Dive Brief:
- The University of Chicago has launched a master's degree program in biomedical informatics in response to a shortage of specialists needed to analyze data from EHRs.
- The program is geared toward clinicians and other healthcare employees, as well as computer workers seeking to apply skills to a healthcare setting.
- There are two additional master's programs offered in the same geographic area - one at Northwestern University and the other at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dive Insight:
A 2014 report by Burning Glass Technologies, a human resources technology and support services provider, found the demand for health informatics workers is expected to grow at twice the rate of employment and there is "strong evidence" a shortage already exists.
The University of Chicago program will start in March 2016 with a 15-month or 27-month schedule. It will also offer boot camps in statistics and health sciences to bring enrollees up to date in either prerequisite area. Dr. Samual Volchenboum, a founder of the program and director of the Center for Research Informatics at the University of Chicago, said, "There are still shortages of these programs in general compared to the number of people who need this training."