No. of Credits: 70
Contact: Laura Polk, Chair, Health Sciences Division
The Health Information Management AAS degree prepares students for a challenging career path that integrates the disciplines of health, computer technology and business management. The graduate is prepared to perform a variety of technical health information management functions including organizing, analyzing and evaluating health information; generating health data for reimbursement, planning, quality assessment, and research; and coding diseases, surgeries, and other procedures. Responsibilities also include maintaining and using a variety of health information indices, special registries, and storage and retrieval systems; as well as controlling the release of health information in accordance with legal requirements.
Students who successfully complete the Health Information Management degree will be able to:
- analyze health records, policies, and procedures for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
- apply knowledge of anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and pathophysiology to the classification of diagnoses and procedures to meet statistical and reimbursement requirements;
- interpret health data to identify trends that will improve overall quality, safety, and effectiveness in the health care institution;
- audit health data to validate code assignment and compliance with reporting requirements;
- incorporate technology to facilitate workplace transition to an electronic health information management environment;
- utilize databases and spreadsheets to consolidate, manipulate, integrate and display health data;
Graduates of the program are eligible to take the national certifying examination administered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Passing the examination entitles a person to use the title Registered Health Information Technician, and to add the initials RHIT after his/her name;
The maximum number of credits acepted in transfer from other institutions to this program is 48.