Health Informatics Specialists
Also called Clinical Informaticist, Clinical Informatics Specialist, Health Informaticist, or Nursing Informatics Specialist
Updated · Source: O*NET 31.0
What Health Informatics Specialists do
You sit between nurses and software builders, making sure hospital computer systems actually work for the people caring for patients.
Hospitals run on software: charts, medication records, alerts, test results. Health informatics specialists (informatics means using data and computer systems to solve problems in a field, here health care) make sure that software fits how nurses and doctors really work. You listen to the nurses and doctors who treat patients describe a problem, then explain it in terms the engineers and analysts who build the system can act on. You help design, test, and adjust the tools, teach staff how to use them, and troubleshoot when something goes wrong.
Much of the job is also data and rules. You pull numbers on patient care, look for patterns, and write up what you find. You help set policies that keep patient records private and secure. It is a computer and math career, but the subject matter is medicine and the people you serve are caregivers.
A day in the life
You start at a desk, indoors and climate controlled, working through email about a screen nurses use to record patient notes, which they say is slowing them down. You sit in on a call with systems analysts and translate what the nurses described into something they can build. Late morning, you walk a hospital unit and watch people use the software, asking questions and listening closely. After lunch you pull data on how often a safety alert gets clicked past, and write a short summary with a recommendation. Then you run a training session for staff on a new feature, answering questions face to face. You end the day reviewing a privacy policy draft with your team. Plenty of sitting, plenty of talking.
This could fit you if you…
- ✓Like solving puzzles that mix people, data, and technology
- ✓Can explain technical things clearly to people who are not technical
- ✓Care about health care but also enjoy computers and analysis
- ✓Keep records accurate and stay organized under deadlines
- ✓Enjoy teaching and helping coworkers get unstuck
You might not like it if you…
- –Want to treat patients yourself, since this is mostly computer and meeting work with some time spent out on hospital units
- –Dislike meetings, email, and writing up your findings
- –Lose patience when changes take a lot of testing and review before they are switched on for real use in the hospital
- –Prefer a job you can start without a bachelor's degree
How people get in
- 1Build a base in both sides early: take biology or health classes alongside computer and math courses.
- 2Earn a bachelor's degree, which is the typical entry level. Common paths include computer and information sciences, information technology, computer systems networking and telecommunications, or computer systems analysis.
- 3Get some time around patient care if you can. Many people in this field come from nursing or another health job, and that experience helps you translate between caregivers and system builders.
- 4Learn the tools: databases, data analysis, and how electronic health record systems, the software hospitals use to store patient charts, are set up and kept secure.
- 5Look for entry roles near the work, such as jobs handling hospital patient records or data, and volunteer for projects that involve testing or training staff on new software.
- 6Practice explaining technical work in plain language, since reading comprehension, writing, speaking, and listening are the skills you will use every day.
Who tends to enjoy it
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Helping
People who like teaching, caring for, and working closely with people.
Official task list
Health Informatics Specialists apply knowledge of nursing and informatics to assist in the design, development, and ongoing modification of computerized health care systems. May educate staff and assist in problem solving to promote the implementation of the health care system. (O*NET)
- Translate nursing practice information between nurses and systems engineers, analysts, or designers, using object-oriented models or other techniques.
- Use informatics science to design or implement health information technology applications for resolution of clinical or health care administrative problems.
- Develop or implement policies or practices to ensure the privacy, confidentiality, or security of patient information.
- Analyze and interpret patient, nursing, or information systems data to improve nursing services.
- Identify, collect, record, or analyze data relevant to the nursing care of patients.
- Apply knowledge of computer science, information science, nursing, and informatics theory to nursing practice, education, administration, or research, in collaboration with other health informatics specialists.
- Develop, implement, or evaluate health information technology applications, tools, processes, or structures to assist nurses with data management.
- Design, develop, select, test, implement, and evaluate new or modified informatics solutions, data structures, and decision-support mechanisms to support patients, health care professionals, and their information management and human-computer and human-technology interactions within health care contexts.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Reading Comprehension
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
What you'll need to know
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
How much Health Informatics Specialists make
The median pay for Health Informatics Specialists in the U.S. is $105,850 a year ($50.89 an hour). Most earn between $67,340 and $167,710. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)
Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in Rhode Island ($134,630) and lowest in U.S. Virgin Islands ($59,430).
Pay by state and territory
| State | Median pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $101,770 | 6,560 |
| Alaska | $88,520 | 420 |
| Arizona | $103,530 | 11,330 |
| Arkansas | $81,760 | 4,100 |
| California | $127,720 | 59,060 |
| Colorado | $127,750 | 6,230 |
| Connecticut | $109,600 | 4,800 |
| Delaware | $110,560 | 2,140 |
| District of Columbia | $116,820 | 2,480 |
| Florida | $101,900 | 35,270 |
| Georgia | $106,240 | 11,640 |
| Guam | $59,900 | 60 |
| Hawaii | $88,640 | 1,670 |
| Idaho | $75,310 | 1,650 |
| Illinois | $101,570 | 20,610 |
| Indiana | $98,810 | 9,660 |
| Iowa | $95,920 | 4,760 |
| Kansas | $100,770 | 3,740 |
| Kentucky | $95,090 | 5,930 |
| Louisiana | $95,660 | 2,980 |
| Maine | $95,820 | 2,480 |
| Maryland | $113,610 | 15,340 |
| Massachusetts | $128,240 | 22,160 |
| Michigan | $103,410 | 14,070 |
| Minnesota | $106,350 | 11,330 |
| Mississippi | $86,280 | 1,990 |
| Missouri | $92,060 | 7,730 |
| Montana | $91,310 | 850 |
| Nebraska | $91,810 | 2,440 |
| Nevada | $104,060 | 2,540 |
| New Hampshire | $107,670 | 2,090 |
| New Jersey | $122,890 | 16,520 |
| New Mexico | $98,220 | 2,290 |
| New York | $109,610 | 24,100 |
| North Carolina | $106,850 | 20,910 |
| North Dakota | $105,470 | 280 |
| Ohio | $102,320 | 19,190 |
| Oklahoma | $95,930 | 3,710 |
| Oregon | $121,620 | 5,640 |
| Pennsylvania | $98,550 | 19,450 |
| Puerto Rico | $63,730 | 1,280 |
| Rhode Island | $134,630 | 1,850 |
| South Carolina | $98,280 | 7,700 |
| South Dakota | $99,790 | 1,110 |
| Tennessee | $95,630 | 10,220 |
| Texas | $107,390 | 47,990 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $59,430 | 40 |
| Utah | $98,770 | 2,950 |
| Vermont | $99,610 | 590 |
| Virginia | $120,840 | 23,190 |
| Washington | $129,410 | 24,120 |
| Wisconsin | $100,440 | 8,340 |
| Wyoming | $109,780 | 310 |
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Computer and Information Sciences 1,032 colleges
- Information Technology 783 colleges
- Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications 600 colleges
- Computer Systems Analysis / Analyst 113 colleges
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Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 15-1211.01, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), SOC 15-1211. Outlook and entry education: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.