1. 2017 Celebration of Health Information Professionals Week: HIM Career Opportunities
Note to presenter:This presentation is meant to assist in educating consumers, HIM professionals, and other healthcare professionals regarding the health information profession and career opportunities .
Welcome to the session on HIM Career Opportunities
My name is ______________and I am _________________ (position, title).
[Insert Name and Credentials]
[Insert Title]

2. Objectives
Explore the various career opportunities for HIM professionals
Review self-assessments to determine individual readiness for specific career fields
Evaluate common career pathways and plan your future!
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3. HIM Careers Health Information Management/Technology Coding
Clinical Documentation Improvement
Privacy & Security
Data Analysis
Informatics
Information Governance
Higher Education
Compliance
Risk Management
Information Technology
Revenue Cycle Management
Consulting
Registry
Quality Improvement
Credentialing
And many more!
The career opportunities for HIM professionals are endless! One could follow a traditional path and work in an HIM department in an acute care setting as a clerk, coding professional, analyst, supervisor, manager, or director. However, there are many other options available to those with HIM skills.
Clinical documentation improvement is a growing profession that HIM professionals are ideally suited to fill with their knowledge of the revenue cycle, coding guidelines, and documentation requirements.
Privacy and security opportunities exist at various levels from release of information clerk to Privacy and/or Security Officer.
Data analysis and Informatics are another growing area for HIM professionals with the unique skill of analyzing data.
The HIM professional’s training, experience, and understanding of the clinical, financial, regulatory, and technology aspects of healthcare and information management often makes her/him a natural fit for information governance. Working in concert with senior business and clinical leaders, HIM professionals can help strengthen an organization’s performance related to managing information and data that is necessary for achieving strategic goals.
With more than 300 CAHIIM accredited HIM programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and master’s level, there are many opportunities for HIM professionals who are interested in academics to teach at these programs. There are also many approved coding programs where HIM professionals serve as faculty.
Other opportunities include compliance and risk management, which are ideally suited for those with HIM skills.
Information technology is a growing area for HIM professionals as well. Many software vendors employ HIM professionals who can provide their knowledge and expertise in EHRs, encoders, etc.
Revenue cycle management is all about HIM, so this is another great area for our profession.
Some HIM professionals choose to work in consulting positions and impart their knowledge around the nation and sometimes around the globe!
Cancer, trauma, and other registries employ HIM professionals who are able to navigate the medical record and abstract out pertinent data.
Many facilities have dedicated quality improvement departments that employ HIM professionals.
Credentialing is another area that is ideally suited for HIM professionals.
There are so many career opportunities for HIM professionals. The sky is the limit!

4. RHIA RHIT CCA CCS CCS-P CHDA CHPS CDIP CHTS CPHI AHIMA Credentials
AHIMA offers 10 credentials. We will cover each one of these and their eligibility requirements on the next slides.

5. AHIMA Credentials Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
Eligibility Requirements:
Successfully complete the academic requirements, at the baccalaureate or master’s level, of an HIM program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) OR
Graduate from an HIM program approved by a foreign association with which AHIMA has a reciprocity agreement
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CPHI

6. AHIMA Credentials Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
Eligibility Requirements:
Successfully complete the academic requirements, at an associate’s degree level, of an HIM program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) OR
Graduate from an HIM program approved by a foreign association with which AHIMA has a reciprocity agreement
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CPHI

7. AHIMA Credentials Certified Coding Associate (CCA)
Eligibility Requirements:
High school diploma or equivalent
Six months coding experience directly applying codes OR
Completion of an AHIMA-approved coding program
Completion of other coding training program to include anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, basic ICD diagnostic/procedural and basic CPT coding
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8. AHIMA Credentials Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
Certified Coding Specialist – Physician-based (CCS-P)
Eligibility Requirements:
RHIA, RHIT, or CCS/CCS-P OR
Completion of a coding training program that includes anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, medical terminology, reimbursement methodology, intermediate/advanced ICD diagnostic/procedural and CPT coding
Minimum 2 years of related coding experience directly applying codes
CCA plus 1 year of coding experience directly applying code
Coding credential from other certifying organization plus 1 year coding experience directly applying codes
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CPHI

9. AHIMA Credentials Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA)
Eligibility Requirements (must meet one of the following):
RHIT credential and minimum of 3 years of healthcare data experience
Baccalaureate degree and a minimum of 3 years of healthcare data experience
RHIA credential
Master’s in HIM or Health Informatics from an accredited school
Master’s or higher degree and 1 year of healthcare data experience
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CPHI

10. AHIMA Credentials Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security (CHPS)
Eligibility Requirements (must meet one of the following):
Associate’s degree and 6 years of experience in healthcare privacy or security management
RHIT and minimum of 4 years of experience in healthcare data experience
Baccalaureate degree and a minimum of 4 years experience in healthcare privacy or security management
RHIA and minimum of 2 years experience in healthcare privacy or security management
Master’s or related degree (JD, MD, or PhD) and 2 years experience in healthcare privacy or security management
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CPHI

11. AHIMA Credentials
Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP)
Eligibility Requirements (must meet one of the following):
An RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, RN, MD or DO and 2 years experience in clinical documentation improvement; OR
An associate’s degree or higher and 3 years experience in clinical documentation improvement (candidates must also have completed coursework in Medical Terminology and Anatomy and Physiology)
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CPHI

12. AHIMA Credentials Certified Healthcare Technology Specialist (CHTS)
Clinician/Practitioner Consultant (CHTS-CP)
Implementation Manager (CHTS-IM)
Implementation Support Specialist (CHTS-IS)
Practice Workflow & Information Management Redesign Specialist (CHTS-PW)
Technical/Software Support Staff Examination (CHTS-TS)
Trainer Examination (CHTS-TR)
Training recommendations (not required)
Individuals trained through short-duration (typically 6 months) non-degree health IT workforce development programs OR
Members of the workforce with relevant experience or other types of training
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CPHI

13. AHIMA Credentials Certified Professional in Health Informatics (CPHI)
Eligibility Requirements (must meet one of the following):
Baccalaureate degree and 2 years of health informatics experience
Master’s degree or higher and 1 year of health informatics experience
Master’s degree in health informatics from an accredited health informatics program
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CPHI

14. Are You Ready? www.ahima.org/careers/selfassessments
Do you know that AHIMA has several free self-assessments you can take to see if you are ready for the next step in your career? You can find them on the website listed here.

15. Self-Assessment www.ahima.org/careers/selfassessments
Here’s an example of what the self-assessments look like. Once you complete the questions, you will receive a detailed report of your areas of strength and weakness for that particular role.

16. Pathways http://hicareers.com/careermap
AHIMA also has a career map that shows many available careers for HIM professionals and the promotional and transitional pathways to that particular career.

17. Career Map in Action Job Responsibilities Skills Required
Alternate Titles
Related Jobs
Here’s an example of one of the career paths on the career map. You can see it offers a sample job description, responsibilities, skills, alternate titles and related jobs. It also provides average salaries and training, education, and experience typically required.

18. Summary What’s your dream career? What pathway will you take?
Do you have the necessary training and credentials?
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19. Questions?

20. References AHIMA. Career Map. http://hicareers.com/CareerMap/
AHIMA. Career Self-Assessments.
AHIMA. Certification.
AHIMA. Measuring the Value of the CDIP Credential.
Butler, M. HIM’s Professional Shake-Up Wake-Up: Moving Beyond Reality 2016 and ‘Reimagining’ HIM for a Quickly Changing Healthcare Industry.
Endicott, M. Transitioning from Coding to CDI Offers New Career Opportunities.
Kadlec, L. HIM’s Role in Health Data Analysis.