The development of information technologies (IT) has given numerous benefits to various areas of human life. Healthcare is not an exception, as effective use of IT can significantly increase the quality of care provided in hospitals and other medical institutions. Healthcare IT is one of the fastest-growing areas in the job market, as it allows the health care providers to improve the system of collecting, analyzing, and storing information involved in the process of communicating with the patients (Hein, 2013). Clinical application analyst is the best choice for me as it is one of the healthcare IT roles requiring appropriate knowledge and experience to sustain the effectiveness of the use of healthcare technologies.
Clinical application analysts collect and analyze data about the use of application software at healthcare units and ensure that appropriate applications are used effectively by medical workers and function properly. The position requires knowledge and experience with SQL based applications, HL7 Interfaces, disaster recovery and backup procedures, ITIL standards, LAN, DNS, networking, etc. The job requires appropriate qualifications enabling the person to solve technical problems. Clinical application analysts need to have appropriate knowledge in microcomputing and understanding of information systems and the way they influence the customers.
Many employers prefer candidates with a master’s degree in computer science or any healthcare discipline and several years of experience in a clinical environment. Clinical licensure is the credential strongly preferred by employers. I am sure that I am a good fit for this job becauseI hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science and healthcare management. Moreover, I can perform appropriate educational activities to maintain professional licensure.
The work setting of clinical application analysts usually includes different parts of medical institutions using IT applications in the process of delivering health care services. Job responsibilities include troubleshooting application issues to resolution, assisting in the management and processing of clinical information and providing outcome reporting (Clinical Application Analyst, 2013). Besides, clinical application analysts perform analysis, development, and testing of documentation screens used by medical workers and maintain the functionality of clinical applications. The responsibilities also include providing quality surveys, independently leading application grades, collaborating with other analysts to provide system integrations, and guiding more junior analysts (Clinical Application Analyst, 2013). Clinical application analysts work to improve workflows using their unique experience and help to design, implement, and maintain clinical systems (Hein, 2013).
Opportunities for career growth include climbing the career ladder from junior level analyst to higher-level analyst. The annual salary ranges from 40 to 100 thousand dollars per year. The average salary is nearly seventy thousand dollars per year. Job growth is expected to be rather high, as the healthcare industry continues adopting IT applications and electronic medical records. The demand for specialists who have a blend of skills in IT and healthcare is constantly growing and is not supposed to decline in the nearest future.
The modern healthcare system experiences a high demand for all kinds of information technology innovation to improve its services and maintain effectiveness and sustainability (Help wanted: Healthcare IT professionals in high demand, n.d.). Such a situation opens great opportunities for people with analytic skills in dealing with technical problems and appropriate education. I understand that clinical application analyst is a responsible position requiring specific knowledge and allowing contributing to better functioning of the healthcare system.
References
Clinical Application Analyst. (2013). Web.
Hein, R. (2013). Seven healthcare IT roles that are transforming tech careers. Web.
Help wanted: Healthcare IT professionals in high demand. (n.d.). Web.