Health

16 HEALTH • September 21, 2015 Non-clinical medical careers offer bright future — even for the squeamish \\ By Christina P. O'Neill S ome of the fastest-growing occupations in health care do not require direct patient care, creating job opportunities for both new entrants and medical career-changers who can get a new lease on the use of their field of knowledge. Driving factors behind the growth The shift of focus from fee-for-service to outcome-based reimbursement is resulting in projected job growth for medical health infor- mation management staff, and population health management overseers, who support the needs of the emerging field of accountable care organizations that manage the health of patients under their care. These groups have reportedly helped Massachusetts hospital systems save millions in the most recent fiscal year. HEALTH CARE'S DATA-DRIVEN DESTINY Add to this the profusion of ambulatory outpa- tient clinics and urgent-care walk-in clinics, which need enhanced oversight in the age of outcome- based medicine, and we're seeing data monitoring and case management evolve from subspecialties to essential parts of the big picture. The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association have taken note, as have the specialty trade organizations which advocate for their specific categories. Mary Jo Bowie recalls a conversation she had with her dad, a health care dean, decades ago at the start of her career. "I love anatomy and physi- ology, but do not ask me to touch a patient," she recalls telling him. He replied that the data side of health care would grow, and that if she entered that field, she would never be without work. Today, Bowie is associate professor of health information management at Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) and chair of its health management program. She is also owner of Health Information Professional Services in Binghamton, NY. A big factor of future growth in some of the job categories is the retirement of baby boomers, who are hitting their mid-sixties. AARP Inc. statistics note that 10,000 Boomers will be turning 65 every day for the next 18 years; a Gallup Daily tracking poll notes that only one third of them are still working at the ages of 67 and 68. Those who con- tinue may not be dropping out of the workforce entirely, but they are switching careers, according to projections on the part of many trade organiza- tions, including the American Health Information Management Association, which oversees medical coders among other fields. For example, nurses who want regular schedules or who are no longer able to handle the physical requirements of nurs- ing care, may turn to careers that utilize their knowledge and discipline to oversee care deliv- ered by others, according to Dr. Lisa Price Stevens, Fallon Health's vice president of medical affairs. PHOTO/DREAMSTIME.COM

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