About the CareerASSOCIATE
DEGREE IN HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
CERTIFICATE IN PRE-HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
About the CareerHealth information technologists work with health care professionals and administration to organize, analyze and preserve medical information used to evaluate patient care, diagnose and treat illnesses, and substantiate reimbursement. The profession requires extensive knowledge of medical terminology, pathology, coding for reimbursement, medical laws and standards, and manual and computerized maintenance and retrieval systems for health information. The health information technologist is key in maintaining the integrity and security of patient care information and patient confidentiality. Graduates of the Health Information Management program are qualified to work in any health care setting or health care related agency, including hospitals, physicians offices, long-term care and mental health facilities, insurance companies, consulting firms and others. The American Hospital Association predicts that the tremendous demand for trained health information technologists will continue.
This program will train students to technically analyze and evaluate highly sensitive data in health records according to standards; compile various types of administrative and health statistics for planning and evaluation; and code signs, symptoms, diseases, operations, procedures and other therapies, as well as supervise the daily activities of a health information management department. Students will learn to access, store and release health information on a variety of systems, as well as receive instruction in medical, administrative, ethical, legal, accreditation and regulatory requirements for the health care delivery system.
This program is a two-phase curriculum. Phase I, the Pre-Health Information Management Certificate, includes the general education and related courses (English, math, anatomy and physiology, etc.) required in the curriculum. The second year, or Phase II portion of the associate degree, includes the technical portion of the program. Students intensively study health information management competencies in class, laboratory, and clinical facilities. Clinical rotations in the field provide students with the opportunity to gain experience while applying new skills.
Graduates of the Health Information Management program earn an associate degree in Health Science, which qualifies them to take the national accrediting examination to become Accredited Record Technicians (ART). The program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in cooperation with the Council on Education of the American Health Information Management Association.
