Health Informatics Specialists: Career Overview
Apply knowledge of nursing and informatics to assist in the design, development, and ongoing modification of computerized health care systems. May educate staff and assist in problem solving to promote the implementation of the health care system.
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The Daily Work of Health Informatics Specialists Take On?
The day-to-day responsibilities of health informatics specialists span:
- Translate nursing practice information between nurses and systems engineers, analysts, or designers, using object-oriented models or other techniques.
- Use informatics science to design or implement health information technology applications for resolution of clinical or health care administrative problems.
- Develop or implement policies or practices to ensure the privacy, confidentiality, or security of patient information.
- Analyze and interpret patient, nursing, or information systems data to improve nursing services.
- Identify, collect, record, or analyze data relevant to the nursing care of patients.
- Apply knowledge of computer science, information science, nursing, and informatics theory to nursing practice, education, administration, or research, in collaboration with other health informatics specialists.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate health information technology applications, tools, processes, or structures to assist nurses with data management.
- Design, develop, select, test, implement, and evaluate new or modified informatics solutions, data structures, and decision-support mechanisms to support patients, health care professionals, and their information management and human-computer and human-technology interactions within health care contexts.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Top health informatics specialists rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.### Key Skills
The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Clinical Electronic Health Record Nurse (Clinical EHR Nurse)
- Clinical Informaticist
- Clinical Informatics Analyst
- Clinical Informatics Nurse
- Clinical Informatics Specialist
- Clinical Quality Auditor
- Clinical Specialist
- Clinical Systems Educator
How Many Health Informatics Specialists Are There?
There are about 401,507 health informatics specialists working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +3.5% over the projection horizon.
Health Informatics Specialists Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $156,714 |
| Hourly median | $75.34 |
| 10th percentile | $98,063 |
| 25th percentile | $127,389 |
| 75th percentile | $186,039 |
| 90th percentile | $215,365 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| California | $127,660 |
| Washington | $127,420 |
| Colorado | $124,010 |
| New Jersey | $123,640 |
| Massachusetts | $121,580 |
| District of Columbia | $114,110 |
| Virginia | $113,500 |
| Rhode Island | $112,980 |
| Oregon | $111,140 |
| Minnesota | $106,740 |
| Connecticut | $105,860 |
| New York | $105,610 |
| Texas | $104,970 |
| North Carolina | $104,940 |
| Delaware | $104,070 |
| Alabama | $103,730 |
| Georgia | $103,380 |
| Maryland | $103,200 |
| Nevada | $101,810 |
| Arizona | $101,730 |
| Florida | $100,770 |
| New Hampshire | $100,700 |
| Oklahoma | $100,450 |
| Michigan | $100,240 |
| West Virginia | $99,050 |
| Ohio | $98,990 |
| Wisconsin | $98,790 |
| Vermont | $98,690 |
| Maine | $98,660 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,450 |
| Kansas | $97,300 |
| Indiana | $96,470 |
| North Dakota | $96,350 |
| Illinois | $95,920 |
| South Dakota | $95,850 |
| South Carolina | $94,740 |
| New Mexico | $94,570 |
| Utah | $93,330 |
| Missouri | $92,740 |
| Nebraska | $92,090 |
| Iowa | $91,670 |
| Louisiana | $89,800 |
| Montana | $89,060 |
| Wyoming | $88,790 |
| Hawaii | $86,700 |
| Alaska | $84,800 |
| Mississippi | $82,870 |
| Tennessee | $82,430 |
| Kentucky | $81,270 |
| Arkansas | $72,540 |
| Idaho | $68,810 |
| Puerto Rico | $61,940 |
| Virgin Islands | $56,650 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Pay for health informatics specialists differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $124,677 | 16.7% | 1.06 |
| New England | $113,821 | 6.0% | 1.28 |
| Middle Atlantic | $107,776 | 14.7% | 1.10 |
| Rocky Mountains | $105,235 | 2.7% | 0.69 |
| Southwest | $103,833 | 12.8% | 1.03 |
| Southeast | $100,497 | 26.9% | 1.21 |
| Plains States | $98,261 | 6.0% | 0.91 |
| Great Lakes | $97,913 | 14.0% | 1.00 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $160,800 | 8,510 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $145,440 | 10,950 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $132,580 | 13,940 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $132,290 | |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | WA | $127,540 | 250 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | WA | $127,500 | 270 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $127,150 | 25,320 |
| Midland, TX | TX | $126,660 | 180 |
Top Industries Employing Health Informatics Specialists
The bulk of health informatics specialists are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 168,670 | $105,750 |
| Finance and Insurance | 63,990 | $104,910 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 59,610 | $109,210 |
| Information | 36,050 | $107,630 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 32,810 | $98,600 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 24,760 | $105,590 |
| Manufacturing | 23,750 | $109,680 |
| Educational Services | 20,170 | $88,680 |
Tools and Technology
- Data base management system software: Apache Hadoop (hot technology)
- Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
- Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
- Geographic information system: ESRI ArcGIS software (hot technology)
- Analytical or scientific software: IBM SPSS Statistics (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: JavaScript (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Business intelligence and data analysis software: Microsoft Power BI (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for health informatics specialists reflects the following characteristics:
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Telephone Conversations
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities
How to Become Health Informatics Specialists
Most health informatics specialists positions require a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Medical and Health Services Managers (Primary-Short)
- Clinical Research Coordinators (Primary-Long)
- Computer Systems Analysts (Primary-Long)
- Clinical Data Managers (Primary-Short)
- Epidemiologists (Supplemental)
- Social Science Research Assistants (Primary-Long)
- Health Education Specialists (Primary-Short)
- Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary (Supplemental)
Top Programs to Study For This Career
Aspiring health informatics specialists typically earn programs in:
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services
4 programs across 3 majors
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 15-1211.01 (Computer Systems Analysts).
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