What is Health Information Management? Why it May be the Career for You
If you are looking to begin a career in healthcare, there are many different options to explore. Healthcare is a very broad career path that involves many different duties, job titles, and schooling requirements. One branch to consider is a career in Health Information Management!
Working in this role could give you the opportunity to become a vital member of a healthcare team. Those in the health information management roles help play an important part in keeping offices orderly, accurate, and safe. Continue reading as we discuss what is health information management, and dive deeper into different health information management roles and responsibilities!
What Is Health Information Management?
When considering entering this field, it is important to understand what health information management roles and responsibilities are and what they might entail if you choose to pursue this career.
According to the bureau of labor statistics, medical records and health information technicians, commonly referred to as health information technicians, organize and manage health information data by ensuring that it maintains its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security in both paper files and electronic systems ¹. Documenting a patient’s health and medical records is vital in keeping a medical facility running smoothly.
By embarking on this career journey, you could learn the skills needed for medical billing and coding, which could significantly impact the healthcare field. Although this job does not normally involve direct patient care, it is vital to ensure patient records are accurate, easily accessible, and secure.
Health Information Management Roles and Responsibilities
Health information technicians are tasked with health information management roles and responsibilities that are vital to the proper function of a medical office. These employees ensure that patient data is accurate, easy to access, and secure.
Health information management roles and responsibilities can be best fulfilled by those who possess the following qualities:
- Analytical skills: Health information technicians must be able to understand and follow medical records and diagnoses to be able to code them into patient files
- Detail-oriented: Health information technicians must be accurate when coding and filing patient records
- Integrity: Health information technicians must exercise discretion as patient data is required, by law, to be kept confidential
- Interpersonal skills: Health information technicians must be able to discuss patient information and data with healthcare providers and finance personnel
- Technical skills: Health information technicians must use coding and classification software and become familiar with the electronic health record (EHR) system that their facility uses ²
Health information technicians should also be equipped with the skills needed for billing and coding. It could prove vital to acquire technical skills and have an understanding of various software applications and basic operations of medical office administration.
In order to help you meet these health information management requirements, enrolling in a career training program could be the first step!
Health Information Management Education Requirements
Did you know that education requirements for this field vary by state? Some organizations base certification on passing an exam. Others require graduation from an accredited program ².
In order to prepare for health information management roles and responsibilities, many enroll in a diploma program. This allows students to work through health information management courses. Those who are looking for a career in the field can complete their health information management education requirements through traditional classroom learning and hands-on training. During your training, you could become educated on medical terminology, technical skills, software applications, and more!
It could be important to gain the skills needed for medical billing and coding that help you develop a working knowledge of health information management requirements. You could learn how to fulfill health information management roles and responsibilities by enrolling in health information management courses in an accredited program.
Discover the Health Information Management, Billing and Coding Program at Blue Cliff College
If you are looking for a training program to help prepare you for health information management roles and responsibilities, look no further than Blue Cliff College! The Blue Cliff College Health Information Management, Billing and Coding diploma program allows students to learn about the skills needed for medical billing and coding and the basic operations of medical office administration.
Blue Cliff College offers the health information management course in the following campus locations:
- Alexandria, LA A Branch of Metairie
- Gulfport, MS A Branch of Metairie
- Houma, LA A Branch of Metairie
The health information management course curriculum covers the many aspects that answer the question “What is Health Information Management?” By beginning your career journey, you could learn the skills needed for medical billing and coding, which are vital in keeping any medical office organized and secure. The curriculum and training could help prepare students for a successful, rewarding career in the growing healthcare industry.
Enroll today and discover why the Health Information Management, Billing and Coding diploma program at Blue Cliff College could be the first step toward the best career for you!
Health Information Manager
Jump to:
- Responsibilities
- Skills
- Working Conditions
- Salary Outlook
Job Description
Health information managers are the personnel tasked with managing, organizing, and analyzing the medical data collected by healthcare providers when they treat a patient.
This includes patient input about symptoms and medical history, plus all the information collected thereafter, such as x-rays, examination reports, lab findings, diagnosis, and plans of treatment.
Electronic healthcare information systems are very common today and managing them successfully is the health information manager’s responsibility.
They need to build and maintain effective classification systems that make patient records accessible, support high quality clinical and business decisions, provide all data needed for insurance reimbursement, disclose information properly both in paper and electronic formats, and ensure the information is both impeccably accurate and secure.
Responsibilities
A health information manager needs to be adaptable and proactive in understanding and implementing changes in data technology, payment, medical laws, service delivery models, regulations, and reporting as these matters continue to evolve.
Common responsibilities of health information managers include:
- Analyzing health records for accuracy and completeness
- Releasing patient information and protections for drug treatment, closed-adoption, alcohol treatment, sexual and behavior health issues
- Reviewing the quality of scanned documents
- Coding for research, reimbursement, and healthcare provider reports
- Transcription and distribution of histories, discharge summaries, progress reports, consultations, and other medical records
- Analyzing current medical records to ensure diagnoses are accurately documented.
Skills
| Communication | Must effectively communicate with your co-workers to ensure the best care and the proper procedures. Must be able to communicate in high-stress environments. |
| Active Listening | Offering your full attention to an individual person or group in order to fully understand problems and their nature. |
| Critical Thinking | Must use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Needs to be able to act autonomously and make difficult decisions that would benefit the patient or make corrections. Must consider all benefits and repercussions of potential actions and choose the appropriate one. |
| Complex Problem Solving | Must be able to identify complex problems and develop and evaluate corrective options and implement solutions. |
| Stress Management | Must be able to endure intense situations and handle pressure that comes with extreme situations you may encounter. |
| Trustworthiness | Must be trustworthy because you have people’s lives in your hands and what you do could help or hurt them. They are entrusted with a great responsibility and must live up to it. |
| Perceptiveness | Gauging how people react and read their body language to decipher their feelings and predict their actions. They must be able to determine if people could be a risk to themselves or others and to distinguish truths from lies. |
Working Conditions
Health information managers typically work a standard 40-hour workweek with occasional overtime.
A medical or healthcare service manager can potentially work at various levels of an organization, from managing the medical practice of a group of doctors, to handling the records of a single department or administrative area, to serving an entire healthcare facility.
Scale of responsibilities and pay vary widely based on these factors.
Some health information managers work from home or on night shifts or evening schedules.
Their work location may be a hospital, long-term care facility, insurance company, pharmaceutical company, public health organization, group practice, or one of many other medical venues.
Demand for health information managers is mushrooming and expected to continue to outpace supply into the future.
Salary Outlook
$55,34425TH PERCENTILE$71,59650TH PERCENTILE$89,25775TH PERCENTILE$26.61HOURLY$34.42HOURLY$42.91HOURLY
| Estimated Annual Salary | Average Hourly Wage | Positions Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| $71,596.00 | $34.42 | 568,000 |
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