With jobs in health care expected to grow rapidly over the next few years due to new federal regulations, those looking to add an advanced degree to their resume may want to consider a program in health information technology. Now, Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, has announced it will begin offering 2 advanced health care degrees starting in the spring semester. Program director Thomas Virgona said that the new master's of science and the advanced certificate in health information technology (HIT) will prepare students pursuing careers in academic, industrial and medical settings where knowledge of both technology and applications of health care data are required. "We’re preparing the health care field for the coming changes where they will need real technical skills…that are portable and flexible," Virgona noted. "It’s a changing world; you have to be able to change with it." Federal regulations call for the nationwide implementation of paperless electronic health records (EHR) by 2014. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job opportunities for medical records and health information technicians are expected to grow much faster than the average occupation, by 20%, through the end of the decade. |