Health Information Management professionals work with health care
data. They acquire, analyze, interpret, maintain, release, and
protect medical information be it in digital or paper form. They
also design, implement, and maintain health information technology
systems.
HIM professional work in many different types of jobs, including
medical coder, cancer registrar, HIM supervisor, HIM manager, HIM
director, compliance officer, information privacy officer,
information security officer, quality improvement analyst, release
of information professional, IS professional, and software
professional. In the future, many new HIM jobs will be created with
the adoption of the electronic health record.
HIM professionals work in health care, but often do not work
directly with patients. They work in a variety of healthcare
settings, including hospitals, physicians' offices, long-term care
facilities, consulting firms, mental health facilities, correctional
facilities, accounting firms, insurance companies, and
pharmaceutical firms.
Education level for people working in HIM varies from
on-the-job trained file clerks to highly educated doctorate level
professionals. Formal HIM training programs incorporate
medicine, management, finance, information technology, and law into
their curriculums.
Several HIM credentials are available through AHIMA. For more info,
see the credentials page.
RHIT and RHIA Exam Prep
RHIT certification exam - AS
degree in HIT required
Good study and review books for the
Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam are the Merida
Johns' and Mervat Abdelhak's books below. A popular review guide for this exam is the
Professional Review Guide for the RHIA and RHIT examinations by
Patricia Schnering, better known as the "PRG study guide." See the studyguides page for info on how I prepared for my RHIT exam.
RHIA certification exam - BS
degree in HIM required
Good study books for the Registered
Health Information Administrator (RHIA) exam are the Kathleen LaTour's and Mervat Abdelhak's books below. Plus the same PRG study guide as above.
The HIM books
provide an overall view of health information management (HIM) and
health information technology (HIT), and help you prepare for the
RHIA and RHIT exams.
Click on the book title links for complete publication information.
describes health information practice in wide
variety of settings; incl. long-term care, home
health, ambulatory care, veterinary, correctional,
dental
