Hybrid (HyFlex) or Online
The Hybrid (HyFlex) mode allows students to attend select core classes in a traditional in-person experience or in online synchronous experience. Students can choose to attend some or all classes online or in person.
The fully Online option allows students to complete the program exclusively through online synchronous instruction. Students who select this option are not allowed to be on campus and must complete a Quality Improvement Project (these students cannot participate in the Practicum experience).
Review specific differences between the two formats here.
Full-Time or Part-Time
Full-time students can complete the program in 15 months (including 2 summers). Part-time students can complete the program in as little as 27 months. Part-time plans of study need to be approved by the program.
Applied Health Informatics Program Curriculum
The curriculum includes a core sequence of courses (24 credits) as a foundational base of knowledge, skills, and competencies in Health Informatics. Students then select a specialization of study (12 credits). In the final phase of the program, students choose between two experiential pathways (12 credits): Practicum or Quality Improvement Project.
For the Practicum pathway, students complete 360 hours of practicum experience in a real-work setting at a health system, community practice, non-profit organization involved in healthcare, or a health technology company. The practicum provides students with on-the-job training in an internship format that helps to provide an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in a healthcare technology setting while building their resumes.
The Quality Improvement Project pathway provides students with a well-developed health information technology experience with the flexibility to focus on a specific problem within health IT under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
Core Curriculum (24 credits)
Each course is 3 credits.
HHA 500: Healthcare Delivery Systems
Focuses on historic and current issues on how health care is delivered, organized, governed, and financed in the United States.
HHA 501: Health Information Essentials: Standards and Interoperability
Provides broad but significant immersion into the field of biomedical and health informatics.
HHA 502: Health Information Systems and HIT
Provides broad but significant immersion into the fields of health information systems and technology.
HHA 503: Healthcare Cybersecurity: Regulations, Confidentiality, and Privacy
Provides foundational knowledge in the laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related to the confidentiality, privacy, and security on all levels of health-related information and infrastructures.
HHA 504: Cloud Computing for Healthcare
Introduces open-source cloud computing along with the skills necessary to securely deploy applications and websites to the cloud, including the command line, Linux operating systems, open source software development, setting up servers and Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP).
HHA 505: Healthcare Leadership and Management Essentials
Provides broad but significant immersion in organizational change, leadership, organizational behavior, project management, and change management.
HHA 506: Research Design and Methodology for Health Informatics Professionals
Provides an overview of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research designs and methodologies.
HHA 507: Data Science for Healthcare: Python and R
Provides an introduction to the computer tools and software commonly used to perform the data analytics, and a general overview of the machine learning techniques commonly applied to datasets for knowledge discovery within health care.
Specialization (12 credits)
Each course is 4 credits.
CLINICAL SYSTEMS LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIZATION
HHA 530: Clinical Decision Making and Process Improvement
Provides in-depth immersion into the knowledge and skills required to implement effective clinical decision making systems.
HHA 531: Health Information System Lifecycles: Acquisition, Development, and Deployment
Provides in-depth immersion into the knowledge and skills required to participate in the development or selection of an information system for clinicians.
HHA 532: Leading and Managing Clinical Information Systems Projects and Change
Provides in-depth immersion into the knowledge and skills required to lead projects, manage change, and promote adoption associated with implementing clinical information systems.
OR
DATA ANALYTICS SPECIALIZATION
HHA 550: Applied Healthcare Analytics
Focuses on the design and implementation of analytics to aide in the evaluation of health in populations.
HHA 551: Emerging Technologies in Healthcare
Focuses on the application of new and emerging technologies in healthcare, as well as the technologies that are utilized to extract, process, and manipulate data in cloud environments.
HHA 552: Healthcare Data Visualization
Focuses on techniques and tools for designing and implementing effective visual representations of healthcare data utilizing tools such as Tableau and Power BI.
Experiential Pathway (12 credits)
Each course is 6 credits.
PRACTICUM
HHA 586: Specialization Practicum I
The first course in a two-part experiential learning sequence designed to provide significant, 180-hour hands-on immersion into health informatics.
HHA 588: Specialization Practicum II
The second and final course (continuation of HHA 586) in a two-part experiential learning sequence designed to provide significant, 180-hour hands-on immersion into health informatics.
OR
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
HHA 590: Quality Improvement Project I
The first course in a two-part sequence giving students the opportunity to demonstrate integration, synthesis, and application of their knowledge and skills by identifying a real-world health informatics problem and researching best practices that can be utilized to create a solution.
HHA 592: Quality Improvement Project II
The second and final course (continuation of HHA 590) in a two-part sequence giving students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills acquired in the program.
For additional details on courses and course descriptions, see the Stony Brook University Graduate School Bulletin.
