Health Informatics Certificate

The Health Informatics Certificate program is designed for health care professionals who want to learn how to leverage technology to improve patient care. The program is also ideal for nurses looking to transition from bedside care to using their clinical knowledge to discover innovative ways to implement technology within a health care organization.

Finally, the program provides those without a clinical background with the knowledge they need to get started in the field of health informatics.

The certificate program is available part-time or full-time and can be completed online, face-to-face, or hybrid.

Completion of the Health Informatics Certificate program does not make a student eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) exam.

Gainful Employment Disclosure (PDF)

Program Goals

Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to work at the intersection of health care and information technology. In the case of current health care workers who have health care related degrees, exposure to certificate courses will increase their skill set for practice in an information intensive health care environment. For students with computer or information technology degrees, the certificate courses will expose them to the uniqueness and complexity of work processes in health care. Specifically, candidates who successfully complete the certificate should be able to:

  • Understand how local, state, and federal legislation impact the use of information technology in health care.
  • Identify how health informatics improves health care effectiveness and efficiency.
  • Examine the role the electronic health record plays in health care processes.
  • Explain the impact evaluation, consumer informatics, decision support and database systems have on health care processes.

Course Sequence

The Health Informatics Certificate is available to all students holding a baccalaureate degree. Students who have not previously passed a graduate health care systems course must first complete COHE 6000 prior to taking any other courses. The certificate requires successful completion of 15 s.h. from the following courses:

Foundations Course (6 semester credit hours)

  • COHE 6430: Health Data Management (3 – Fall)
  • HIMA 6060: Health Informatics (3 – Fall and Spring)
    HIMA 6060 is a co-requisite for all other courses and must be taken the first semester

Elective Courses (9 semester credit hours)

  • COHE 6410: Electronic Health Records (3 – Spring)
  • COHE 6420: Evaluation Methods in Health Informatics (3 – Fall)
  • COHE 6450: Decision Support in Health Care (3 – Fall)
  • COHE 6470: Health Information Privacy and Security (3 – Fall)
  • COHE 6480: Health Data Structures (3 – Summer 11)
  • COHE 6540: Consumer Health Informatics (3 – Summer 1)
  • COHE 6550: Health Informatics Project Design and Management (3 – Spring)
  • COHE 6590: Health Data Analytics (3 – Spring)
  • COHE 6615: Social and Organizational Issues in Health Informatics (3 – Spring)
  • COHE 6630: Quality Management in Health Care (3 – Spring)

Certificate students may transfer credits to other graduate programs, but acceptance into the certificate program does not guarantee acceptance into other programs.

Students need to apply for certificate graduation during their last semester of courses. Students will not be allowed to repeat a failed course.

Admission Information

Admission into the certificate program is on a rolling basis. Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in their undergraduate or post-graduate studies. Applicants must submit a one-page statement of purpose as to why they wish to acquire a certificate in Health Informatics, along with their official transcripts from all the institutions they have attended. Students must create an account on the ECU Graduate School Web-Site, complete an application form and submit an application fee.

Apply Now

Students who are currently in a graduate degree program at ECU who wish to add a certificate may do so by submitting an ‘Add a Certificate’ form. This form can be accessed via the Graduate School Forms site (click the ‘Request to add a certificate’ link and complete the sharepoint form).

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Dr. Robert Campbell (program director) – contact details.