Health Information Technology

 

Career and Major Information
Earnings
Related Occupations
Related Web Sites

 

Career and Major Information:

Walters State's two-year concentration in Health Information Technology is designed to prepare successful graduates for entry-level employment opportunities in the health information services field.  Duties may include managing medical record files, coding or organizing the medical information contained in those records for reimbursement or compliance purposes, entering data into a computer, compiling and summarizing data into usable report form, or managing inquires for this confidential medical record information.  This is one of the few occupations in the health field where there is little or no direct patient contact.  They may also work closely with families to clarify or complete information and with physicians and other healthcare professionals to clarify diagnoses or other pertinent information.

Jobs may be found in hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices, nursing homes, public health agencies or other healthcare agencies, and also in insurance firms. 

The minimum educational requirement is usually an associates degree.   Faster than average growth is expected through 2012 due to increased scrutiny by third-party payers.

 

Earnings:

The Tennessee Career Information Delivery System website lists the salary range for a beginning-level position in this field in Tennessee as $17,920 to $22,705 annually.  With experience, the range increases to $25,015 to $32,720.  The national average is higher by about $2,000 per year.  Salary figures quoted are based on national figures. Local or regional salaries may be lower.

 

Related Occupations:

Medical Transcriber

Medical Stenographer

Medical Secretaries

Medical Records Technician

Medical Records Clerk

Health Information Management technician

Medical Secretary

Medical Coding Specialist

Health Information Coder

Medical Record Coder

Medical Insurance Specialist

 

Related Web Sites:

American Health Information Management Association

            http://www.ahima.org

 

Much of the above information was collected from the 2004-2005 Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor.  For additional information on these and many other careers, please visit the following web sites:

 

Occupational Outlook Handbook - U.S. Department of Labor

www.bls.gov/oco/

 

Tennessee Career Information Delivery System (TCIDS)

http://tcids.tbr.edu/.

 

 

For information regarding specific degree program requirements, curriculum, or faculty, please see the department website at http://www.ws.edu/health/default.asp.