Health Information Technology
Department of Allied Health: (361) 698-2820
This program provides the course work to meet the educational requirements for certification in Health Information Technology and Medical Coding.
The Health Information Technology Program offers a Coding Specialist Certificate, a 34-credit hour certificate program designed to prepare students to understand medical concepts, terminology and accurately code medical records for hospitals, physician offices, clinics and other health care providers. Accurate coding is critical to health care providers due to its effects on reimbursement, compliance requirements and other federal and state regulations. Upon successful completion of the Coding Specialist Certificate program, students are eligible to take the Certified Coding Associate exam (CCA) offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) with opportunities for advanced certification.
The Health Information Technology Program also offers a 60-credit hour Associate of Applied Science Degree in which students receive extensive training in medical records management in hospitals, clinics, government facilities, and other medical facilities.
Graduates are eligible to take the national registry examinations for certification as a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and a Certified Coding Associate (CCA) given by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Individuals with the RHIT and CCA credentials are in great demand in this area and surrounding areas due to the growing number of health care facilities. Graduates of the program may be able to transfer some acquired credit hours to a baccalaureate degree curriculum. The number of transferable credit hours can be maximized with appropriate faculty advisement prior to and during the student's enrollment.
The Health Information Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), 233 N. Michigan Ave, 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60601-5800.
In addition to the standard College admission process, students planning to enter the Health Information Technology programs must complete the following:
- attend an advising session with the program director
- submit a completed application for admission by July 15th
- submit all college transcripts showing evidence of completion of prerequisites or current enrollment
- have a minimum grade point average of 2.5
- have completed HPRS 2001
Nursing students or graduates, or any graduates or students from the Health Science programs who have completed the pre-requisites of the Health Information Technology Program (Coding Specialist Certificate of Associate Degree) may apply in the spring semester and be permitted to start in the second semester.
Candidates selected for enrollment will be notified by mail. Upon enrollment, the student must pass a background check and drug screen test at student's expense for security clearance and continued enrollment in the program.
Contact the Health Information Technology Program Director at (361) 698-2844.