll interact with nurses, physicians, and others directly involved in patient care and the IT team. This role involves a great deal of data collection and analysis, designing workflow, and serving as an intermediary between those working in patient care and software developers who need to understand the clinical side pain points.

Health informatics specialists also frequently advise senior health administrators in creating strategies to improve patient outcomes using key data.

Educational Paths

An associate’s degree in health informatics will open the door to the career field, but a bachelor’s degree in health informatics or nursing is often preferred. Advancement opportunities almost certainly require education beyond an associate’s degree.

Salary Range

The average salary for a health informatics specialist in the United States is $67,500 to $91,500 per year, with the average being $82,781, depending on geographical location. Those entering the field with only an associate’s degree can expect to earn slightly less. [3]

Career Opportunities

Experience and continuing education make the outlook for future career opportunities impressive. Most opportunities in this field are found in hospitals and research centers, but more options are available when moving into a consulting role.

Healthcare informatics specialists who want to move into management roles should pursue a master’s degree level of education.

Health Data Analyst

With the incredible amount of data collected by the healthcare system, professionals capable of gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and organizing all of this data are in high demand. This is the role of health data analysts, and their function in the health informatics system is critically important.

Educational Paths

A master’s degree in health informatics or a related field offers the best chance of securing a position as a health data analyst. This position requires a strong foundation in data management, database programming languages, and navigating and managing EHRs. Degrees and certifications that supply these skills are advantageous when seeking a career in this field.

Salary Range

The average salary for health data analysts ranges from $77,642 to $80,999 on the higher end of the median pay scale. Hospitals and governmental agencies, on average, pay the highest annual salaries. [4] Long-term care facilities, doctor’s offices, and outpatient care centers are more likely to offer a salary at the lower end of the range but also may be more likely to hire those with less hands-on experience who are new to the field.

Career Opportunities

In addition to working as a healthcare data analyst, those in the field may also be interested in pursuing career options such as clinical analysis or moving into other analytical sectors of healthcare, including human resources analysis and budget analysis.

Health Information Management

Health information managers (HIMs) are key in organizing and overseeing patient care. Their primary focus is the management of health information systems and the data contained within them. This includes various data types that offer insights into symptoms, diagnoses, medical procedures, and patient medical history. Like many other careers in the health informatics field, HIMs serve as a bridge between caregivers and other key players in healthcare, including insurance providers.

Educational Paths

Those seeking a career as a health information manager should hold a degree, preferably a bachelor’s or master’s, in health information management or a related field, along with relevant work experience that has provided them with hands-on learning opportunities.

Health information managers can obtain a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) or Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) certification to enhance their career outlook. Candidates for the RHIA should have completed a bachelor’s degree, while the RHIT is available to those with an associate’s degree level.

Salary Range

There is a wide range of salaries when looking at careers in health information management. Salary statistics list the average pay anywhere from $71,500 to $90,000 for top earners. [5] When looking at various markets across the country, we found that most locations offer between $70,000 and $100,000 per year, with few outliers.

Career Opportunities

One perk attracting more newcomers to the field of health information management is that it’s a job that can often be done remotely, offering at least a partial work-at-home option in many cases.

Clinical Data Manager

The primary focus of a clinical data manager is to manage clinical data that is sourced from clinical trials, mostly from pharmaceutical companies and the biotechnology industry.

Educational Path

Most of those entering the field as clinical data managers have a bachelor’s degree level of education. However, those with an associate’s degree in data science may be eligible for certificate programs that will allow them to get a foot in the door. Key areas of study include data science, computer science, data management, and various IT-related focus areas.

Prior data management experience is often preferred, as is experience with tools such as Google Cloud Platform.

Salary Range

The average base pay for clinical data managers ranges from $112,000 to $118,909 annually. [6] After looking at numerous employers of clinical data managers from different regions of the country, $77,000 appears to be on the very low end, so even those just entering the field should expect to earn at least that.

Career Opportunities

Those entering the field may start as junior or assistant clinical data managers, especially if they have no prior experience and don’t hold at least a bachelor’s degree. With time and continuing education, clinical data managers may move on to senior and executive positions.

Title Interchangeability and Role Overlaps

There are growing career opportunities in the health informatics field of data management, but what if you want to switch your focus at some point or advance in your career? Is doing so a challenge? The answer is that the title interchangeability and role overlap in health informatics make it an ideal field for those who want to be on a fast track to new career opportunities.

Here, we looked at the role of a health informatics specialist, often considered an entry-level position. Spending three to five years in this role will provide the experience and skills necessary to move into more advanced roles, including clinical informatics specialist and nursing specialist, if there’s a background and degree in nursing.

Conclusion

From what we’ve seen, data management roles in health informatics are available at different levels, with some positions requiring only an associate degree and others open to those with bachelor’s or master’s levels of education at higher pay.