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College of Health Professions
Department of Health Informatics & Information Management

What is HIM?

Health Information Management (HIM) is

“An allied health profession that is responsible for ensuring the availability, accuracy, and protection of the clinical information that is needed to deliver healthcare services and to make appropriate healthcare-related decisions.”

                  -LaTour Eichenwald 
 

Learn more about the HIM Profession at:  AHIMA Careers

* The Health Information Management Program (formerly Medical Record Administration Program) accepted first student into the professional phase of the program in the Fall of 1977 with the first four students graduating with the BSMRA in 1978. Over 670 students have graduated from the program since that time.

* The program was renamed Health Information Management (HIM) Program in 1993 to reflect the changing focus of the profession.

* The HIM Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education.

* In the fall of 2000 the program implemented distance education delivery as a progression program for those with health information associates degree to earn the BSHIM and be eligible for the RHIA certification.

* Fall of 2006, the complete curriculum was made available for web-based delivery to allow individuals to remain in their local community while working in a healthcare related position and complete the HIM courses on-line.

* There are currently 44 campus-based students and 40 web-based students enrolled in the professional phase of the curriculum and teach medical terminology to over 420 students on campus each year.

* The program subscribes to the AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association Virtual Lab offers students hands-on experience with HIM technology tools and applications, preparing them to enter the healthcare workforce. Partnering with health information technology software companies, the Virtual Lab includes applications in a variety of healthcare settings. This V-Lab is utilized by both the campus-based and the web-based students in a variety of the program courses.

* The first graduate level HIM course, HIM 5301, the Enterprise Electronic Health Record, was offered fall 2007 for the first time. This course is one of three approved graduate level HIM courses that can be taken as a cognate for students completing masters degrees in other disciplines.

* The number of faculty has increased significantly with the growth of the program. Currently the faculty includes five full-time faculty and four part-time adjunct faculty.