James Sears, Staff Writer
The Board of Regents has approved the Master of Science in Healthcare Management and Informatics (MS-HMI) program that will be offered at Kennesaw State University starting fall 2015.
The Board of Regents has approved KSU to offer the Master of Science in Healthcare Management and Informatics in fall of 2015. According to the prospectus for the MS-HMI, the new program was purposed based on the demands of a health information technology workforce in the United States. The goal of the program is “to educate and produce a robust workforce that has the skills and knowledge of the intersecting domains of healthcare, management, and informatics such that the graduates will be armed to fill diverse careers as developers, managers, and leaders of the evolving healthcare landscape.”
Ken Harmon, the vice president of academic affairs, said in an email that the program is a creative way to meet market demands.
“I am excited about this program,” Harmon said. “It is a creative, interdisciplinary approach to meeting market demands.”
Dr. Sweta Sneha, the director of Healthcare Management and Informatics, said the new master’s program spans multiple colleges: The Coles College of Business; College of Science and Mathematics; Wellstar College of Health and Human Sciences; and the College of Computer Science and Software Engineering. Sneha also said that the program is the first interdisciplinary program of its kind at KSU and its interdisciplinary approach will allow students to gain an understanding of the intersecting domains of healthcare management and informatics for a more effective practice of healthcare.
On the impact for students, Sneha said students may benefit from drawing students from internal or external schools.
“If [students] would want to increase their domain of knowledge by encompassing informatics in it, they would have a lot to gain by enrolling in the program,” Sneha said.
Sneha also talked about the high interest in the program from students.
“The phones really keeps ringing off the hook,” Sneha said. “There are a lot of inquiries for the program about when it’s being launched and how they could apply.”
Sneha said KSU is excited about the impact the new master’s program will have creating workers for the health IT sector in the state of Georgia.
“There is a huge need, both locally in the state of Georgia, nationally and globally, in the health IT sector,” Sneha said. “This sector is growing faster than it can even sustain itself.”
