Health Information Management
Health information management is a great career that involves the maintenance and care of health records, either on paper or electronically. A health information manager may work in hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices, health departments, insurance companies, or any other agency or facility that deals with patient and health information systems. If you enjoy working with information and would like to earn a great salary, consider going back to college to get your career training in this important field.
What does a health information manager do?
When you go to work in health information management, you will plan information systems, identify current and future informational needs, and help develop health policy. You will do this by applying the principles of informatics to health information management to collect, store, use, and transmit health information while conforming to the professional, ethical, legal, and administrative regulations regarding sensitive information. People who choose to work in one of the top careers in health information management will work with epidemiological, clinical, financial, demographic, coded, and reference health data.
Education and training for a health information manager
Training for this field typically requires a two to four year degree in health information from a program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). You can get a two-year associate’s program from many community colleges or a four-year bachelors program from many traditional and online colleges. Many of today’s students prefer learning through an online format because it eliminates the need to travel to and from classes and also allows students to study at home on their own schedule.
Coursework for this degree will include many general education courses such as English, science, mathematics, communications, history, government, ethics, and much more. You will also study other classes that will help you with your chosen field. Common classes for this type of degree include legal considerations, biomedical sciences, coding and management of clinical data, database management, statistics, computer technology, and quality improvement of health information systems. The coursework can be difficult and somewhat labor-intensive but it is well worth the effort to get started in this fantastic career.
Because health information managers often have responsibility for equipment and facilities that can be valued at millions of dollars, they need to be responsible, flexible, and open to different opinions. They must also be skilled at gathering and analyzing information as well as understanding and interpreting numbers and other data. Those who earn a bachelor’s degree or above and pass an exam can be come certified as a Registered Health Information Administrator through the American Health Information Management Association.
By completing your education and training in health information management, you are entering a valuable and satisfying job that will provide you with a great salary of between $30,000 and $80,000 per year, depending on your level of education and your experience. If you have been dreaming of a new career that will rescue you from your humdrum, low-paying job, now is the perfect time to start on the path to becoming a health information manager.
