2021-2022 College Catalog

Health Information Management Technology AAS

Health Information Management Technology AAS (Major Code: HI13)

The Health Information Management Technology program is a sequence of courses designed to provide students with the technical knowledge and skills necessary to process, maintain, analyze, and report health information data according to legal, accreditation, licensure and certification standards for reimbursement, facility planning, marketing, risk management, utilization management, quality assessment and research. Program graduates will develop leadership skills necessary to serve in a functional supervisory role in various components of the health information system.

Accreditation

The Health Information Management Technology program accreditor of Atlanta Technical College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Management Technology has been reaffirmed through 2022. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:

CAHIIM
200 East Randolph Street
Suite 5100, Chicago, IL, 60601
(312) 235-3255
info@cahiim.org

Program Outcomes

HIMT Academic Year 2021-2022, program outcomes are as follows:
- The program’s graduation rate is 90%
- The program’s retention rate is 80%
- The program’s employment rate is 100% of HIMT graduates that take the RHIT national exam obtain gainful employment in the HIM field within one year of graduation

Program Description

The Health Information Management Technology program is a sequence of courses designed to provide students with the technical knowledge and skills necessary to process, maintain, analyze, and report health information data according to legal, accreditation, licensure and certification standards for reimbursement, facility planning, marketing, risk management, utilization management, quality assessment and research. Program graduates will develop leadership and technical skills necessary to serve in a vast array of roles from analysts to supervisory and project management in various components of the health information system.  Accreditation

The Health Information Management Technology program accreditor of Atlanta Technical College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Management Technology has been reaffirmed through 2022. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:

CAHIIM
200 East Randolph Street
Suite 5100, Chicago, IL, 60601
(312) 235-3255
info@cahiim.org

Programmatic Accreditation

The Health Information Management Technology program accreditor of Atlanta Technical College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Management Technology has been reaffirmed through 2022. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed to:

CAHIIM
200 East Randolph Street
Suite 5100, Chicago, IL, 60601
(312) 235-3255
info@cahiim.org

Career Information

Occupation

Health Information Technologists, Medical Coding Specialists, Billing Specialists, and Release of Information Specialists

Career Projections

The number of jobs in this field is expected to increase by 19.1% nationally and 24.1% in the State of Georgia over the next several years. Estimated salaries in this field start at $40,000 a year.
Labor market data was compiled using Economic Modeling Specialists, international and is updated annually.

Careers

To learn more about HIM careers visit: https://careerassist.ahima.org/

Career Coach

Please select the following link to review additional career information on Career Coach.

Admission Requirements

General College Admissions Requirements

Program Admissions Requirements

• Must be 18 years of age.
• Official high school or GED transcript is required to apply.
• Achievement of minimum program admission scores in Reading, Language, and Math.
• Transfer of previous post-secondary credits will be determined by the Enrollment Services and HIMT Program Director.

HIMT Program Entrance Requirements

• Must ensure that transfer courses from other approved institutions of higher education are no more than five (5) years old; these include MATH 1111, BIOL 2113, BIOL 2113 Lab, BIOL 2114, BIOL 2114 Lab, ALHS 1090, and (CAHIIM) HIMT occupational courses.
• Maximum transfer credits to accept from other approved institutions and/or CAHIIM accredited programs of higher education is 25%. Only 6 transfer credits from another CAHIIM will be accepted.
• The Health Information Management Technology Degree program requires student to complete ALL required pre-requisites and have a minimum of CGPA 2.5 or higher.
• Mandatory attendance to Program Orientation.

Student Performance/Graduation Requirements

• Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and complete all required courses with a “C” or better to graduate.
• A signed document acknowledging that the commission of a felony before or during their enrollment in this program may prevent or impede graduates from obtaining certification as a Health Information Technician.
• Students are required to complete drug testing and/or background checks at their own expense prior to enrolling in course HIMT 2460 - Health Information Technology Practicum.

Blood and Airborne Pathogens

Students enrolled in Category I and II programs at Atlanta Technical College will be performing tasks in which there is a normal occurrence for exposure to blood, other potentially infectious body materials, and airborne pathogens.

These tasks will be performed in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical activities for each occupational training program/course. Students will be required to present documentation of Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis immunizations as a result of potential occupational exposure. Students should contact their program directors for more information. Policies and procedures regarding blood and airborne pathogens may be reviewed at https://tcsg.edu/tcsgpolicy/tcsg_policy_manual.pdf.

Program Contact Information

Aletta Spence, MHA, RHIA, CCS
Health Information Management Technology
Program Director
404.225.4465
aspence@atlantatech.edu

Program Length and Cost

Minimum Program Length in Semester Terms: 6 terms
Program Credit Hours: 68
Estimated Program Cost: $13,068

Required Courses

 

General Education Courses (15 Credits)

Area I – Language Arts/Communication (6 Credits)

ENGL 1101Composition and Rhetoric

3

And

SPCH 1101Public Speaking

3

Area II - Social/Behavioral Sciences- (3 Credits)

Select an Area II Social/Behavioral Sciences course:

General Education Courses - Associate Degree

XXXX xxxxSocial-Behavioral Science Elective

3

Area III - Natural Sciences/Mathematics – (3 Credits)

Select one of the following Math Courses

MATH 1111College Algebra

3

Or

MATH 1100Quantitative Skills and Reasoning

3

Or

MATH 1101Mathematical Modeling

3

Or

MATH 1103Quantitative Skills and Reasoning

3

Area IV – Humanities Fine Arts- (3 Credits)

Select an Area IV Humanities/Fine Arts course:

General Education Courses - Associate Degree

XXXX xxxxHumanities-Fine Arts Elective

3

Non General Education Degree Courses (13 Credits)

Take all the courses listed below:

MATH 1127Introduction to Statistics

3

ALHS 1090Medical Terminology for Allied Health Sciences

2

BIOL 2113Anatomy and Physiology I

3

BIOL 2113LAnatomy and Physiology Lab I

1

BIOL 2114Anatomy and Physiology II

3

BIOL 2114LAnatomy and Physiology Lab II

1

Occupational Courses (40 Credits)

HIMT 1100Introduction to Health Information Technology

3

HIMT 1151Computer Applications in Healthcare

4

HIMT 1200Legal Aspects of Healthcare

3

HIMT 1250Health Record Content and Structure

2

HIMT 1360Introduction to Pathopharmacotherapy

3

HIMT 1400Coding and Classification - ICD Basic

4

HIMT 1410Coding and Classification - ICD Advanced

3

HIMT 2150Healthcare Statistics

3

HIMT 2200Performance Improvement

3

HIMT 2300Healthcare Management

3

HIMT 2400Coding and Classification - CPT/HCPCS

3

HIMT 2410Revenue Cycle Management

3

HIMT 2460Health Information Technology Practicum

3

Total Credit Hours: 68

 

Program Outcomes

1. The graduate will be able to perform functions to collect, store, and retrieve medical records and reports in electronic health records system.
2. The graduate will be able to apply supervision and leadership tools to manage the health care office.
3. The graduate will be able to distinguish the difference in primary and secondary records systems, content and structure of health care data sets, and elements of patient data and the complication of medical information throughout the patient's course of treatment in a health care facility.
4. The graduate will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills to code, classify index diagnoses and procedures for reimbursement, standardization, retrieval and statistical analysis.
5. The graduate will be able to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis of health records for accuracy and completeness.
6. The graduate will be able to demonstrate knowledge of legal policies, regulations and industry standards related to handling patient information, medical records and healthcare data integrity.