Graduate Certificate
The increasing use of information and communication technologies in healthcare - including the rise of Digital Health, eHealth, Mobile Health and Telehealth - means that new Health Informatics knowledge and skills are needed in the health workforce around the world.*
At the same time as technology is improving and even disrupting healthcare, there is a shortage of people working in the health sector who have advanced qualifications in Health Informatics. There is national and international recognition of the need for the health workforce to build capabilities to work in increasingly technologised environments.
The Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health is designed for people working or planning to work in the health sector, who aspire to management and leadership roles in this rapidly expanding aspect of healthcare. The course offers the opportunity to earn a graduate qualification from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health in this important discipline.
The Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health will enable you to:
In the Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health students work with teaching staff who are nationally and internationally recognised health informatics researchers and highly regarded digital health industry experts. The course offers engagement with senior specialists in healthcare IT from public and private sector organisations, and insights into leadership, innovation and research.
The Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health is offered for full-time or part-time study. It may be completed part-time over 1 or 2 years, starting in semester 1 or 2 each year. Or it can be taken full-time during the second half of each year. All subjects are available for fully online study. Some subjects also offer campus-based classes; nevertheless it is possible to complete the required learning and assessment remotely - accessing instructions and resources, and participating in discussions and webinars, in the online learning management system. Class sizes between 20 and 60 encourage workshop / seminar modes of group interaction, whether you are online or on-campus.
Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health become part of an interprofessional group of graduate students from different health workforce backgrounds, biosciences, information systems and information technology, and other fields. Within this group it is possible for students to pursue more clinical or more technical interests during their studies, depending on their backgrounds and career plans.
The Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health can be a pathway to a Masters degree in Public Health (244CW), a Masters degree in Clinical Research (N01AA), or a Masters degree in Information Systems with a Health specialisation (MC-IS).
Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) will be available in 2021 for eligible domestic students. Places are limited.
*In Australia as elsewhere 'health informatics' is the preferred term for the field of scientific knowledge, which has a long established history. Digital health, ehealth, mobile health and telehealth are commonly used to describe the application of this knowledge in the Internet age.
Graduates will:
Gain the skills to understand and communicate complex digital health issues and assess diverse approaches to managing health data and information with a Graduate Certificate in Health Informatics and Digital Health. Through this course, you will develop interdisciplinary, socio-technical knowledge that will allow you to analyse contemporary applications of information and communication technologies in the health sector.
This course will also enable you to upskill your critical capabilities to engage in settings where information technology is influencing real-world healthcare contexts. You will be equipped to move into decision-making roles and contribute to planning, implementation and evaluation of digital health interventions and infrastructure.
OpportunitiesGraduates from this course are esteemed for their ability to take effective roles in technological changes in healthcare.
Graduates from this course have the opportunity to take advantage of growing employment opportunities in the digital health workforce, including roles linked to State and Commonwealth digital health strategies. The program is well suited to current health professionals who wish to remain a vital part of the sector, while acquiring new skills to move into digitally driven clinical care and service design.
Would you like to build a digital dimension into your recent health qualification and open up opportunities to work in innovative ways that health IT is making possible? This program will allow you to connect meaningfully with practitioners from IT, engineering, public health, and clinical care. This program will provide you with the foundations you need to move into a wide variety of digital health focused careers.
International studentsInternational health practitioners wanting to join Australia's healthcare workforce may find benefit in completing this program. Clinicians who do not yet have Australian accreditation of their qualifications may wish to use this as an opportunity to start a digital health career in Australia.
Applications are now open for 2021