Health Informatics Programs in Utah

Health informatics programs in Utah provide students with a strong foundation that they can use when working in hospitals and other medical facilities. These programs focus more on the operations of those facilities like:

  • hiring
  • training
  • scheduling new employees
  • following and setting up budgets
  • working with patients

Some programs even include classes on modern applications like creating websites for those facilities or coding the records of patients. The top programs in Utah are open to both residents of the state as well as those who move to Utah for school.

Weber State University

Weber State University, sometimes called just Weber or WSU, is a large public university with an enrollment of more than 26,000 students in Odgen. The university opened in 1889 after The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints founded a small school in the city called Weber Stake Academy. Weber later served as a normal college or teaching academy that prepared teachers. It later became a junior college and later a full college. Weber State University is now a full university that offers dozens of majors and has an active online campus for students who prefer taking classes online.

Associate’s of Applied Science

Weber State University offers several of the top health informatics programs in Utah. They include a coding certificate for those who do not want to go to college and an Associate of Applied Science. This AAS degree takes two years for full-time students to complete and helps them work in medical transcription, billing and coding and as analysts. Students must complete two prerequisites before beginning the program:

  • integrated human anatomy
  • physiology and medical terminology

The health informatics program then asks students to take 12 classes that are worth one to four credits each. These are core courses in the health care field. These classes include:

  • diagnosis coding
  • computer applications in health care
  • introduction to quality improvement
  • health care database management and security

You’ll also take support courses that are worth up to 21 credits, including classes like:

  • introduction to pharmacology
  • introduction to physiology
  • introduction to spreadsheets
  • microcomputer applications

Bachelor’s of Science

Those who want to expand their options after graduation might enroll in the Bachelor of Science program that Weber State University offers in health informatics. This program requires that students take two support classes in business computer skills and accounting. It also includes all courses from its AAS program. This allows students to earn an associate degree and begin working in the field before earning a bachelor’s degree.

Once you complete all those courses, you will take between 32 and 33 credits of required health informatics classes like:

  • health information services management
  • health care financial administration
  • biomedical research support
  • health care networks and databases

Weber offers two final options for students enrolled in this program. You can write your own thesis paper and present your work before earning your degree. Doing a thesis is worth three credits. You also have the option of doing an internship in a local medical facility for four extra credits.

Accreditation

The Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM)

Contact

3848 Harrison Blvd.

Ogden, UT 84408

(800) 626-6000

Program Website

Western Governors University

Founded in 1997, Western Governors University is a nonprofit university that operates completely online. As the university grew, it earned the right to offer classes through various departments that it developed, including:

  • education
  • health care
  • business

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated more than $4 million to the university, which it used to establish new online campuses for students living in both Washington and Texas. Its main campus operates out of Salt Lake City and offers classes to thousands of students. More than 20,000 students all across the country now take classes from Western Governors University every year.

BS Health Information Management

WGU offers one of the more unique health informatics programs in the state. Instead of letting you graduate once you take a certain number of classes, the university requires that you demonstrate proficiency in different areas through:

  • a portfolio that you maintain
  • a capstone that you do at the end of your studies
  • the tests that you take in school

Students must take at least 12 units of classes each semester and pass those units through competency exams. You’ll take traditional classes like:

  • college algebra
  • critical thinking and logic
  • introduction to the humanities

You must also take classes in health informatics that might include:

  • health care information systems management
  • health care compliance
  • health care statistics and research
  • health care financial resource management

The capstone project that you do in your senior lets you demonstrate some of the skills that you learned and show professors that you are ready to work in the health informatics field.

Accreditation

The Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM)

Contact

4001 South 700 East

Suite 700

Salt Lake City, UT 84107

(801) 274-3280

Program Website

If you have an interest in health informatics and management, now is a good time to take a look at some of the top programs. Utah is home to major cities like Salt Lake City as well as smaller communities that have a need for specialists in this field. With the top health informatics programs in Utah, you can learn the skills that make you in demand to those employers.

We think you might also like: Healthcare Management Masters Programs in Utah