Newswise — Mark Diehl, D.D.S., M.A., M.P.H., has been named director of the Health Care Informatics Program (HCI) at Misericordia University, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the field to meet the need for a skilled workforce in the expanding field of health information technology in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Dr. Diehl is a licensed health care provider who has more than 30 years experience specializing in HCI and the complex fit of information systems and information management with the business and clinical communities. He is a nationally recognized leader in the health informatics standards community, and is an invited author and speaker at professional conferences.
He has extensive expertise in information management strategy, information governance, clinical data management, business and clinical intelligence, data architecture and modeling, and clinical data warehouse design. He has also created and delivered numerous classroom and distance learning courses in data modeling and data warehousing. His professional interests include health information models and data architectures, and the impact of information technology on the health care provider and patient.
Dr. Diehl is a licensed dentist and served 24 years in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, retiring as a commander in 1996. He received the American Dental Association’s 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award for informatics standards activities. He joined the American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics in the early 1980s where he helped to advance medical informatics standards activities. Dr. Diehl is also a U.S. delegate to the International Standards Organization’s Committee on Health Informatics.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education and chemistry from Kutztown University, a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Temple University, a Master of Arts in health services management and computer data management from Webster University and a Master of Public Health from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Diehl also earned ADP certification with president’s honors from the City Colleges of Chicago.
Dr. Diehl has designed the Health Care Informatics Program at Misericordia University to provide professional and continuing education, health informatics research and community outreach services. The undergraduate certificate program is a hybrid of the Center for Adult and Continuing Education’s popular Expressway Accelerated Degree program. The master’s degree in health informatics prepares students for senior management roles in information technology management, and is delivered in a blended format that includes both on-line and classroom instruction.
Health Care Informatics as a specialty field addresses both clinical and business applications, including financial transactions, privacy issues, health care research and Internet-based consumer research. It also extends into clinical and patient care areas like telehealth, teleradiology, on-line prescribing and electronic health records. Both the master’s degree and the undergraduate certificate programs feature courses in information management and information technology, as well as courses in ethical and medico-legal issues, project management and technical leadership.
Expressway has a proven track record of providing convenient and flexible options for adult learners who want to return to school or continue their education. At $320 per credit, Expressway also offers a low tuition rate as well.
Both programs are designed for professionals and students in health care fields, such as nursing, medical imaging, occupational therapy, physical therapy, management information systems, information technology and business. The 15-credit undergraduate certificate seeks to assist professionals who are employed in the field already to improve their educational background and skills. The certificate can be completed in as little as two semesters in a part-time format. Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to analyze, design and implement technology within health care organizations. All HCI courses can also be applied toward Bachelor of Science degrees in Health Care Management or Health Care Informatics.
Early estimates by the federal government showed that about 212,000 jobs could be created in e-health programs, according to a January 2009 CNN Money.com article.
For more information about the Health Care Informatics Program at Misericordia University, please contact the Center for Adult and Continuing Education at (570) 674-1225 or log on to www.misericordia.edu.
Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 32 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in three colleges in full- and part-time formats.
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