Certificate Title: Clinical Informatics Certificate

Certificate Name and Number: Clinical Informatics Certificate - CTCING

Department(s)/Unit(s): Department of Interdisciplinary Health Studies

Delivery Mode:  Online

Terms of Entry:  Fall, Spring, Summer

Enrollment Eligibility: Current degree seeking or non-degree status

Certificate Overview:  Clinical informatics education focuses on how clinicians store, retrieve and analyze health information. In practice, knowledge of clinical informatics transforms the delivery of health care by creating information and communication systems to help clinicians design, implement and analyze health data to enhance individual and population health outcomes, improve patient care, and foster efficient and effective clinician-patient interactions. Clinical informaticians use their knowledge to assess knowledge and needs of health care professionals and patients; characterize and refine clinical processes, develop, implement, and refine clinical decision support systems, and lead or participate in procurement, customization, development, implementation, management, evaluation, and continuous improvement of clinician information for the benefits of patients. They collaborate with other healthcare and technology professionals to develop tools that promote patient care that is safe, efficient, effective, timely, patient centered, and equitable.  Typical expected time to completion is 1½ semesters.

Opportunities upon Completion:  Within healthcare, one of the fastest-growing fields is clinical informatics.  As medical facilities move towards electronic medical records, more skilled professionals in clinical informatics will be needed. Doctors and other healthcare professionals are moving toward greater reliance on information technology and data. Employers hiring clinical informaticians often require at least a baccalaureate degree in a healthcare-related field and a graduate-level certificate in informatics.

Completion Requirements:  The Clinical Informatics Graduate Certificate consists of three courses of three credit hours each, for a total of nine semester credit hours. Upon applying for conferral, students must contact the program coordinator for verification of completion and the awarding of the certificate.

• IHS 5513 - Health Informatics for the Health Professions (3)
• HLTH 6801 - Health Information Systems and Applications (3)
• IHS 6803 - Program Planning and Evaluation in Healthcare (3)

Financial Aid Eligibility Information:

• Non-degree-seeking students enrolled in this certificate are not eligible for federal financial aid.
• Current degree-seeking students may use federal financial aid only for 1) coursework fulfilling requirements of their degree, including required elective hours, or 2) coursework toward a second financial aid-eligible program.
• Students receiving federal financial aid may not take courses for this certificate unless they are also enrolled full-time (9 hours) in their degree program during the same academic term. Financial aid may be used for courses that count toward both degree requirements and the certificate.

Admission Requirements:  The Clinical Informatics Graduate Certificate program will accept students in two categories: (1) those who have been admitted to an advanced degree program at Ohio University and (2) those who possess a bachelor’s or advanced degree but are not currently in a degree program at Ohio University.

• Students who have already been admitted to an advanced degree program at Ohio University (degree-seeking graduate students) need to complete an Application for Update of Graduate Academic Program. This application can be obtained online or in person from the Graduate College. The completed application, including the signature of an advisor and the certificate/program coordinator, should be submitted to the Graduate College office at Ohio University.
• To apply for the certificate program as a non-degree student, you must submit a non-degree application to the Graduate College. Admission requirements include the following:
  • 4-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. university/college or equivalent from a non-U.S. institution
  • Ability to manage graduate studies as evidenced by undergraduate performance, current professional responsibilities, and/or similar criteria.

International Students: This certificate program does not permit full-time enrollment in residence at Ohio University, and an I-20 cannot be issued based on admission to this program.