This certificate introduces the student to information systems terminology, structures, applications, and their relationship to management functions in health services organizations. Health providers and enterprise-wide health systems are continuing to make multi-million dollar investments in information systems in order to meet new market and regulatory requirements. Health services managers are required to play a critical role in the analysis, design, acquisition, installation, operation and ultimate success of information systems necessary to meet organizational goals and objectives in such environments. This program exposes students to the fundamental IS/IT applications used to support Healthcare management functions. In addition, applications and management issues unique to industry segments (e.g., long-term care, home care, hospital administration, physician practice management) will also be explored. The certificate is designed to ensure that students are schooled in the terminology, conceptual models, applications, opportunities, and limitations of core technologies and their relation to information systems used in health services, to the point where they can ask appropriate questions, recognize and state significant issues, and participate in the discussion and analysis of information systems development and application.

Ultimately, the program seeks to provide students with an understanding of the basic structures of information systems in health administration; the relationship of these systems to managerial functions, such as communications, coordination, control, strategic and process planning and decision making; and the important policy and ethical issues associated with privacy, confidentiality, and security in information systems. A key component of the certificate will be a commitment to provide continuous updates to course materials, as US Healthcare technology and policy evolves. Also, since the certificate represents the integration and application of a prerequisite CIS or Computer Science sequence, students will be grounded in fundamental technologies commonly used in Healthcare in addition to gaining an understanding of major information management issues specific to Healthcare systems.