Program Information
Health Information Management Services 2012-2013
Health information management represents a continuum of practice concerned with health-related information and the management of systems to collect, store, process, retrieve, analyze, disseminate, and communicate information in a medical entity. Hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, health insurance companies, and government agencies are potential employers in both paper-based and computer-based patient record environments.
Health Information Management Services (HIMS) is offered jointly by Central Community College-Hastings campus and Northeast Community College. The HIMS curriculum is developed jointly by the two colleges with Central Community College granting the degree. Faculty use telecommunication technology and other distance-learning instructional methods to teach courses at the partner campus. Admission to the HIMS program is selective. Applicants are required to have a high school diploma, or equivalent, with at least a “C” average. You must also achieve acceptable ASSET, Compass scores or complete recommended skill-building/prescriptive work, with at least a “C” average, before enrolling in HIMS-labeled courses. As a Northeast Community College student in this program, you must maintain a 2.0 GPA in all curriculum areas. A personal interview with HIMS faculty from Central Community College is required before you can enroll in HIMS-labeled courses.
The HIMS program at Central Community College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Council on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP), in cooperation with the Council on Accreditation of the American Health Information Management Association. If you graduate with an associate of applied science degree in HIMS, you will be eligible to take the national qualifying examination required for certification as a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). Many health care providers require a criminal background check before employment. You will be required to submit to a criminal background check before enrolling in the HIMS Practicum course. If you have a criminal record, you may not be eligible for employment in some settings.