The curriculum promotes accuracy and accessibility by ensuring expertise in paper and online systems. HIM Program Mission: To develop the fundamental skills and abilities needed to fulfill the complex role of a health information management technician and to cultivate the attitudes and principles that will encourage a commitment to lifelong learning and provide the greatest competitive advantage i
n allied health facilities and agencies. NWACC's Health Information Management (HIM) program prepares you to perform as an entry-level technician. Duties include organizing and managing health information data by ensuring its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security in both paper and electronic systems. About HIM:
NWACC offers a two-year Associate of Applied Science in HIM that integrates medical science, coding systems, computer technology, and health care management. When pursuing the online HIM degree, you will take 20 credit hours in general education and 46 credit hours in HIM coursework. In-person internships consist of eighty-hour clinical rotations that will be held in the summer semester (first year) and spring semester (second year). NWACC also offers an online Technical Certificate in HIM in Coding that is embedded into the degree program and requires 32 credits, which can be applied toward the HIM associate degree. Through this certification, you will learn medical billing and coding. This is the process of identifying diagnoses, medical tests, treatments, and procedures found in clinical documentation and transcribing the patient data into standardized codes to bill government and commercial payers for physician reimbursement. Successful completion of an accredited HIM program leads to an associate of applied science degree and eligibility to sit for the Registered Health Information Technology (RHIT) examination and the AHIMA professional HIM certification exam. For the 2021-2022 school year, the program’s graduation rate was 82%, the employment rate was 100%, and 100% of graduates indicated they were satisfied with their educational experience. Accreditation:
NWACC's HIM program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Graduating from a CAHIIM-accredited program offers employers assurance that you have the expected professional knowledge and skills, and have experienced a curriculum that is relevant to today's electronic health record (EHR) environment.
