UBC Certificate in Health Informatics

University of British Columbia Canada

Introduction

UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students and Professionals

Health informatics is the application of information technology (IT) within the healthcare industry to better manage organizations and more eff ectively deliver medical services. As the use of computer and communication technologies becomes more widespread throughout the healthcare system, health informatics is increasingly important for the delivery of quality medical care. Designed especially for international students and professionals, the UBC Certifi cate in Health Informatics is a 12-month program that teaches the processes and procedures that enable the use of IT systems within the healthcare industry.

The UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students is focused on the IT systems that enable the use of health information in general, including population data, hospital and clinical information, test and diagnostic reports, patient records, disease and treatment information, pharmaceutical data, bioinformatics, and insurance and legal data. In this sense health informatics is part of the larger field of knowledge management. The intent of this program is to acquire the knowledge and skills to develop IT-enabled business processes that support the use of health information so that healthcare professionals, including policy-makers, administrators, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists and other healthcare workers, can improve individual and social well-being.

All certificate courses are taught in English and take place on The University of British Columbia’s beautiful campuses in Vancouver, Canada. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will receive a Certifi cate in Health Informatics from The University of British Columbia.

Program Objectives

The UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students is specifically designed for international students who want to achieve the following:

• Understand the North American cultural context for healthcare maintenance and delivery

• Learn about the structure of the healthcare system and the industry’s value-chain

• Learn English terminology and expressions in the thematic areas of business, medicine and IT in order to develop the ability to communicate effectively in the domain of health informatics

• Learn how computer and communication technologies are used in healthcare environments

• Understand the many uses of information technology in the healthcare system for both the delivery and management of medical care

• Develop an understanding of healthcare business processes in order to analyze and design new ways of working

• Learn about the many forms of healthcare data and their uses and applications

• Learn how to model business processes from functional and data perspectives in order to determine performance gaps

• Learn the processes and systems used to capture, organize, manipulate and analyze healthcare data

• Learn the functioning of databases and how to add, manipulate and extract data

• Understand the methods of data representation and visualization frequently used in healthcare

• Develop methods of assessing healthcare organizations from an information management perspective

• Learn how to integrate health informatics within business processes, including change management techniques

Format

The UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students is a fourteen month program of study. The curriculum is delivered into classroom and computer lab settings at the University’s main campus at Point Gray and the downtown campus at Robson Square in Vancouver, British Columbia. All courses are taught in English and English language communication skills, both written and oral, are integrated throughout the curriculum. Students are expected to work well in a team-learning environment.

Admission Requirements

UBC Continuing Studies has strict admission requirements for the UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students. These include:

• Minimum two-year diploma or degree in the area of healthcare, such as nursing, healthcare management, laboratory science, clinical practice, biochemistry, etc. For older students a combination of work experience in the healthcare industry and relevant education may be considered.

• English Language Proficiency: TOEFL: 550 and ILTES: 5.5

• Access to a recent-model personal computer for completing assignments (e.g. Pentium 3 or 4 CPU)

Curriculum

The UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students is a broad-based curriculum that combines technology, business process analysis, data analytics, knowledge management, change management, and language and culture. Health informatics for international practitioners is a field requiring intercultural understanding, international communication skills and in-depth understanding of local and international healthcare practices. It is necessary to exchange information clearly with diverse communities of healthcare specialists, patients, colleagues and agencies, organizations and government agencies. An on-going component of the program includes development of communication skills in English and intercultural knowledge. This will be integrated with field visits and field studies of the healthcare practices in North America.

A comprehensive curriculum teaches all aspects of IT-enabled health informatics

Topic Areas

Healthcare Communications

Includes an introduction to the vast literature related to healthcare, research techniques, report writing, presentation skills and cross-cultural communications.

Information Technology and Healthcare Terminology

Includes an introduction to medical, business and IT terminology used in the healthcare industry.

Business Process Analysis and Planning

Provides an introduction to business process analysis including understanding workflow, the importance of business strategy and planning, organizational development, individual and group behaviour, performance systems, technology, and leadership in the management of business activities.

Health Informatics Applications

Provides an understanding of the uses of health information in general and their supporting information technology software and hardware systems.

International Classification Systems for Healthcare Information

Includes an overview of the various international organizations and their coding and classification systems for healthcare information worldwide, including disease, genomic, clinical and bioinformatic data.

Business Process Modeling and Design

Teaches how to map and analyze business events, interactions, data flow and the rules that govern those activities. Course analytical methods for understanding processes, requirements analysis, scope and feasibility analysis, and scenario planning.

Database Design

Includes an overview of databases and supporting hardware and software systems and standard methods for inserting, sorting and querying data and report generation.

Modeling Structured Data for Healthcare

Provides methods of identifying, organizing and coding healthcare data for use within databases.

Design and Analysis of Healthcare Information

Provides the theoretical techniques and practical tools necessary for developing and using health informatics databases.

Healthcare Information Analysis and Presentation

Provides the analytic and communication skills necessary to implement effective use of healthcare information.

Change Management in Healthcare

Provides an understanding of how to implement new business processes and healthcare procedures to effectively use health informatics in organizations.

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Informatics

Provides an introduction into the legal environment of healthcare, both national and international, and the moral and ethical implications of health informatics.

Tuition and Program Fees

Total tuition fees for the UBC Certificate in Health Informatics for International Students is $26,500.

Fees include text books and specialized software. Students are expected to have access to their own personal computer to complete assignments.

Accommodations, food and travel are not included in the tuition fee.