A Look Inside Healthcare IT Jobs

By Rick Fromme

Nearly anyone who works in or has had to visit a healthcare facility or doctor’s within the past five or ten years has noticed how many practices and facilities have gone almost all-digital.

In fact, recently a friend of mine was telling me about his experience at his new primary care doctor. He remarked how the doctor was typing notes and making entries on his laptop during almost the entire time they were together in the examination room. (His previous doctor and staff had made handwritten notes in an actual paper chart during his office visits.)

One unequivocal fact: Healthcare + IT = a perfect “hit.”  Today healthcare provides us more technology than most professions. They use technology to treat, track, record, categorize and communicate with all their patients, vendors, the government and insurance providers. These are just some of the ways IT professionals have taken up residency in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare IT (HIT) uses computerized and digital technology in a wide variety of medical facilities to
increase the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical healthcare for providers and patients. HIT includes many different facets, as its professionals are integral in the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) and are involved in training, installing, testing, maintaining, and troubleshooting these systems. They’re also involved in networks for digital imaging such as Picture Archiving System (PACS), and may work in other areas throughout the vast gamut of the healthcare and medical science industries.  These may include research and development of new products (i.e., robotic surgery equipment/software, advanced diagnostic equipment); information storage and retrieval such as medical billing and coding systems, transcription software, and many other applications; diagnostic and prognostic-facilitating equipment; applications, procedures and devices designed for patient treatment and care, as is the case with some today’s cutting-edge prosthetic devices and other modalities. In fact, HIT is one of the fastest growing specialty areas in IT today.

One fact remains immutable: As the demand for healthcare increases within the next several decades, there will likewise be an ever-increasing demand for HIT services in a multiplicity of medical science and healthcare-related disciplines and facilities.  

Due to the variety of programs and roles needed to maintain and operate these numerous areas of
specialization and systems, as well as the many different types of software, hardware, networks, and applications, there will be numerous HIT positions, needs, and certifications.

  

Becoming a HIT Professional

One way to get a job in HIT is from the clinical side; that is, a clinician that transitions into becoming a HIT specialist. Clinicians who transfer into HIT may come from a profession such as sonography (since they already do most their work on sophisticated digital audio/video platforms), or a nurse, laboratory worker, other allied healthcare specialist, or even a physician.  These clinicians may be seeking a new challenge, or looking for different ways to apply their clinical knowledge and experience, or are seeking to transition out of direct patient care. Some HIT subspecialties for former clinicians are nursing informatics, clinical process improvement, and service line analysts.  If fact, some hospitals and healthcare employers may provide on-the-job training or sponsor your formal HIT training; that’s certainly worth looking into.

The biggest challenge for clinicians entering HIT is, generally speaking, the IT world-at-large is imbued with a different mindset than that of clinical healthcare. While sometimes portrayed in films and TV as being eccentric “geeks,” in fact the IT culture and operational paradigm is far more rigid than the clinical environment. Most people have seen an IT flowchart.  In the IT world, most everything follows a design, and every step should be repeatable. Also, while clinicians usually focus on patients, HIT pros focus on systems, both micro (designing a mobile app that can take one’s blood pressure) and macro (providing comprehensive IT services for major a medical facility and its adjunct facilities and satellite offices). And, as is the case with transitioning to any new field, one must learn new a new vocabulary and terminology; in the world of IT, it’s commonly known as “Geek speak.”

Another route to a successful HIT career is when someone who already has education and professional experience in the IT field applies their expertise in a medical science and/or healthcare-related function.  Due to increased competition, it can be more difficult to land a job in HIT if you don’t have any previous healthcare experience.  Here’s where doing your due diligence in learning how to ace an interview is paramount. (To better hone your in-person and telephone interview skills, check out our previous blogs: ("Questions to Ask During a Job Interview," "Here's Looking at You, Kid," "Topmost Tips for Terrific Telephony," and "Application Cogitation"). Particularly when IT experts have previously worked for a large organization such as Microsoft, they need to make a paradigm shift in their thinking. When at Microsoft, IT is generally one’s raison d’etre. However, when working for large healthcare provider, Microsoft is oftentimes a support system, not the key focus.

IT professionals need to realize that in healthcare, physicians and other healthcare providers need to work effectively, efficiently, and accurately. If not, the quality and quantity of patient care is at risk. This, in turn, impacts the financial health of the organization at-large.  And, similar to the clinician that needs to learn “Geek speak,” depending upon what field of the ever expanding healthcare industry an IT pro enters, they may have to learn medical terminology.

Getting Smart for HIT

Most HIT jobs require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a field related to either healthcare or IT.  Advanced degrees such as an MBA, MSN, or MS in an IT or MIS-related field are always helpful.  If you’re an IT professional, keep your IT certifications active, such as CISSP, CCNA, and PMP, as these are in demand in HIT.

Likewise, in the clinical field, unless one’s certification didn’t require a bachelor’s degree   (i.e., phlebotomist), having a bachelor’s or advanced degree is also advisable. For any clinician, it’s also important to keep their licensure and certifications current, as they’re still preferable for many HIT positions as well.

A valuable resource for those interested in learning more about HIT is the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society. It can provide more information concerning the most rapidly growing HIT jobs, IT jobs, HIT skills in greatest demand, and where to look for the greatest number of HIT job openings.

In this article, I discussed the ever-expanding field of healthcare IT or HIT. I discussed some of the areas and specialties where a HIT professional may work within the vast world of medical science and healthcare. I also discussed ways a healthcare clinician can transition into HIT and conversely, how an IT professional can transition into HIT. If you found this article interesting and useful, please share it with your colleagues and friends. As always, I’m eager to read your comments and questions below. 

Rick Fromme combines entrepreneurial enthusiasm with an insider's knowledge of the medical industry to co-found MedMasters.com. Both his drive and perspective helps provide healthcare professionals with a superior mechanism with which to communicate, network and market their strengths. Prior to founding MedMasters.com, Rick operated a highly successful medical device distributorship. Other milestones in his 12-year career in the medical industry include a key position at a medical device start-up company that was later sold to the Ethicon Endo division of Johnson & Johnson. You may also reach Rick by connecting with him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube. 

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