What Does a Healthcare Analyst Do?

Working in healthcare is a rewarding career path—you get to help other people, enjoy a level of job security, benefits, and make a good living. What people often forget is that healthcare is an entire industry, meaning there are jobs besides being a healthcare provider like a doctor, nurse, clinical psychologist, or even a health data business analyst. The stability of such an important industry is made possible by workers behind the scenes, such as healthcare data analysts.

The healthcare data analyst job description is somewhat self-explanatory-professionals in the field are responsible for managing the clinical data of healthcare systems and practitioners, and healthcare organizations as a whole. But a career in healthcare analysis has a wide variety of responsibilities and specific requirements that you'll need to meet if you are to be a healthcare business analyst.

Interested in learning more about the role of data analytics in healthcare? Keep reading for an in-depth healthcare analyst job description and a clear outline of how to pursue it as a career.

Healthcare Analyst Job Description

As a data scientist in healthcare informatics, your main responsibility is to research and evaluate health data and health information from a business perspective, collecting clinical data from multiple sources and identifying the trends you find.

Beyond the necessary analytical skills required in the healthcare system, a big part of the healthcare analyst job description is communicating with other people in the industry—meaning an ideal candidate in the field is self-motivated and works independently, but also feels comfortable in a group setting.

Skills and Traits

In order to decide if the healthcare analyst career path suits you, it's worth looking at types of people that find success in the health informatics and data science line of work. While some people prefer to be working in an office alone, and others prefer to be talking to large groups and assigning everyone tasks, a healthcare data analyst has to be proficient at both.

Overall, this job that accounts for a healthcare organization's big data collection may be a great fit for people who associate themselves with the following skills and traits:

• Resourceful
• Inquisitive
• Organized
• Detail-oriented
• Good time-management
• Great communicator—both written and verbal
• Comfortable with public speaking

If this sounds like you, you'll find better alignment in a career as a healthcare analyst or public health analyst than working in the patient care department.

Looking to start your professional career as one of the healthcare analysts? Learn more about our Healthcare Analytics degree here. 

Job Responsibilities

For a more in-depth healthcare analyst job description, here are some of the typical responsibilities, according to the hiring site Betterteam¹:

• Keep records – Develop effective procedures for recording information and implement them in your workplace.
• Prepare reports – Create accurate reports using the latest trends in customer service, billing processes, and cost of care evaluation-also be willing to present status reports to health information management if needed.
• Identify patterns – Collect medical data from multiple sources and evaluate your findings in order to identify discrepancies and patterns.
• Problem-solve – As you research, you should look for ways to improve quality of care and minimize costs, and recommend those solutions to your healthcare administration and management team.
• Implement solutions – Alongside management and other departments, work to implement the solutions to the problems you found and continue to assess the development of these changes.
• On-site visits – Regularly visit the locations that you collect your medical data from in order to evaluate the operations and costs of healthcare across all platforms.
• Prepare outreach materials – Formulate and organize health policy guidelines, public hearing testimonies, electronic health record and reports, presentations, and petitions as needed.

As a healthcare analyst or health data analyst, you'll work in a dynamic professional environment and regularly perform different tasks. If this seems like a job you'd be interested in, the next step is to look at the requirements you'll need before you can qualify for the health data analyst position.

The Increasing Demand of Data Analytics in HealthCare

The massive volume of data in the healthcare industry is now reaching insurers, data researchers, healthcare providers and more. Owing to the progress of electronic health record and healthcare technologies, the demand for certified health data analyst profession is ever increasing. The immense amounts of healthcare data bring in valuable insights to various areas in the health industry.

• Telemedicine
• Population health
• Improving health solution standards
• Efficient staffing 

How to Become a Healthcare Analyst

To become a successful practitioner in data analysis and health services, you’ll need to have a strong understanding of current data management systems, standard healthcare procedures, big data collection, and the tools needed for analysis. While it sounds like a lot of technical skills in healthcare management, don't worry, you'll learn these in your training along the way.

Technical Skills

Here are some of the technical skills you should learn before applying for a healthcare analyst position, according to the website Noodle²:

• At least one major programming language, such as Python, SQL, Java, or SAS
• Healthcare laws for government programs like Medicaid and Medicare
• Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes
• International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes
• Drug classifications

Undergraduate Degree

Typically, people get an undergraduate degree in a different subject, and fill the gaps in knowledge with additional courses and certification programs, or pursue a master’s degree. Since the job focuses around statistics, it’s extremely helpful to have a degree in Math or Statistics, but other related fields include:

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Business
• Economics

Earn your bachelor’s degree at Alliant University today!

Graduate Degree

Choosing to learn the necessary technical skills in a master’s degree program offers two advantages: a higher likelihood of being hired and a higher salary. Completing a Master’s in Healthcare Analytics can take as little as one year, which doesn’t make it any longer than the other options, while still potentially giving you extra benefits. 

Getting Your Master’s with Alliant

At Alliant International University, you can get a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Analytics (MSHCA) that’s flexible in order to work more easily with your individual needs. With experienced faculty members, and a wide-ranging area of study, Alliant is a great choice for anyone looking to start a healthcare analytics career.

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Sources

1. Betterteam. Healthcare Analyst Job Description. https://www.betterteam.com/healthcare-analyst-job-description
2. Noodle. What Degrees Do You Need to Become a Healthcare Data Analyst. https://www.noodle.com/articles/what-degree-do-you-need-to-become-a-hea…