Overview
The healthcare sector is expected to generate more data than any other industry in the United States through 2025, with a growth rate of 36%. As a result, healthcare IT budgets are projected to grow by 20% or more. This positions healthcare analytics at the center of a dynamic industry that is expected to witness explosive job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the role of healthcare managers will grow 32% through 2029.
The Healthcare Business Analytics Certificate is designed to meet the challenges healthcare organizations face with the continued expansion of data throughout various business functions. These organizations must collect, store, and analyze data from clinical workflows as well as from operational and administrative functions. The Healthcare Business Analytics Certificate is unique because it covers multiple areas of data analytics across the healthcare organization.
For individuals who want to broaden their career in healthcare to include analytics, or for those who want to transition their analytics background into healthcare, the Healthcare Business Analytics Certificate offers that opportunity without having to complete a long-term master's program. It consists of four courses of three credits each, and you graduate after one academic year with proof of your mastery of healthcare analytics. Not only do participants obtain a certificate they can immediately reference on their resumes, but the coursework is developed to meet the Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems Certification (CAHIMS) offered through the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HiMSS). Immediately following completion of the Healthcare Business Analytics Certificate, students can sit for the CAHIMS certification. Additionally, students who want to continue with a master's degree can apply to the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program and have the 12 credits from the certificate count toward their graduate degree.
Healthcare business analysts work in numerous settings, including:
- Hospitals and health systems
- Ambulatory care facilities
- Physician-based practices
- Long-term care facilities
- Community health agencies
- Managed care organizations
Key Components
- Students can take instruction entirely online or attend as many weekly enrichment sessions as they like through web/video conferencing.
- Project-Based Learning that allows students to develop necessary skills and competencies through true-to-life class activities, projects and simulations.
- Taught by Gannon faculty and guest faculty composed of distinguished, recognized healthcare executives and leaders.
Stackable Credentials
Credits earned in the Healthcare Business Analytics graduate certificate program can be applied toward the 36-credit Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) degree.
Healthcare Business Analytics
- Fall Semester (GMHA-601, GMHA-611)
- Spring Semester (GMHA-606, GMHA 661)
Requirements to Complete MHA Degree
- Summer Semester (GMHA-605, GMHA-609)
- Fall Semester (GMHA-610, GMHA-625)
- Spring Semester (GMHA-603, GMBA 736)
- Summer Semester (GMBA-641, GMHA-799)
Admissions Information
Candidates for the Healthcare Business Analytics Certificate will be considered for enrollment on a rolling basis with course work beginning each fall. Applicants are asked to meet the following admissions criteria:
- Undergraduate degree (or expected completion of undergraduate degree prior to enrollment) with GPA of at least a 3.0.
- Three undergraduate-level credit hours in the following:
- Statistics
- Finance OR Accounting
In lieu of these undergraduate courses, applicants may choose to satisfy this requirement by completing the course work with Peregrine Academic Services. Gannon University contracts with Peregrine to provide a low-cost, non-credit alternative. These modules are self-paced, on-line offerings.
Applicants are asked to submit the following information to the Gannon University Office of Graduate Admissions:
- Completed graduate application (apply.gannon.edu)
- Official academic transcripts from all prior institutions
- Professional resume
Course Descriptions
GMHA 601 Introduction
to Health Systems Organizations & Management
This
course introduces students to the management of healthcare organizations. It
includes an examination of the environments in which the organizations operate,
including the following: the types of organizations in the care continuum,
types and categorizations of practitioners and clinicians, and the role of
insurers, policymakers and regulators. The course also introduces
students to the topic of underserved and vulnerable populations as well as
innovation in the healthcare industry. The course also describes how healthcare
services are financed in various delivery models including: The Beveridge
Model, The Bismarck Model, The National Health Insurance Model and the
Out-of-Pocket Model.
GMHA 606 Healthcare Information Systems and Technology
This survey and analysis of healthcare information systems planning and leadership prepares health administrators to communicate productively with information technology and clinical professionals. The course explores the challenges of selecting and implementing information systems to achieve organizational mission. The course focuses on how and from whom health administrators should gather information and judge its veracity. It also considers other organizational data and issues that go into selection decisions and implementation plans. Attention will be given to various stakeholders and how to manage their impact on IT projects.
GMHA 611 Healthcare Research and Quantitative Methods
This course focuses on the value of various research methods and resulting data for running an efficient and effective organization. The course focuses on the development of skills to assemble and analyze research information. The course acknowledges that most health administrators will not be designing and running research projects but that they must be able to communicate with researchers in a variety of disciplines. They must be able to recognize quality research protocols and select findings that can complement data from other disciplines in leadership decision making.
GMHA 661 Healthcare Finance
This course explores financial theory and its practical application in healthcare across a full application in healthcare across a full range of facilities, from hospitals and home health agencies to skilled nursing facilities, surgical centers, and private physician practices.