UMBC offers a variety of master’s degree and certificate options. Our Health Information Technology graduate program leverages a student’s experience toward a range of opportunities within the Health Information Technology profession. UMBC's in-person Health Information Technology program is designed to prepare computer science, information systems, healthcare professionals, and other experienced professionals to fill a range of opportunities within the healthcare profession. These might include: Clinical Care Informatics, Research/Clinical Trial Informatics, Management Consulting, Managed Care, Pharmaceuticals, Government, and Consumer Electronic. UMBC’s Health Information Technology graduate program is offered at the UMBC Main Campus in Catonsville.

1. UMBC Graduate Health Information
Technology Program
Program Overview
June 5, 2014
Dr. Koru
Interim Program Director
www.umbc.edu/hit
4/23/2014

2. Agenda
• UMBC
• Program Director and Faculty
• Why Health IT?
• Opportunities
• Why Health IT at UMBC
• The M.P.S. Degree
• UMBC Graduate School Policies and Designations
• Application Process
4/23/2014

3. University of Maryland Baltimore County
(UMBC)
UMBC = An honors university
• Attracts motivated students and rewards them with all the resources and
attention they need to succeed.
• Encourage interaction between faculty and students in research activates
• One of the most diverse universities in the U.S.
• Recognized for its research and technology programs
US News and World Report Best Colleges
• No.1 “Up and Coming University” for five years running (2009-2013).
• “Up-and-Coming Schools", like #1 UMBC, are “making the most promising and
innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, and student life.”
• UMBC has been named the top national university for “promising and
innovated changes.”
4/23/2014

4. Health IT Interim Program Director
Dr. Koru (gkoru@umbc.edu)
• Graduate Program Interim Director | Associate Professor of Information Systems
• PhD in Computer Science (2004)
• MS in Software Engineering (2002)
• MS in Computer Engineering (1998)
• BSc in Computer Engineering (1996)
Some Career Highlights:
• Research area: Health Information Technology
• Member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
• Serves in the Policy Board for Health Information Exchange organized by the
State of Maryland’s Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC)
• Specific research interests: health IT in home healthcare and hospice, health IT
supported healthcare quality and process improvement, health data analytics,
health information privacy and security, user interface design for health IT, and
software engineering.4/23/2014

5. Our Faculty
• Instructors prominent in the Health IT industry, Academia, and Government fields.
• Information Systems Department Members
• Conduct cutting edge research in Health IT funded by Department of Health and
Human Services
– Health IT Lab @ UMBC http://hit.umbc.edu
• Have real-world experience in industry and research
4/23/2014

6. Why Health IT?
4/23/2014

7. Why Health IT?
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
– HITECH: Health Information Technology for Economical and Clinical Health
– Incentives through Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for Electronic Health
Records Adoption
– Affordable Care Act and Associated Changes
• Patient Centered Continuum of Care
• Value-Based Payment
• Accountable Care Organizations
• All of these with technological innovations such as big data, mobile computing,
cloud computing, social networking, etc. raised expectations on Health IT to meet
the needs of this changing landscape.
• But, is it so straightforward?
4/23/2014

8. Health IT: Opportunities and Challenges
• Expectations from politicians and public are high.
• Leveraging information technology in healthcare has never been straightforward: See
healthcare.gov example.
• Reasons are not only technical:
– Complex workflows and data models
– Difficulty with demonstrating usefulness and ease of use
– Continuous stream of changes and managing them
– High stakes and lack of agreement among stakeholders
• Health Information Exchange, e.g., is a non-technical problem in its core.
4/23/2014

9. Health IT Adoption
• Success relies on understanding various aspects:
– People
– Organizations
– Technology
– Environment
• Health IT MPS Degree is designed to build up knowledge in all of the above
aspects.
4/23/2014

10. Job Opportunities
• Health IT Implementation in Healthcare
• Health IT Development
– Clinical settings, ambulatory care, home & hospice
– Consumer health IT (e-health)
• Medical Devices
• Business Process Intelligence (BPI)
– Insurance Sector
– Public Health
• Legal Firms
• Local, State, and Federal Governments
• Entrepreneurial Initiatives
4/23/2014

11. Why Health IT at UMBC?
• UMBC is uniquely positioned to provide education and training that respond to the
state’s need for qualified technical professionals in the field of healthcare.
• Employers in the Baltimore, DC, and Northern VA region exhibit greater growth in
health informatics and Health Information Technology positions than employers
nationally; the region experienced a 44 percent increase in the total number of
positions of Health Informatics and Health Information Technology positions from
2007-2012.
• UMBC’s Health IT program is sensitive to working professionals and work life
balance
• UMBC’s Department of Information Systems has a long tradition, history and
success in Health IT
4/23/2014

12. The M.P.S. Degree
This degree is aimed at current professionals and not necessarily entry-level recent
graduates or career-changers.
• Mission: Empowering professionals to leverage information technology for
quality healthcare.
• Existing IT/health care experience
• Leadership/supervisory/managerial aspirations.
• Takes an interdisciplinary approach encompassing both discipline and ‘soft’
skill development necessary to function effectively in the workplace.
• Willingness and ability to learn in different areas
• Does NOT require a formal masters’ thesis.
• On-campus currently4/23/2014

13. MPS Health IT: For Whom?
• Healthcare professionals
• Computer Science professionals
• Information Systems professionals
• Other experienced professionals in the Health Information Technology field
• Private and public sector professionals
4/23/2014

14. M.P.S. in Health Information Technology
Six Required Core Courses (18 credits):
• Health Informatics – I
• Health Informatics – II
• Health IT Law & Ethics
• Health IT Policy & Administration
• Health Data Analytics
• Capstone Project
4/23/2014

15. M.P.S. in Health Information Technology
Four Elective Courses (12 credits) -- choose four, such as:
• Health IT Implementation
• Health Information Exchange and Interoperability
• Health Information Privacy & Security
• Public Health Informatics
• Patient Safety & Health IT
• Human Centered Computing in Health IT
• Personalized Medicine
• Quality of Life Technologies
• Process & Quality Improvement with Health IT
• Other Graduate courses approved by Health IT Graduate Program Director
4/23/2014

16. Important Policies & Designations
• Enrollment Classification
– 9 Credits full time, part-time 1-8 credits
• Continuous Registration
– Enrolled every semester in the academic year (fall and spring)
– Leave of Absence is allowed with advisor approval
• Academic Standards
– Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 during course of study
• Transfer Credit
– UMBC’s Graduate School will allow a maximum of 6 graduate credits (two
courses) of transfer credits.
– Consent of the program director is required
– Accepted only if there is equivalency4/23/2014

17. Admission Requirements
• An undergraduate degree in Information Systems, Computer Engineering,
Computer Science, Health Education or a degree related to healthcare professional
practice or healthcare management is recommended.
• Statement of Purpose necessary
• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• International students need appropriate visa, TOEFL and GRE (if applicable)
4/23/2014

18. How To Apply
Apply to UMBC Graduate School:
• Complete and submit the application online at
www.umbc.edu/gradschool/admissions/apply.html
• Submit official college transcript(s) to Graduate School
• Experience Data Form
• Application fee ($50 for online application, $70 for paper application)
• Letters of recommendation helpful but not required
• Fall 2014 Application deadline: August 1, 2014
• For more information contact Renee Eisenhuth (reisen@umbc.edu)
4/23/2014

19. Thank you for Participating!
Program/Academic/Career questions:
Dr. Koru
Interim Program Director
gkoru@umbc.edu
Application/Administrative questions:
Renee Eisenhuth
Interim Program Coordinator
reisen@umbc.edu
4/23/2014