New Graduate Degree Puts Data to Work Improving Healthcare

Healthcare in the digital era—telemedicine, big data, decision analytics, computer networks integrating patient and caregiver information, and more—has led to the launch of SUNY Oswego’s newly approved graduate degree in biomedical and health informatics.

HEALTHCARE AND DATA—Computer science faculty member Isabelle Bichindaritz (second from left) spoke about the new graduate degree program in biomedical and health informatics with graduate students (from left) Cassie Breen ’09 M’17, Christopher Bartlett ’16 M’18 and Logan Wells ’14 M’17.

“It’s very exciting, because I’ve been working on this since I arrived in 2012,” said computer science faculty member Isabelle Bichindaritz, now director of the new master of science degree program, which can be achieved online or in face-to-face form through the main campus and/or SUNY Oswego’s branch campus in Syracuse.

Biomedical and health informatics (BHI) studies the flow of information in healthcare and public health. Students explore techniques for assessing information practices, evaluating needs of providers and patients, and developing technology to address issues the industry is facing.

Potential careers for graduates abound, from improving both the effectiveness and the efficiency of clinical practices to developing systems that help doctors make data- informed decisions about patient care, from analyzing masses of data that unveil patterns in public health to helping identify which genes are most responsible for the progression of cancers.

The BHI degree is offered in three tracks—health informatics: intelligent health systems; health information management: health data science; and health informatics professional (professional science master’s) focusing on the business management and administration approach to health informatics.