U.S. News and World Report
Interviews Local Expert in One of Cutting-edge
Careers for 2008
For Immediate Release: Woodstock, IL - December
20, 2007
U.S. News and World
Report has interviewed Merida L. Johns, PhD, owner
of the Bundling Board Inn and former university
professor, for an article appearing in U.S. News and
World Report Online on December 19th
about the top cutting-edge careers for 2008. Dr.
Johns was interviewed because of her expertise and
leadership in health informatics, one of the careers
identified in the article as cutting edge for 2008.
Health informatics is
identified as one of a dozen cutting-edge careers
that is poised for future growth because of the
growing healthcare demand that requires more and
better quality health data and information.
“Implementation of electronic health records,
diagnostic decision support systems, and regional
health information networks require health
informatics specialists to design and develop
sophisticated computer systems,” says Johns. The
“job market for health informatics specialists is
out of sight,” she adds.
Health informatics is
an umbrella term for a range of careers involved
with the management of patient-related and health
information. The article stresses that while there
are many opportunities for those traditionally
thought of as “techies,” there are also ample
options for individuals with business and analysis
skills. For example the health information systems
analyst works with physicians, nurses and other
healthcare practitioners and examines current
healthcare information processes for improvement and
subsequently develops the data architecture
blueprint that is provided to programmers for the
actual software development. The article states
that individuals who receive a bachelor’s or
master’s in health information management are likely
to have a good, secure job waiting that will play a
crucial role in improving the quality of American
healthcare.
Dr. Johns has had a
distinguished career in health informatics over the
past three decades. She started her career in
health informatics working in administrative
capacities in hospitals in the early 1970’s, and
directed some of the earliest computer usage in
healthcare. She received her doctorate from The
Ohio State University with a concentration in
information systems, systems theory, and research
and evaluation. Later she was a tenured professor
at Ohio State University and coordinated the
Master’s in biomedical computing program there.
Her groundbreaking research on the roles and
functions of healthcare chief information officers
led her to the University of Alabama at Birmingham
where she founded the first master’s degree program
in health informatics in the United States
specifically designed for educating individuals for
executive leadership positions as Chief Information
Officers in hospitals and other healthcare
facilities. Later she assumed a full-time faculty
position in the School of Business, Loyola
University Chicago, where she directed the graduate
program in information systems management. Dr.
Johns is currently a Visiting Professor in the
graduate program in health informatics at The
College of St. Scholastica, Duluth.
Dr. Johns is a
sought-after speaker in the field and has authored
numerous articles that have appeared in national and
international journals and has presented testimony
to the U.S. Congress as an expert in health
information privacy issues. She is the author of
several professional books and her textbook
Health Information Management: An Applied Approach
is the most widely used textbook in the health
information management field. Her current interests
focus in development and management of high
productive work teams.
The U.S. News and
World Report article on health informatics can be
viewed at:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2007/12/19/ahead-of-the-curve-health-informatics-specialist.html
The U.S. News and
World Report article on best careers for 2008,
including health informatics, can be viewed at:
http://www.usnews.com/features/business/best-careers/best-careers-2008.html
For additional
information about Dr. Johns and her current
professional work, visit:
http://www.mljohnsphd.com
Contact: Merida Johns,PhD
http://www.mljohnsphd.com
