Health Information Technology

Program Overview

Are you searching for the formula to success? Consider combining these ingredients for a career with tremendous potential-healthcare and information technology.

The Health Information Management (HIM) field places you right where the expanding arena of healthcare meets the cutting edge of technology. As an HIM professional, you are the expert on patient data that doctors, nurses, and other providers rely on to perform their jobs. By maintaining, collecting, and analyzing health information, your work makes an important contribution to the delivery of quality care.

HIM professionals are highly trained in the latest information management technology applications and understand the workflow in any healthcare provider organization from large hospital systems to the private physician practice. They are vital to the daily operations management of health information and electronic health records (EHRs). They ensure a patient’s health information and records are complete, accurate, and protected.

Based on your skills, education, and interests, positions that may be available to you are:

  • Medical Staff Services
  • Supervisor
  • Health Data Analyst
  • Quality Improvement Analyst
  • Insurance Claims Analyst
  • Records Technician
  • Clinical Coding Specialist
  • Physician Practice Manager
  • Patient Information Coordinator
  • Medical Paralegal

Registered Health Information Technicians (HITs) are employed by hospitals, clinics, health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, law firms, physicians, mental healthcare facilities, health data organizations, nursing homes, consulting firms, and information system vendors.

Graduates of Albany State University’s Health Information Technology Program are eligible to write the national certification examination given by the American Health Information Management Association to become Registered Health Information Technicians.

The Health Information Technology Program at Albany State University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education in association with the American Health Information Management Association.

Before You Apply: Program Notes

Prospective applicants should be aware of the following:

  • The courses to be completed for the degree will vary based on the student’s preferred area of study which is referred to as the “pathway” for the career program of choice. Therefore, it is important to meet with an adviser to map out the best academic plan to achieve his or her goal. The student should first focus on taking the prerequisites required for the program for which they will be applying.
  • All career programs have a selective admissions process. This means that a seat in any program is awarded only to the top applicants. Simply meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to a program.
  • The general education courses required for each career program are summarized in the comparison chart for all 2-year health career programs at Albany State University on the last page of the packet. 

Program Outcomes

Statistics

Year Graduation Rate Employment Rate Retention Rate
2021 - 2022 100%
12/12		 83%
10/12		 79%
23/29

Statistical Definitions

Graduation Rate: The percentage of a school's first-time, first-year undergraduate students who complete the HIT program within 150% of the published time for the program.

Employment Rate: The percentage of graduates from the HIT program who are employed within one year of graduation. Information based on graduation survey results.

Retention Rate: The percentage of a school's first-time, first-year undergraduate students who continue at that school the next year.

Accreditation Information

The Health Information Technology accreditor of Albany State University is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for an Associate's degree in Health Information Technology has been reaffirmed through 2021. 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 Accreditation Seal

Program Recognition

2019 Most Affordable Associate Information Technology Degree Seal2019 Most Affordable Baccalaureate Information Technology Degree Seal2019 Most Affordable Online Certification Medical Billing & Coding Degree Seal

The Division of Health Sciences is responsible for the information on this page.
To inquire about the Health Information Technology program, please contact .