The Milken Institute School of Public Health will launch a new online degree program in health informatics, according to a press release.

The program, called a master of science in management of health informatics and analytics, will begin in January 2017, and “will develop the next generation of health innovators, who will leverage data analytics and IT-based solutions to improve patient outcomes and the quality of health care delivery in the U.S. and abroad,” according to the release.

Sam Hanna, the director of the program, said in the release that there is a “rising demand” in the field of health informatics and it can be attributed to “the dramatic increase in biological and clinical data, as well as pressure to have better patient outcomes.”

He added that it is important for health officials to continually integrate new technologies into their work to help patients and public health as a whole.

“This program, tailored for current managers and executives in health care, will teach students to look at health care through a new lens and develop improvements that impact organizational, operational and medical needs for providers and patients alike,” Hanna said in the release.

The new degree fits into GW’s goals for more data-based programs, like a degree in business analytics and courses in data analytics offered at the Computational Biology Institute.

The program will be taught to students through “live, face-to-face online classes, immersive experiences and an interactive social technology network that allows students to access course content from any location with an internet connection,” according to the release.

Applicants to the program “should have a minimum of three years of clinical or administrative experience in the health care sector and be currently employed in the health care industry,” the release stated.