The Health Information Technology curriculum provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to process, analyze, abstract, compile, maintain, manage, and report health information.
Students will supervise departmental functions; classify, code, and index diagnoses and procedures; coordinate information for cost control, quality management, statistics, marketing, and planning; monitor governmental and non-governmental standards; facilitate research; and design system controls to monitor patient information security.
Graduates of the degree program may be eligible to write the national certification examination to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). Employment opportunities include hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, health insurance organizations, outpatient clinics, physicians’ offices, hospice, and mental health facilities.
With the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) required experience, graduates of the coding diploma and coding certificate programs of study may be eligible to write the “CCS” (Certified Coding Specialist) and/or the “CCS-P” (Certified Coding Specialist-Physician based) mastery level coding specialist examinations. Employment opportunities without one of these coding certifications are limited to entry-level positions. Therefore, students are encouraged to continue their education and complete the degree to receive the full benefits of this growing healthcare field.
All programs of study are offered completely online with the exception of three clinical courses which are completed at assigned health care agencies.