Health Information Management

New Privacy Law Increases Demand For HIM Professionals

Fueling the demand for health information managers in the U.S. is the recent passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which aims to protect the privacy of patient health information, otherwise known as the medical record. Temple University is helping to meet this demand with an accredited program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management. Graduates are eligible to become certified as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).

“Because everyone has a medical record, it’s difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the impact of HIPAA, but it certainly explains why health information management professionals are in high demand,” said department chair, Laurinda Harman, PhD, RHIA.

The HIPAA privacy rules went into effect in April 2001 and healthcare providers were required to implement them by April 2003. In the past, the privacy of medical records varied from state to state. HIPAA sets forth a national set of guidelines that all U.S. health care providers must follow. HIPAA also has a set of security rules, which require healthcare providers and insurance plans to implement safety measures to protect computerized patient information. These rules must be implemented by April 2005.

HIM professionals are charged with properly managing and protecting patient and public health information. As such, they serve as the gatekeepers of this critical data. They are also responsible for administering computer information systems and coding the diagnosis and procedures for healthcare services provided to patients.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of health information management professionals is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014. The implementation of HIPAA and its health information privacy provisions will create an even greater demand than the BLS forecast.

On top of strong job prospects, the field offers competitive salaries. More than half of new health information management graduates with a bachelor’s degree start with salaries in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. Five years out, many are earning $50,000 to $75,000. “A significant number of our graduates hold the top executive information management positions in the region,” said Harman.

In addition, the profession offers career flexibility and a variety of workplace options. Depending on skills, education and interests, jobs can include health information management director, clinical data analyst and information privacy or security officer. Practice settings include hospitals, physician offices and clinics, health care computer companies, long-term care facilities, insurance companies and government agencies.

Temple’s department of Health Information Management in the College of Health Professions started in 1967. The program is located at Temple’s Health Sciences Center, an exciting environment where students from all of the health care disciplines including medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and podiatric medicine learn and interact. Health information students learn in a computer lab which is also a smart classroom, which as access to all current health information management software applications.

For more information, contact Temple’s HIM program at 215-707-4811 or hlthfo@temple.edu.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Education Section, 4/4/04.