This toolkit accompanies our study Health Professions: Capitalizing on Creative Disruption. The study pinpoints long-term academic program opportunities in the health professions—also known as allied health professions—for COE units. The resulting Health Professions Growth Portfolio consists of the following programs: Health Informatics, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Social Work, and Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.
This toolkit is designed for deans and program directors to help assess the opportunities in the growth portfolio. The toolkit’s resources are based on EAB research and interviews with deans and program directors of health professions programs. While the toolkit focuses on opportunities in the programs listed below, the program opportunity evaluations may be applied to a wide range of health care programs.
Health Informatics
Health informatics is a key part of a COE health care portfolio, but existing programsneed to evolve alongside an industry-wide push for new accreditation standards and professionalcertifications. Health care has expanding data integration, system interoperability, andreporting needs that informaticists are well-positioned to serve. The proliferation of healthinformatics programs, the lack of common standards due to the absence of accreditationrequirements, and employer confusion over graduates’ skill sets prompted standardizationinitiatives. CAHIIM, the accrediting body, is adopting new competency based standards and thetwo professional associations have introduced new informatics professional certifications.
Mental Health Counseling
Bipartisan health care legislationhas increased access to mental health care. The resulting demand for mental health counselorsmay be served by two degree programs: the Master of Clinical…