The healthcare sector presents exciting opportunities for IT professionals looking for a new challenge, and has the added attraction of offering potentially recession-proof career paths. There is currently strong demand for a range of IT skills across the health sector, both in the NHS and the private sector.

There are about 25,000 people working in what might be broadly termed health informatics in England alone. These people collect, manage and use information to support the delivery of healthcare and to promote health and wellbeing.

The opportunities for IT professionals in this sector are huge, with openings at all levels. A survey conducted by the Association of ICT Professionals in Health and Social Care (Assist) last year found a 16 per cent vacancy rate for clinical informatics staff, while at the senior level vacancy rates were six per cent. There are opportunities for software designers, helpdesk technicians, health records managers, data analysts and directors of IT, among others.

But why is there such high demand for IT skills in the health sector? Part of the reason is that health informatics is playing an increasingly important role in modernising the health service. This in turn is generating more opportunities for people with the relevant data management and system support skills.

In an increasingly information-driven sector, informatics professionals have an essential part to play in driving up the quality of healthcare and ensuring that citizens receive a service fit for the 21st century.

Nevertheless, a move into healthcare informatics can seem daunting for those working outside the sector ­ not least because of the huge amount of media attention that the NHS National Programme for IT has received, much of which has been far from positive. Certainly, the delivery of efficient healthcare can be a complex and demanding business, which can present challenges for people coming into the sector. But it should not be forgotten that competences such as good project management skills can easily translate across industries.

Historically, pay has been another issue that has deterred some from entering the healthcare sector, but in recent years the gap between public- and private-sector salaries has closed considerably. And as the recession continues to bite and job insecurity grows, more private-sector employees are looking to move to the relative safety of the public sector and the NHS in particular.

As well as job stability, the NHS also offers attractive pension options and flexible working practices such as job sharing, which have a strong appeal for those with young families.

As already mentioned, there are many IT skills that are as applicable to healthcare as they are to other sectors. In particular, information security, quality assurance, network support and information management specialists working in the corporate world should have no problem making the transition.

Softer skills, such as business analysis, project management, stakeholder relationship management and change management are also valuable ­ – and easily transferable. And in an evolving NHS with increasingly tighter budgets, these soft skills are likely to be in even higher demand.

A recent report by e-Skills, the IT sector skills council, estimated that by 2010 the NHS will need 300,000 skilled IT users, while between 800,000 and 1.3 million staff will be required to handle data. All these people will require the support of skilled IT professionals, especially when it comes to rolling out new technologies.

This means that opportunities exist for software designers, helpdesk technicians, health records managers, data analysts and directors of IT, among others. But Assist has also been predicting shortages in the areas of information analysis, business and systems analysis, and IT training.

The government’s Health Informatics Review published last year also identified shortages of key professionals such as data security specialists, but recommended an increase in board-level chief information officers. For the ambitious IT professional, the sky is the limit.

But a career in health informatics need not be limited to the NHS. Other options include working for solutions providers ­ – helping to develop and build appropriate software applications and hardware configurations; academia – ­ researching the use of technology in healthcare or developing new and existing technologies; teaching and training ­ – helping to ensure that health informaticians develop appropriate competences;
or consultancy ­ – providing specialist expertise and resources to supplement NHS staff on an ad hoc basis.

In June this year a new version of the Health Informatics Career Framework was launched by NHS Connecting for Health and NHS Wales. Designed to “identify and open up career opportunities in health informatics; to help individuals to plan their careers and organisations to plan and develop the workforce”, the framework includes more than 100 job titles covering knowledge management, information management, senior managers and directors, IT staff, health records and patient administration, clinical informaticians and health informatics educators and trainers.

So if you have experience in software development, IT architecture development, records management or project management, there may be a dynamic, rewarding and recession-proof career waiting in health informatics.

Melissa Frewin is head of healthcare at Intellect, the UK’s technology trade association