Health Information Management Technology, Associate of Applied Science

The Health Information Management Technology (HIM) program prepares graduates who can identify and use a variety of health information resources and technologies to accomplish the objectives of diverse practice environments. In general, these individuals may perform tasks related to the use, analysis, validation, presentation, abstracting, coding, storage, security, retrieval, quality measurement and control of health care data. Their task responsibility may also include supervision of personnel. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The goal of the Health Information Management Technology Program is to provide an educational experience within the framework of professional standards. Graduates of the program may be eligible to take the national certification examination to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). Upon passing the examination, an individual is permitted to use the credential RHIT behind his/her last name. Earning a credential validates your competence as an HIM professional to employers and the public.

Program contact: Learn more

Learn more about how certificate credits apply to the related degree.

Related Degrees and Certificates

• Cancer Registrar, Post-Degree Professional Certificate

Related Training and Credentials

• State-Tested Nursing Assistant Training
• State-Tested Nursing Assistant (Accelerated)
• Comprehensive Professional Medical Coding (Classroom)
• Comprehensive Professional Medical Coding (Online)
• Community Health Worker
• Comprehensive Patient Access Specialist

Program Admission Requirements

Applications may be submitted after meeting admissions requirements, or when student is enrolled in the final admissions requirements course(s).  Students must request an application packet from the Health Careers Enrollment Center 216-987-4247 for comprehensive admissions and program information.  The form may also be downloaded and printed from the Health Careers website, completed by hand, scanned and emailed back to the Health Careers Enrollment Center.

• High School Diploma/GED.
• Complete ENG-1010 College Composition I or ENG-101H Honors College Composition I with “B” or higher.
• Completion of MATH-0955 Beginning Algebra with "C" or higher, or appropriate placement score to enroll in 1000-level Mathematics.
• Complete the following:
  BIO-2331 Anatomy and Physiology I with “B” grade or higher
  IT-1090 Computer Applications with “B” grade or higher
  MA-1010 Introduction to Medical Terminology with “B” grade or higher
  HTEC-1120 Critical Thinking in Healthcare or PHIL-1000 Critical Thinking with “B” grade or higher
• GPA required: 3.00 admission requirements. 2.50 overall.
• Non-native English speaking applicants:  Admission into Cuyahoga Community College is premised on a complete and accurate initial application to the College, including, if applicable, proof of English Language Proficiency Requirements for admission as indicated on the English Language Proficiency Requirements for Admissions to the College, and available on the web at: http://www.tri-c.edu/get-started/international-students/english-language-proficiency-requirements-for-admission.html
  To be accepted into any selective admission programs, students must successfully complete English as a Second Language (ESL) course/s, as referenced above,  if deemed necessary by the College at the time of enrollment.  Admission is conditioned upon achieving the necessary grade point average (GPA), English language proficiency requirements and any specific pre-requisite courses, and by meeting program accreditation or licensing requirements as evidenced in the Program Handbook for the specific program.

Other Information

• 30 students accepted per year.
• Admission courses may be repeated multiple times to achieve the "B" grade or higher.
• HIM courses may only be repeated once to improve a grade.
• Criminal background check required.
• Biology courses are acceptable for HIM program admittance for 5 years.
• HIM courses expire after one year of absence from the program and will need to be repeated if student requests re-admittance to the degree program.
• Students who withdraw from or leave the Health Information Management Technology Program for any amount of time will have to reapply for admission and will be required to repeat all HIM courses previously taken.
• Upon acceptance into program and prior to clinical practice, student must submit evidence of good health.

Program Learning Outcomes

This program is designed to prepare students to demonstrate the following learning outcomes: 

1. Utilize oral and written skills to effectively communicate and interact with health care professionals, colleagues, administration and customers to enhance satisfaction.
2. Develop effective interpersonal skills to conduct yourself professionally among clients, colleagues, and other health care professionals.
3. Conduct yourself ethically and professionally according to the AHIMA code of ethics and standards of practice.
4. Use a variety of techniques to problem solve and arrive at best outcome.
5. Apply regulatory and accreditation standards to identify and support documentation compliance.
6. Apply hospital policies, federal regulations and/ or state statutes in the release and management of protected health information (PHI).
7. Identify areas of quality assurance/Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) that relate to risk management, utilization review and documentation compliance.
8. Apply skills to find, build, research, manage and report both electronic and paper data.
9. Employ auditing skills and methodologies to insure compliance, accuracy, completeness, regulations, policies and procedures, and protocols in the health care delivery system.
10. Utilize knowledge and skills of anatomy and physiology (A&P), medical terminology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, code sets, reimbursement methodologies and regulations to analyze clinical documentation to accurately and thoroughly assign respective code sets for entity’s database and third party reimbursement.
11. Apply skills to find, build, restart and manage the system.
12. Apply management skills for the daily operations of Health Information Management department related entity.

Suggested Semester Sequence

¹

Grade of B or better in course.

²

PHIL-1000 Critical Thinking may be taken in place of HTEC-1120 Critical Thinking in Healthcare.

³

MA-1020 Medical Terminology I will be accepted in place of MA-1010 Introduction to Medical Terminology.

MATH-1140, MATH-1141, MATH-1200, MATH-1270, and MATH-1280 can no longer count towards fulfilling the college-level mathematics requirement.  These courses were re-classified as developmental mathematics by the state of Ohio in 2016.  Tri-C established a 5-year transitioning window for students who had completed these courses prior to 2016 to apply them towards meeting graduation requirements, which expired in Summer 2021. It is highly recommended to see a counselor to determine the appropriate math required for your current major.