Course Outline
The application of technology in health is experiencing rapid growth and the field is seeking qualified professionals to optimise technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare domain. The MSc Digital Health equips students with the knowledge required to ensure that the health sector gets the best out of technology and the opportunity to work with a high calibre group of people with similar aspirations to make a difference to health/medical settings. This interdisciplinary course, led by Business Information Systems in collaboration with the Medical Education Unit, is suitable for qualified applicants aspiring to work in the health sector.
The MSc Digital Health will provide business and health/healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, design, implement and manage leading-edge health technology while remaining cognisant of the ethical, security and data protection implications arising from such scenarios.
The course provides participants with a critical understanding of how information systems are used to improve create efficiencies in health/healthcare settings and positively influence patient care and patient health outcomes. It is a new programme with internationally recognised faculty at the forefront of digital health/health information systems research.
As part of this experience, students will act as a business consultant, mentored by industry experts, to create an innovative health information systems solution or digital health focussed dissertation addressing a real business need or opportunity in a setting of their choice. Expert guest speakers from both business and health/clinical settings contribute to the syllabus and students will benefit from strong healthcare links with both internal and external partners.
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
Demonstrate advanced analytical and problem-solving skills associated with effective practice
Engage in advanced application of IS/IT frameworks and techniques in organisational settings
Communicate and work effectively to a high professional standard
Leverage IS to improve healthcare organisational performance
Improve healthcare through the application of leading-edge technology solutions
Research, plan, design, develop and manage an innovative digital health solution, by critically analysing and interpreting data, and effectively disseminating results.
Why Choose This Course
Are you passionate about health? Are you seeking to make a difference in the health domain? The MSc Digital Health offers a unique opportunity to consider how technology can make a transformative impact on the health/medical sector and improve the lives of patients. The area of digital health is experiencing rapid growth, with the market in Europe alone expected to be worth over 300 billion euros per annum by 2020. However, a key challenge for this rapidly developing area is the lack of appropriately skilled people worldwide, namely professionals who have an understanding of health/medicine and Information Systems.
The MSc Digital Health will address this gap, contributing to a niche area of expertise at the cross-section between health and technology. This programme combines teaching and innovative research in Health and health information systems in healthcare settings providing students with the opportunity to develop highly sought after skills preparing them for the workplace.
Comment
Course Practicalities
The MSc Digital Health will be delivered via classroom lectures. Lectures will take place in a three-day block. There will be an induction session and all course material will be provided. In Year one of the programme, you will complete 18 days of lectures (6 days* 8 hours) which run from September to March. In year two you will complete an additional 18 days (6 days* 8 hours) of lectures from September to March. Finally, you complete your Research Project under the supervision of a faculty member from April to August in year two.
Group work is a key feature of this programme as students with different backgrounds will learn from a variety of skillsets and apply their knowledge to create innovative digital health solutions. There will be site visits to health/IT/clinical settings whereby students will be presented with the challenges faced by IT, data and clinical practitioners and they will be required to analyse the problem and propose innovative solutions.
Course Assessment will incorporate a blended approach of continuous assessment. Assessments will include both group and individual assignment content and will consist of written reports, presentations, role-play scenarios and debate. The course offers the integration of classroom study with professional experience and industry-aligned coursework.
Dr Ciara Heavin and Dr Yvonne O'Connor are academics in the Department of Business Information Systems and are researchers in the Health Information System Research Centre (HISRC) in the Cork University Business School. The HISRC is the first of its kind in Ireland as a dedicated research centre of Health Information Systems. Dr Heavin and Dr O'Connor are the course directors of the MSc Digital Health and will be involved in the teaching, delivery and oversight of the course. They will be supported by a team of expert academics from both the Medical Education Unit and Cork University Business School, University College Cork. IS and Health/Clinical subject matter experts will deliver guest lectures and support the programme.