Health-Smart and High Tech: A Marketable Combination
© Megan Malugani
The increasing use of advanced computer technology in clinics and hospitals is fueling the red-hot demand for high-tech professionals who have clinical backgrounds or are willing to learn about healthcare.
Some healthcare employers are offering sign-on and retention bonuses to information technology specialists as well as referral bonuses for IT workers who recruit other technically skilled employees, says Ken Kruger, president and CEO of Healthcare Human Resources Consulting Consortium in New York City. In some cases, healthcare employers are having a tough time competing with other sectors for high tech workers.
Computer technology is becoming essential in virtually all aspects of medicine and healthcare delivery, from scheduling patient appointments to storing electronic patient records and billing insurers, Kruger says. Technical professionals, who are often required to have a bachelor's degree in computer science, may work behind the scenes, programming healthcare-related software or installing, maintaining and modifying health information systems at a hospital or clinic.
Employees who have both a clinical and technical background are particularly hot commodities, says Paul Tang, MD, medical director for clinical informatics at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic in Palo Alto, California, and vice president of Epic Research Institute, a company that makes computer-based patient records. For example, technically trained physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers already understand clinical terms; thus, they can draw on their personal experiences when incorporating computer-based patient record systems into a medical staff's workflow.
Health informatics is an exciting, challenging field with expanding opportunities, Tang says. Computer-based patient records are increasing healthcare providers' accessibility to essential data in emergencies as well as empowering patients to learn more about their own health. Other health informatics initiatives include the development of clinical information support systems that help clinicians make accurate decisions, community health information networks and telemedicine.
The future looks bright for college-educated high tech workers who want to enter the healthcare industry and experienced clinicians who want to delve into technology, experts predict. Many healthcare employers hire computer scientists without extensive healthcare knowledge and train them on specific healthcare-related software packages. Likewise, clinicians without technical backgrounds can enroll in formal health informatics training programs, both short-term and long-term. "As we become more dependent on technology," Kruger says, "there's no question there will be an increased need for IT specialists in healthcare."
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