Essentials of Health Information Systems and Technology

Jean A Balgrosky, PhD, MPH, RHIA – Lecturer, Department of Health Policy and Management and Member-Dean’s Advisory Board, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Founder, Bootstrap Incubation, LLC, Solana Beach, California; Chief Information Officer and Member-Board of Directors, MD Revolution, La Jolla, California.,Dr. Balgrosky teaches Health Information Systems and Technology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, where she also received her PhD in Health Services, MPH in Health Information Management and BS in Health Services with a specialization in Medical Record Science. She conducted her PhD dissertation research on “Adoption of Health Information Technology by Physicians for Use in their Practices.” Ms. Balgrosky’s long career in heath information systems and technology has included role of chief information officer (CIO) in large, complex health care organizations for over twenty years, consulting, and teaching at the graduate level. Recently, she has become an entrepreneur, mentor, and board member for start-up companies in the life science, digital health, software-as-a-service, and health care analytics arenas. She is currently also CIO to a digital health company.This is Dr. Balgrosky’s second book, for which she draws largely from her thirty-year career in health information systems and technology as well as from teaching graduate courses at UCLA the past ten years. She has authored numerous papers and articles over the course of her career, is a frequent speaker and panelist at health information technology conferences, and the results of her dissertation research regarding physician adoption of electronic health records have drawn industry attention.Dr.. Balgrosky has provided leadership throughout her career to the evolving health information systems and technology industry, maintaining her accreditation as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) as the early foundation of her knowledge of data, medical record management, and electronic health records. Her goal in writing this and subsequent books is to develop courses and resource materials for health information systems curricula, as well as infuse necessary information technology topics into other courses taught in schools of public health and health management, medicine, nursing, and other health professions. Examples of courses that now require information technology components include financial and human resources management, quality, organizational behavior, strategic planning, marketing, and medical and nursing educational programs.Dr. Balgrosky lives in Del Mar, California, with her husband Parker. They have seven children and, at current count, nine grandchildren.