10 Best Career Paths for Health Information Management

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Keeping this data confidential is another important aspect of holding a health information management role. The health care privacy officer’s job is to ensure security of health care information as it is stored, shared and accessed by authorized agencies. They may lead or assist in leading the development of, and strict adherence to, departmental policies. This requires a refined understanding of the legal and ethical implications of health care information security. While they do not have direct interactions with patients, privacy officers truly play a pivotal role in their protection.

Clinical documentation specialist

Some positions require a bachelor’s degree, while others require only a high school diploma. Credentialing specialists should also be certified and may need to take a course and pass a test to obtain certification. A minimum of five years of experience with coding and medical records are generally required for this position. Clinical data analysts produce critical reports and analytics about areas such as finance, human resources, clinical, and other data-driven projects. They perform data analysis, standardization, reconciliation, and data transformation. They prepare reports such as billing, accounts receivable, scheduling, and reimbursement.

The role requires an understanding of medical terminology, which many gain through a health information technology program. Health information technicians typically work in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and other healthcare facilities. UW Extended Campus partners with all UW System campuses to develop and deliver online programs that focus on in-demand skills and needs within business, general education, healthcare, management, science, and technology. Our mission to better students’ education and careers, embodies the “Wisconsin Idea”—extending high-quality professional, continuing, and lifelong learning to the people of Wisconsin and beyond.

Duration of Program

Medical records can prove helpful on an individual basis to evaluate a patient’s health status over time. But they can also serve an important purpose as a part of a larger data set to understand how a population’s health has changed and how particular medical interventions can impact healthcare outcomes. Each year employers are requested to complete a survey regarding the Zane State College HIMT graduates they hire. Results of the 2017 survey indicate 100% agreement that our graduates possess the technical skills and knowledge to perform the duties they were hired for in the health information management work environment. This rapidly growing field puts you in a position to help ensure a patient’s health information and records are complete, accurate, and protected.

The constant possibility of advancing in the career and the high earning potential are just some of the elements that make this degree worth it. So, if you’ve been puzzled about which profession combines medicine and business the best, we are here to tell you that health information management is the answer. TheBureau of Labor Statisticspredicts that employment for medical records technicians will grow by 7 percent through 2031—faster than average for most occupations.

Jobs You Can Get With a Health Information Management Degree

Automated retrieval programs (commonly called “robots” or “bots”) can cause delays and interfere with other customers’ timely access to information. Therefore, bot activity that doesn’t conform to BLS usage policy is prohibited. But as important as soft skills are, they don’t need to come naturally to you. You simply need the ability to cultivate qualities that will complement your work as a medical coder. The complexity of the job is also why a professional certification trumps a diploma when it comes to getting hired. Employers know how rigorous the certification exams are, and they want the assurance coding certification offers.

Clinical system managers make an average salary of $93,075 per year, or $45 per hour, in the United States. Health information managers make an average salary of $63,413 per year, or $30.49 per hour, in the United States. Prior experience in a healthcare setting or in a medical staff office is preferred. Medical credentialing specialists must have strong research and organization skills, auditing abilities, communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to think critically and work independently.

Is Health Information Management a Good Career?

Soft skills are a definite plus for any professional, and this remains true when it comes to a career in medical coding. How well a medical biller or coder works on a team, for instance, rates highly. Some hiring managers might give preference to someone who’s a team player over a job candidate with more coding or billing experience. There are opportunities for workers with varying levels of education and experience.

• According to June 2022 data from Payscale, clinical informatics managers report an average salary of $99,360.
• However, health information managers, with their breadth of education, continue to be in demand.
• Health information management, or HIM, is actually an umbrella term used for professionals with a range of duties.
• They develop organizational goals, manage large HIM teams, and ensure the facility complies with all laws and guidelines related to health record documentation.
• Others analyze data systems and look for inconsistencies and problems; some work in quality assurance departments.
• Consumers could ask PHR consultants to do the leg work in PHR assembly.

HI programs incorporate the disciplines of medicine, management, finance, information technology, and law into one curriculum. Because of this unique mixture, graduates can choose from a variety of work settings across an array of healthcare environments. Health data analysts focus on the details of a medical record, using electronic systems to pull valuable conclusions out of the data. Financial records, human resources Coding careers documents, and scores of other nonclinical information also need proper sorting and storage. As senior director of HIM at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Liette has seen the future of HIM firsthand as her facility works to update their older electronic health record systems. What Liette is experiencing now, many other HIM directors will face in the coming years as EHRs become more prevalent, she says.

Job Outlook For Medical Coding and Billing

CFOs have begun to create roles focused on getting the most out of each financial transaction as efficiently as possible. Many small practices can’t afford to hire a full-time HIM professional or even an HIM consultant. However, if physicians banded together to share the cost and benefits of a consultant, they could make significant improvements to their practices https://wizardsdev.com/ with less cost. If it were up to Colleen Goethals, everyone would have a personal health record. Goethals, MS, RHIA, an HIM consultant with Illinois-based Midwest Medical Records Association, has been promoting PHRs for years. Complete this form and we’ll email you info on how to get started at UMA, financial aid if qualified, selecting a program, and more.