Public Health Informatics Careers 2024

Public Health Informatics Careers

Table of Contents

We’ve seen in recent years the importance of collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data for improved public health measures and management. Public health informatics broadly looks at health-related data at the public and population levels. The field of public health informatics is instrumental in recognizing health trends, predicting future outcomes, and pinpointing where key health research should be directed.

Public and population health is an area of healthcare informatics that can be entered with either an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, with continual education and certifications being sought by prospective employers. Is public health informatics a career that’s right for you? Here’s a look at the different specialties.

Public Health Informatics Specialist

Public health informatics specialists apply the applications of informatics to the broader spectrum of public health. Those in this role are primarily responsible for the smooth operations of informatics systems in public health. The role combines information science and technology with computer science and large-scale public health data analytics.

Educational Pathways

Entrance into this field can begin with an associate’s degree in health informatics. Advancing in your career past entry-level positions will typically require a bachelor’s degree, especially for public health informatics management positions.

Salary Range

Compensation for public health informatics specialists is similar to what’s offered for health informatics specialists in other sectors. The average salary ranges from approximately $81,000 to $94,199, but the entry wage may be considerably lower depending on location and employer. [1]

Career Opportunities

This is a good starting point for someone looking to enter the field of public health informatics. Recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic have reinforced the need for informatics professionals at the public health level. Many career opportunities in this field are government positions with comprehensive benefit packages.

Population Health Informatics Specialist

Population health informatics specialists manage population health data by using health informatics tools and technologies that translate immense amounts of data into valuable population health insights. This position is similar to that of a clinical health informatics specialist and public health informatics specialist, but it focuses on the broader data of population health.

Educational Pathways

Entry into this field may begin with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in public health, health informatics, data analytics, or a similar field. For those holding an associate’s degree, additional health informatics certification can improve their employment outlook.

One study that looked specifically at population health informatics throughout New York showed that most of those employed as specialists held a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Those with a Ph.D. level of education are more likely to be found in roles such as director, researcher, and manager. [2]

Salary Range

There is limited broad salary information available for this position. When looking at available positions as a population health informatics specialist and research data on the field, the average salary for those employed at this level falls at $82,781 per year. [3]

Career Opportunities

Population health informatics is a relatively new sector of the health informatics field. As population demographics change, grow, and shift, there is an increasing need for qualified workers. Many in the field of population health lack the necessary skills for informatics positions, leaving those who do possess health informatics skills in higher demand.

Health Informatics Compliance Officer

Health informatics compliance officers are critical in the growing, complex health informatics industry. An incredible amount of regulation is applied to collecting, storing, and using healthcare data. Those who work as compliance officers ensure compliance in health informatics and safeguard patient data.

Health informatics compliance officers must possess a high level of industry, technological, and compliance knowledge. Not only are they responsible for ensuring compliance, but they will also often take on the role of trainer or educator of compliance in their workplaces.

Educational Pathways

A bachelor’s degree in health informatics or a related field is the stepping stone into this career. The educational focus should include knowledge of healthcare software systems and informatics technology and a detailed understanding of and the ability to apply federal and state legal compliance requirements.

Employers may require additional certifications. These include CHC (Certified in Healthcare Compliance), CHRC (Certified in Healthcare Research Compliance), and CHPC (Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance).

Salary Range

While there are variances in salary based on geographical location, employer, and experience, the average pay for health information compliance officers is $98,949 per year. [4]

Career Opportunities

Health information compliance officers are employed mainly by doctor’s offices, long-term nursing facilities, residential care facilities, outpatient care centers, and some governmental agencies.

Conclusion

Suppose you have an analytical mind who loves the challenge of predicting and identifying health trends and helping to shape the landscape of public health in the future. In that case, public health informatics is a career calling your name. We encourage you to learn more about health informatics in public and population health and discover more about the career options that await you.