29Information Technology Jobs on the Rise in the Health Care Industry

Information technology has had a profound impactCerner or McKesson has facilitated the increased
on the health care industry in recent years, andneed for IT professionals at every level of the
it's no wonder that many IT professionals arehealthcare system. Now, with new technologies
finding more and better employment opportunitiessuch as physician PDA's that allow doctors to
in this expanding industry. While fluctuations ininstantly view lab results, sync with patient files
growth for other sectors has been a mainstay ofand order tests as well as new applications for
the economy in recent years, health care industrypharmacy and patient care systems becoming
growth shows no signs of slowing down. Due tomore sought after, it is likely that shortages for
the aging of the baby boomer generation, it isIT personnel needed to implement these
estimated by the US Department of Labor thatdevelopments are inevitable."
job opportunities in the health care field will growWhether or not there will be a sufficient supply of
faster than the average for all other industriesinformation technology degree program graduates
through 2014.to meet demand in the health care industry
Most hospitals, clinics and other health careremains to be seen. One thing that is certain,
facilities have incorporated some level of IT intohowever, is that the database systems and
their systems, though the increased complexity isindustry specific applications that are becoming
creating a need for administrators who possessstandard for health care facilities will undoubtedly
the advanced technical knowledge to implementincrease in complexity as time goes on.
and effectively run database systems specifically"Without question, the health care industry is
created for the the industry. With many softwarebecoming far more reliant on IT" added
developers now offering patient medical and billingAlexander. "Between the added security resulting
information applications designed to streamline andfrom regulations set forth by the Health Insurance
enhance the input, security and availability of data,Portability and Accountability Act and the sheer
health care facilities are heavily recruitingvolume of information in the average health care
graduates of IT degree programs in order tofacility database, the move toward utilizing
incorporate these programs into their existinginformation technology as a problem solver is in
platforms.full swing."
According to Jeff Alexander, IT project managerAs the health care industry grows, so will the
at St Johns Hospital in Springfield, IL, "The moveavailable job opportunities for those in the IT field.
in recent years toward large scaleConsidering the extent of health care expansion,
implementations of industry specific softwarethat could mean several thousand new positions in
applications such as those developed by Meditech,the very near future.