George Mason University

Menu

College of Health and Human Services

Certificate in Health Information Systems

Point of Contact
Dr. Khalid Moidu
Phone: 703-993-9734
Email: kmoidu@gmu.edu

This Certificate prepares clinicians and health care managers to develop and manage health information systems and electronic commerce services. Students learn the development and management of systems and service related to patient records, enterprise data management in health industry, and Telehealth. The Certificate is ideal for people with technical/programming skills that have been promoted to new managerial positions in the health care industry and wish to enhance their understanding of health care issues and management techniques. It is also ideal for clinicians and managers with little background in database management, who wish to gain more skills and understanding about organizing health databases.

Employment Prospects

Admission Requirements

Students applying to the Certificate program must have a bachelor's degree. No prior computer programming training is needed, although knowledge of HTML language is assumed. Application is made through the College of Health and Human Services.

Tuition Information

Tuition rates and information are available on GMU's Catalog Website.

Program of Study

The Certificate of Health Information System is comprised of 15 credits (five 3 credit courses). If the students do not have recent, relevant experience in the US Health Industry, an additional 3-credit course is required in the US Health System, thus bringing the number of credits required to 18. The courses in the Certificate are as follows:

  • Pre-requisite course
    • HAP 678** (3:3:0)
      Introduction to the U.S. Health System
      Prerequisite to all other certificate courses for students who do not have familiarity with all aspects of U.S. healthcare system and recent working experience. Explores the structure, function, and financing of U.S. healthcare delivery systems. Familiarizes students with the development of the various subsystems of care and the ways in which public, private, and social forces influence the politics of healthcare, shape the system, and impact public health. Includes analysis of systems infrastructure and the socio-political context of the U.S. healthcare system. Course Website.
      ** HAP 678 is waived for applicants with experience in health care industry or with an undergraduate course in this area.
  • Required Courses
    • HAP 586 (3:3:0)
      Process Improvement for Health Services
      Examines how improved work processes lead to quality improvement. Explores contribution of operations research and quality management to improve delivery and production of health services and business processes from the perspective of healthcare managers. Course Website.
    • HAP 720 (3:3:0)
      Health Data Integration
      Students learn to manipulate large databases, create link table queries, write SQL application programs, understand sources of data conflicts, and identify methods of integrating ODBC databases with legacy data. Students learn concepts of data warehousing, methods of analysis of large databases including Bayesian belief networks and machine learning in the health care context. Course involves a semesterlong data integration group project. Course Website.
    • HAP 601 (3:3:0)
      Electronic Commerce and Online Market for Health Services
      Students explore the development of online health services, the organization of online businesses, online marketing, online financial and clinical transactions, and venture capital and IPO process. In addition, students learn about creating and maintaining web pages and online databases. The course reviews the literature on impact of computer services on patient care and health care organizations, and examples of successful and bankrupt technology firms in health care. Students, in groups, draft a business plan and develop early version of the service they are proposing. Course Website.
    • HAP 709 (3:3:0)
      Health Care Databases
      Introduces students to design and use of health and medical databases. Provides hands-on experience with design and use of databases. Explores uses of medical record systems. Includes review and analysis of databases and database management systems. Examines application of databases to clinical and managerial transaction. Course Website.
    • HAP 740 (3:3:0)
      Management of Health Information Systems
      Introduces health and medical information systems with emphasis on systems analysis and design to support managerial and clinical communications and decision making. Explores trends and innovations in information technology and systems, focusing on the managerial oversight of health and medical information systems. Explores contemporary management strategies for information systems personnel. Course Website.
  • Total = 15 Credits

Explanation of Credit Hours
Course titles are followed by numbers in parentheses (0:0:0), separated by colons. The numbers have the following significance:

  • First Number: credits for the course
  • Second Number: hours of lecture or seminar per week for the course
  • Third Number: hours of laboratory for the course

For independent study, readings, topics, or similar courses, individual instructors set hours.