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Managing medical information is a critical component of healthcare. The health information professional must be detail-oriented, comfortable with spreadsheets and databases, and have an interest in the healthcare field.
A health information technician collects, integrates, and analyzes healthcare data, manages information resources related to the delivery of healthcare services, codes medical information for research and insurance reimbursement, maintains patient confidentiality, and tracks information used in making clinical and business decisions.
Jobs for health information technicians are widely available in clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, insurance companies, and home care organizations.
To view the Health Information Technology program’s required disclosure on professional licensure, please click here.
Accreditation
The Health Information Technology accreditor of Western Technical College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for Associate degree in Health Information Technology has been reaffirmed through 2028-29. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed by mail to CAHIIM, 200 East Randolph Street, Suite 5100, Chicago, IL, 60601; by phone at (312) 235-3255; or by email at info@cahiim.org.
CAHIIM Reporting Requirements
Program Mission
The mission of the Health Information Technology Program at Western Technical College is to prepare students to become part of a credentialed workforce to support the needs of the health care industry.
Program Goals
The program’s goals reflect the principles and ethics of the Health Information field and support the College’s strategic goals which focus on recruitment, retention, student learning and satisfaction, financial stability and effectiveness of systems and processes. Target outcomes written for each goal are used to evaluate the program on an annual basis.
| Focus | Goal |
|---|---|
| Curriculum | The program’s mission and goals are outcome focused and relevant to the mission of the sponsoring educational institution. The program must assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of the curriculum with the results of program assessment used as the basis for ongoing planning and program improvement. |
| Students and Grads | The program will provide assurance that the educational needs of students are met and that graduates demonstrate at least the AHIMA entry level curriculum competencies. |
| Faculty Development | The program will provide a plan for faculty that establishes or assesses the knowledge, skills, qualifications and experience pertinent to the professional curriculum content that they are assigned to teach. This includes efforts to keep current in health information management and/or other relevant professional content and practice as well as other components of advanced formal education. |
| Communities of Practice Outreach | The program will respond at least on an annual basis to the needs of its communities of practice. The program will demonstrate how it serves as a source of continued education for the HIM professional community. |
| Advisory Committee | The Advisory Committee will assist program faculty and sponsoring educational institution personnel with the development and revision of program goals and curriculum, monitoring program needs and expectations and ensuring program responsiveness to change. |
National Accreditation Examination
Students who graduate from an accredited Health Information Technician program are eligible to take the national accreditation examination of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Earning the credential Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) leads to increased salaries, career advancement and job mobility.
Recent examination results for Western’s Health Information Technology program graduates are as follows:
|
Western Candidate Summary
|
National Summary | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting Period | 1st Time Testers | Percentage Passing | Percentage Passing |
| January 2020-December 2020 | 1 | 100% | 69% |
| August 2020-July 2021 | 2 | 100% | Unknown |
| August 2021-July 2022 | 5 | 60% | 68% |
Graduate Employment Stats
Graduate follow up is conducted 6 months following graduation. Recent follow up data for Western’s Health Information Technology program graduates are as follows:
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduates Responding | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Employed in Related Health Occupation | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Employed in Non-related Health Occupation | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Employment Rate | 100% | 100% | 67% |
Graduation Rate
Graduation rate is the percentage of first-time, first-year undergraduate students who complete their program within 150% of the published time for the program.
| Cohort Begin Year | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report Year | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 |
| 3rd Year Graduation - Achieved Count | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| 3rd Year Graduation - Cohort Count | 19 | 17 | 15 |
| 3rd Year Graduation - % Graduated | 36.84% | 23.53% | 33.33% |
Student Satisfaction
Students are surveyed annually 6 months following graduation from the program. Survey questions include evaluation of the graduate's own knowledge base, clinical proficiency and behavioral skills following program completion, as well as an overall rating of the program. Ratings above the midpoint on a 1-5 scale are considered "satisfied".
2020: 4.6/5
2021: 5/5
2022: 4.7/5
Revised: March 2023