Department of Health Informatics & Information Management
Nursing Building, Suite 204
Round Rock Campus
T: 512-716-2840 F: 512-716-2827
http://www.health.txstate.edu/HIM
Health information management (HIM) professionals improve patient care without direct patient contact and are one of the few healthcare roles that often work remotely or from home. Jobs are plentiful and salaries are high. HIM improves the quality and efficiency of healthcare by ensuring accurate information is available when and where needed to enable interoperable electronic health records and support clinical decisions. HIM students learn to acquire, manage, analyze, apply, and protect healthcare data and information systems. The profession encompasses expertise in planning, collecting, aggregating, analyzing, and disseminating individual patient and population clinical data. Health informatics, data analytics, artificial intelligence, information governance, and cybersecurity are core skills of the rapidly expanding field that students will learn and refine in the program.
The Master of Health Information Management (MHIM) degree program is both an entry point for those seeking to enter the HIM field and a way for current professionals to advance their careers with updated skills and a relevant graduate degree. The program is offered entirely online asynchronously and includes a variety of options and concentrations to address multiple student interests such as data analytics, cybersecurity, and research.
Projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to be among the fastest growing occupations in the United States, HIM is an excellent career choice for students seeking a healthcare profession that combines interest in computer science, business, management, legal procedures, leadership, and healthcare research. HIM professionals play key roles in making the healthcare system by performing essential data collection, analysis, protection, and dissemination of information that physicians, nurses, and other clinicians and administrators require to provide quality patient care. Health information management professionals are in critical roles to ensure that artificial intelligence is used responsibly in healthcare.
HIM graduates work in a broad range of settings that span the continuum of healthcare, including hospitals, physician practices, nursing homes, home health agencies, mental health facilities, and public health agencies. Other settings include government agencies, insurance companies, research institutions, cybersecurity and information technology firms, and electronic health record software vendors. Some roles allow working remotely or from home.
The MHIM program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education. Upon completion of the degree, graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) examination offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Applications for the MHIM program may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Externally supervised experiential learning (ExSEL) is optional for the MHIM program. Students may register for an elective course that involves placement at a real-world clinical or professional workplace to refine professionalism and readiness for the HIM workforce. If selected, students will have additional requirements associated with the placement site.
Immunization Requirements
It is the policy of the College of Health Professions that each student must provide a health report completed by a physician or licensed healthcare provider and must take specific immunizations before the student can be placed in a clinical or internship assignment. Information on these requirements and the required forms may be obtained through the Department of Health Informatics & Information Management.
Background Check and Drug Screening
As a condition for placement in professional practice sites, students may be required to have a background check and/or drug screening and/or meet other specific requirements as set by individual sites. Information on these requirements may be obtained through the Department of Health Informatics & Information Management.
