CHESAPEAKE — The medical field continues to grow, and students at Collins Career Center are getting a leg up on the competition.

A two-year, grant-funded pilot program in health informatics is being taught to students who plan to work in health care. Health informatics is a discipline at the intersection of information science, computer science and health care. It deals with the methods required to store and retrieve patient medical information.

Andrea Zaph, patient care technician director and health informatics instructor at Collins, says there are no negatives associated with the four-part course, which is being offered for the second year.

“This is one more thing our students will be competent at doing when they enter the workforce,” she said. “The slant we here at Collins are taking is that no matter which healthcare field our students go into we want them to have at least a little bit of experience in health informatics. If it’s nothing more than a basic understanding of the technology and terminology, then they are going to have a working knowledge of those things.”

When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as Obamacare, took effect a federal requirement was implemented making all medical practices keep electronic health records. Not doing so would result in decreased reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid.

“As a result of the federal mandate, there has been a huge boom in the health care industry,” Zaph said. “In our area, where 80 to 85 percent of people are on Medicare or Medicaid, it’s wonderful that we are able to produce students who are fluent in the electronic age of health care.”

There are 16 seniors and 12 juniors who comprise Zaph’s class, which is being offered as an elective to students who plan to attend a postsecondary institution.

“We have students who plan to be nurses and medical assistants,” Zaph said. “We also have students who know they want to work in the health care field, but aren’t exactly sure what they want to do.”

Collins Career Center is very involved with the Ohio Association of Careers and Technical Superintendents and as a result of that relationship, the school was an early advocate of the program.

“Collins has been involved with this program since the absolute beginning,” Zaph, who holds a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from The Ohio State University, said. “It is something I am personally interested in because of my background working in labs and I am comfortable with and interested in the informatics side of things.”

The $5,000 per year grant was used for training and supplies, such as computer software required to teach the project-based learning course.

“The program is just very helpful,” Zaph said. “It’s a great opportunity for these kids.”