The CAHIIM accreditors noted strengths of a well-connected program director and advisory board. They also pointed out the program’s relationships with a diverse number of programs within the department and with the world-renowned UAB Health System and School of Medicine.
“Accreditation is an important and significant undertaking,” said Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., chair, UAB Department of Health Services Administration. “We are thrilled that the hard work and determination of the faculty and staff in the MSHI Program have been rewarded with this milestone.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) program is one of only 11 Health Informatics (HI) programs in the U.S. accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Accreditation through CAHIIM is the highest achievable education and curriculum standard available for MSHI programs.
The CAHIIM accreditors noted strengths of a well-connected program director and advisory board. They also pointed out the program’s relationships with a diverse number of programs within the department and with the world-renowned UAB Health System and School of Medicine.
“Accreditation is an important and significant undertaking,” said Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., chair, UAB Department of Health Services Administration. “We are thrilled that the hard work and determination of the faculty and staff in the MSHI Program have been rewarded with this milestone.”
CAHIIM accredited programs produce graduates capable of meeting the challenges of an information-intensive environment across a variety of healthcare organizations. The UAB MSHI program, housed in the UAB School of Health Professions, will be reevaluated regularly by CAHIIM in an effort to provide continuous quality improvement through feedback and collaboration. Accreditation is a peer review process to evaluate programs with CAHIIM Standards.
“Having accreditation means we join a select group of graduate health informatics programs across the country, only 5 of which are completely online, like UAB,” said Sue Feldman, RN, Ph.D., director, Graduate Programs in Health Informatics. “Like Joint Commission for hospitals and CAHME for Health Administration programs, CAHIIM accreditation is a stamp of approval for anyone comparing programs. It is a declaration that not only are we upholding the standards of the university; we are committed to advancing the field of health informatics.”
UAB designed the MSHI program specifically for students, located anywhere around the nation, to learn while they maintain their full-time job. The blended delivery format is a convenient mixture of online classes with only two 3-day residential requirements per year.
The comprehensive MSHI curriculum, designed to be completed in only two years, integrates the domains of information and communication technology, the healthcare delivery process, and leadership and management principles.
The MSHI program offers two graduate tracks. The Data Analytics track graduates learn about database modeling, analysis, and visualization such that data become useful and actionable. The User Experience track graduates understand the intricate nuances required in user-centered design of systems.
