PHS - Ch. 2 (slides 1-19) Personal Traits & HI Careers

Ch. 2: Personal Traits, Health Informatics Careers, & Teamwork (slides 1-19)

1. Personal Traits
2. HI Career Choices
-HIM & HIT
-Medical Assistant
3. Teamwork
- Roles & Responsibilities & Effective Teams

​Warm-Up

• When you think of careers in healthcare, which jobs first come to mind?

• Which healthcare job or career path interests you most? Why?

  • What personality traits, interests, or skills do you have that make this job a good fit for you?

Critical Thinking...

• Interest in working with computers and able to adapt quickly to changing technology

• More interested in working with medical information than interacting directly with patients

• Organized

• Detail-oriented

• Good-speller

• Trustworthy

• Positive attitude

• Professional appearance

What personal traits and interests make someone a good fit for a career in health informatics services?

What Is Health Informatics Services?

• 📊 Health Informatics is the use of computers and technology to manage and organize health information.

• 💻 People in this field work with electronic health records (EHRs) to keep patient data safe, accurate, and easy to access.

• 🏥 It helps doctors, nurses, and hospitals make better decisions by giving them fast access to important medical information.

​Health Informatics Careers

👩‍💼 Careers in health informatics include

• medical coders, health information technicians, data analysts, and medical assistants.

1. 🎓 These professionals usually need training in both healthcare and computer technology.

2. 🔒 They make sure patient information is private, secure, and organized according to legal and ethical standards.

3. ⚙️ Health informatics helps improve patient care, safety, and efficiency in the healthcare system.

​

​Health Informatics Services

​Health informatics services includes three main career categories:

What Do Health Information Management (HIM) Workers Do?

• 🗂️ Organize and manage patient health records

  • medical history, illnesses, surgeries

• 🔐 Keep health information private and secure (follow HIPAA).

• 🧾 Ensure records are accurate and complete.

• 💻 Use technology to store and track health data.

• 🧠 Understand medical terms and codes.

Some jobs include:

• 🎧 Transcriptionists listen to doctor notes and type them into medical records.

• 🧑‍💻 Medical Coders turn patient info into codes for billing and insurance.

Health Information Management (HIM)

What Do Health Information Technology (HIT) Workers Do?

• 💻 Work with computers and software in healthcare.

• 🗂️ Help store, protect, and organize patient information.

• ⚙️ Support electronic health records (EHRs) and health apps.

• 🧠 Solve tech problems and improve hospital systems.

• 🏥 Work in hospitals, clinics, and tech companies.

Some Jobs Include:

• 📊 Data Analysts study health info to find trends and improve care.

• 🖥️ Systems Analysts build and fix computer systems for hospitals.

• 🧑‍⚕️ Clinical Information System Specialists make sure tech works smoothly for doctors and nurses.

Health Information Technology (HIT)

🌐 A newer field that combines HIM (managing records) and HIT (managing technology).

• 💻 Focuses on developing systems and analyzing electronic health data to improve patient care.

• 🧠 Uses data to support better decision-making and healthcare outcomes

• 📚 Blends knowledge of computer science, data science, and healthcare/business.

• 🎓 Most careers require a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
  
  
  

Health Informatics (HI)

Match

Match the following Health Informatics Careers based on their job focus:

• focuses on health information in the medical record

• developing & maintaining technology used to store/access medical records

• combination of medical records & technology

Health Information Management (HIM)

Health Information Technology (HIT)

Health Informatics (HI)

• Health Information Management (HIM)

• Health Information Technology (HIT)

• Health Informatics (HI)

Medical Assistant (Health Informatics Pathway)

• 🏥 Helps doctors and nurses by updating electronic health records (EHRs).

• 💻 Enters patient information like symptoms, test results, and medical history into computer systems.

• 📞 May handle phone calls, schedule appointments, and manage health data.

• 🔐 Must follow privacy laws like HIPAA to keep patient info safe.

• 📊 Supports both clinical care and health information systems.

Other Careers Related to HI

Other Tasks of a Medical Assistant

• 🏥 Provide hands-on patient care (take vital signs, assist with exams).

• 💻 Use health informatics by entering and managing patient information in EHRs.

• 🔄 Support doctors and nurses by working with patients and handling health data.

• 🎓 Typically complete an internship to apply classroom learning in real-world settings.

Health Educators (Health Informatics Pathway)

• 📚 Teach patients and communities about health and wellness.

• 💻 Use data from health information systems to plan better education programs.

• 🏥 Work with hospitals, schools, and public health organizations.

• 📊 Analyze health trends to create helpful materials and workshops.

• 🔐 Make sure health information shared is accurate and respects privacy rules.

Other Careers Related to HI

Multiple Select

Select the following administrative/clerical tasks a Medical Assistant can perform:

• scheduling appointments

• update patient records

• vital signs

• starting IV's

Multiple Select

Select the following Clinical tasks a Medical Assistant can perform:

• vital signs

• filing insurance forms

• taking medical histories

• scheduling appointments

Teamwork in the Medical Office

• 👥 An interdisciplinary healthcare team includes professionals from different health science backgrounds.

• 🎯 Team members work together toward a common goal: the best outcome for the patient.

• 🧠 At first, healthcare workers may not realize how important strong teamwork skills are in their roles.

• 🧑‍⚕️ Each team member must know and stay within their scope of practice (what they are trained and allowed to do).

• 🤝 Clear communication and respect for each role are key to working well together.

• 😊 Effective team members stay positive, even when personal differences arise.

Think Further

Imagine a problem that might occur if a medical team member does not understand his or her role.

• How might you solve this problem?

Multiple Select

What should you do if you are asked to do something outside of your scope of practice? Or if a team member is doing something out of their scope of practice what should you do? (Select 2)

• step up and tell them they are not qualified

• do not do the task that was asked of you

• do the task anyways

• Encourage the team to carry on with the task