Health Information Technology

Summary

The Health Information Technology degree prepares students to process and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the health care system. It is designed to prepare students to work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, behavioral health facilities, government health agencies, long-term care facilities, and various health information industry vendors.

The Health Information Technology Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification exam.

Eligibility for enrollment is determined by a special admission procedure. Interested persons should review program information on the Mesa College website.

A grade of "C" or better must be maintained in all courses to continue in this restricted program. Course repetition in this program is not permitted unless student is granted readmission. Students must complete HEIT 214 and 215 within five years in order to receive the Health Information Technology Associate of Science degree. This program is governed by the Allied Health Department Policies and Procedures.

Directed Clinical Practice (DCP) Requirement Most allied health students are required to successfully complete DCP, clinically-based courses held in health care facilities. These facilities may require background checks, including fingerprinting and drug screening, as a condition of placement at the clinic. Refusal to submit to a background check, or failure to meet clearance criteria established by the health care facility, may prevent placement in DCP courses and thus, it may not be possible to successfully complete the program. Health care facilities also require adherence to strict standards of conduct. Facilities may refuse educational access to any person who does not adhere to the facility's standards of safety, health and ethical behavior. This may be cause for removal from the program.

Upon successful completion of the degree, students may find employment in health information departments as a release of information specialist, document imaging specialist, entry-level coder, health information supervisor, clinical coding specialist, medical data analyst, data/quality associate, clinical documentation specialist, cancer registry coordinator, or risk/compliance assistant.

Award Note: The Associate Degree requires a minimum of 60 degree applicable semester units.

Learning Outcome(s): Students who complete the Health Information Technology Program will be able to:

1. Temporary field, remove after launched.

Accreditation

The Health Information Technology program accreditor of San Diego Mesa College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for the Associates degree in Health Information Technology has been reaffirmed through 2030. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed by mail to CAHIIM, 200 East Randolph Street, Suite 5100, Chicago, IL, 60601; by phone at (312) 235-3255; or by email at info@cahiim.org.

Directed Clinical Practice Requirement

Most allied health students are required to successfully complete DCP, clinically-based courses held in health care facilities. These facilities may require background checks, including fingerprinting and drug screening, as a condition of placement at the clinic. Refusal to submit to a background check, or failure to meet clearance criteria established by the health care facility, may prevent placement in DCP courses and thus, it may not be possible to successfully complete the program. Health care facilities also require adherence to strict standards of conduct. Facilities may refuse educational access to any person who does not adhere to the facility's standards of safety, health and ethical behavior. This may be cause for removal from the program.

Admission Criteria

Eligibility for enrollment is determined by a special admission procedure. Interested persons should review program information on the website.

A grade of "C" or better must be maintained in all courses to continue in this restricted program. Course repetition in this program is not permitted unless student is granted readmission. This program is governed by the Allied Health Department Policies and Procedures.

Students must complete HEIT 214 and 215 within five years in order to receive the Health Information Technology Associate of Science degree.

Requirements