Health information management degrees are among the most popular medical degrees today, and you can even earn them online! Learn more about this rapidly-growing field.
Health information management is the study of principles and practices involved in organizing, tracking and maintaining traditional and digital medical information to ensure provision of quality patient care. This industry greatly contributes to the healthcare system and to patients by maintaining organized healthcare information systems that are necessary for medical decision making and patient care. Health records may be taken by hand or through a computer. Either way, patients’ data must be stored and managed efficiently by a health information manager or practitioner.
A health information manager’s duties include collecting records and reports about patients treated by doctors, developing and managing health information systems, managing cases, designing and selling software and coordinating medical and pharmacology research. Managing an office, evaluating standards of documentation, securing confidentiality of information by using appropriate measures to protect personal and medical data, organizing computer systems and databases, collaborating with health care providers and health care professionals, are also among the typical responsibilities of a health information manager. To ensure data quality, managers apply key processes in health information management which include application, collection, warehousing and analysis. Data characteristics for analysis include accuracy, accessibility, consistency, comprehensiveness, currency, definition, precision, granularity, relevancy and timeliness.
To be part of this industry, you have to complete an accredited associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Course content typically includes health informatics, health record systems, health information technology, medical classification systems, biomedical sciences, statistical analysis and presentation and data collection. Programs also include clinical experience by providing students with the opportunity to learn in a clinical setting. While programs may vary from school to school, the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) sets the standards for accreditation. Any aspiring health management practitioner should refer to CAHIIM approved programs prior to enrolling. Training programs are also available online. You can obtain an online degree through the Internet at your own pace as well. Online instructions may be delivered through group lectures and projects using videos, discussion boards, e-mails and other forms of online communication.
Apart from training and education, people who work health information management jobs are required to have certain personality skills critical to the job. You have to be detail-oriented, highly organized and must have a strong aptitude for leadership and management.
A career in health information management provides great opportunities to work in either public or private sectors. Health information managers or practitioners may work in various settings such as acute care hospitals, specialized hospitals, veterinary hospitals, community health services, state and federal health departments, ambulatory care facilities, clinics, doctors’ offices, health insurance companies, health record consulting firms, private information technology companies, research centers, etc.
Health information managers or practitioners play a crucial role in the collection, maintenance and analysis of information received by physicians, nurses and other clinicians. The same people will rely on the information that health information managers have stored. Hence they are the link to patients, physicians, health providers and other entities associated with the health care system. Health information managers must work with information technicians to ensure that medical records are accurate and accessible whenever needed.