Health Information Management

Field description

Health information management (HIM) is an allied health profession that focuses on the integration of information technology and management for health care facilities, organizations and agencies. The HIM professional combines knowledge of health care, health records and information management to provide services which meet the medical, legal, ethical, regulatory, and institutional requirements of the health care delivery system being served.

Choose a program

• Health Information Management Internship Program (Arizona)
• Health Information Management Internship Program (Florida)

Career opportunities

HIM professionals may be employed in various settings. Some of the most common job titles include director, supervisor, privacy officer, coder, cancer registrar, record analyst, scanner, and HIM technician.

Employment of medical records and HIM technicians is expected to increase by 18 percent through 2016 — faster than the national average for all occupations — because of rapid growth in the number of medical tests, treatments and procedures that will be increasingly scrutinized by health insurance companies, regulators, courts, and consumers. Also, technicians will be needed to enter patient information into computer databases to comply with federal legislation mandating the use of electronic medical records.

Earning potential

Nationally, the average salary for HIM technician professionals is $30,000 to $40,000 annually. The national average for HIM administrator professionals is $62,000 to $77,000 annually.

Professional organizations

Visit the following Web sites to learn more about health information management:

• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
• Florida Health Information Management Association (FHIMA)
• Arizona Health Information Management Association

• April 6, 2012
• ART280011