Health information technology management (HIT), is the practice of acquiring, analyzing, and protecting digital and traditional medical information. The health care industry depends on electronic information systems. As health data becomes more digitized, opportunities are created for trained health information technicians with the skills and knowledge to collect, analyze, monitor, maintain and report health data according to established data quality principles, legal and information security standards and professional best-practice guidelines. The Health Information Technology program will prepare you to become an expert in patient health data management.
What Does a Health Information Technician Do?
- Are the guardians and gatekeepers of the most important tool in modern health care – the medical record.
- Ensure that patient's histories are accurate, complete, up-to-date, and properly entered into the clinical database.
- Keep careful logs of patient histories, diagnoses, treatments and procedures.
- Understand workflow in all size healthcare settings, from large hospital systems to the private physician practice.
- Play vital roles in the daily operations of health information management and electronic health records (EHR) at almost every point in the healthcare delivery cycle.
- Ensure an organization has the right information on hand when and where it is needed.
- Maintain the highest standards of data integrity, confidentiality, and security.
Why Choose Health Information Technology?
- The program is 100% online (with the exception of professional practice experience (PPE), and was created with the working adult in mind.
- Health information technology is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- You will become a critical member of the healthcare team.
- No needles - you will work behind the scenes in the healthcare system without ever having direct patient care responsibilities.
See why students chose to become health information technicians by viewing real HIT/HIM stories.
- Overview
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Is This Program for You?
Are you interested in the business and technology aspects of healthcare? Are you detail-oriented and enjoy science, management, law, and computers? Health Information Technology may be the career choice for you.
Students entering the Health Information Technology program should:
- Be interested in working in health care, but not directly with patients.
- Be interested in business and technology.
- Be detail oriented.
- Have an aptitude for science, but also like management, law, and computers.
- Enjoy working with professionals: physicians, nurses, lawyers, administrators and executives.
- Want a career where you can choose to work on your own, with others, or some of both.
- Have a strong knowledge of medical terminology.
- Employ good critical thinking and communication skills.
Program Basics
- Associate degree.
- All courses offered online allowing for 100% flexibility, with the exception of professional practice experiences (PPEs).
- Financial aid is available to those that qualify.
- August or January program start date.
- Students must achieve a grade of C or better in each course of the program curriculum to be eligible to progress.
- Flexible, sequenced credential training starts with a Medical Coding Specialist Certificate (first year)
- Second year leads to Associate Degree in Health Information Technology Management.
- Credits transferrable for a Bachelor's degree in Health Information Management.
Related Degrees
- Curriculum & Costs
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Cost of Attendance (COA) 25-26
Cost of Attendance (COA) is a total of all the usual expenses of being a student. The COA sets the maximum amount of financial aid a student can receive.
Category Amount Tuition and Fees $4,932 Living Expenses (Housing and Food) $10,305 Books and Supplies $1,463 Personal Expenses $3,065 Transportation $4,103 Charger Tech 360 Fee $700 Loan Fees $85 Yearly Total (Living Away from Home) $24,653 1 Semester Total (Living Away from Home) $12,327 Based on Wisconsin Residents.
Approximate school costs are for a full-time (12 credit) student over a semester span of 17 weeks.
Fees are legislated by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board.
These costs are estimates and are subject to change without notice.
- Requirements
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Admission and Program Requirements
- Submit Application
- To make sure your classes are the right fit, we consider any previous college credit you've earned, Accuplacer or ACT scores, high school GPA, or an assessment at your registration session. Submit High School Transcripts, College Transcripts, and Test Scores to: Southwest Tech, Attn: Admissions, 1800 Bronson Blvd, Fennimore, WI 53809
- Admissions Meeting: After applying and submitting transcripts, work with your advisor to begin or continue your student success plan to talk about your career interests and goals, develop a plan for paying for college, learn about various funding options, create an academic map, and discuss supports and services. Schedule an admissions meeting by clicking "Make an appointment" with your program advisor.
Most programs admit students as applications are completed. For certain high-enrollment programs with limited space, applications are reviewed in order of residency and review dates. Programs currently in this category include Radiography, Electrical Power Distribution, Midwifery, Cosmetology, and Nail Technician. Learn more about our Admissions and Wait List Policy.Requirements for Online Students
Chromebooks are not compatible with some testing features within Schoology (our Learning Management System). Southwest Tech recommends not to use Chromebooks for classes.
Cable/broadband/DSL internet with a minimum speed of 1.5Mbps. You can test your local internet speed at www.speedtest.net. Run this test from the location you will be working from.
Higher bandwidth and speed will greatly assist you in your online learning environment, so where possible, a faster internet speed is recommended. Cable internet tend to be faster than DSL or 4G wireless, although DSL or 4G wireless may also work depending on other factors. Your computer, other software (such as anti spyware), other users on the system, and system configurations can all influence your ultimate line speed. Many instructors use videos as a part of their instruction, as well as synchronous meeting times (Skype, Adobe Connect, etc). Having an acceptable internet connection speed will be important to your success.
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Convenient access to a computer that has one of the following current versions of Internet Browsers:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome
- Safari
- An active e-mail account (all Southwest Tech students are issued a free email account)
- Word processing software (Microsoft Word is the recommended word processing software at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College). Free Microsoft Office software is available to all Southwest Tech students at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office
- Availability of 10-15 hours per week for each 3-credit course
- Self-motivation and self-discipline
Helpful Academic Background
- Keyboarding and basic computer skills
- Biological Sciences
Program Fees
- This program is eligible for Financial Aid.
- Estimated cost for each semester can be found under the Curriculum tab. Please note that costs are approximate and are based on the current academic year.
- Please discuss additional fee questions with the program advisor or instructor.
- Submit Application
- Career Opportunities
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Employment opportunities for Health Information Technology include:
All health care facilities such as: hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, surgery centers, insurance companies, consulting companies, government agencies, computer software companies and other health care settings. Possible employment for program graduates may include:
- Outpatient Coder
- Inpatient Coder
- Medical Coding Specialist
- Coding Analyst
- Claims Analyst
- Patient Care Coordinators
- Patient Registrar
- Benefits Coordinator
- Medical Biller
- Collections Clerk
- Insurance Claims Clerk
- Customer Service Representatives
- HIM Revenue Cycle Auditors
- Document and Coding Specialists
- Coding Specialist
- Health Information Technicians
- Medical Office Administrators
- Clinical Data Analyst
- Compliance Auditors
Southwest Tech's Career Connections Center offers Services to assist students looking for job placement.
- Transfers
- Prior Learning
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Credit for Prior Learning
Experience Pays! You've Been There... You've Done That... Let's See If You Can Get Credit For It!
Credit for prior learning gives you opportunities to earn credit for college-level knowledge that you have already acquired. This may be the result of work or volunteer experiences, certifications, apprenticeships, military training, extensive self-instruction, or professional development. Credit for Prior Learning affords you the opportunity to accelerate the completion of your educational goals.
For more information on Credit for Prior Learning see our Credit for Prior Learning page.
At any time, you may Request Credit for Prior Learning.
Health Information Technology Courses that may have Credit for Prior Learning options:
Course # Course Title Challenge Exam
(Demonstration)Challenge Exam
(Standard)CLEPCredentialPortfolio10-501-101 Medical Terminology 
Available online 10-501-107 Digital Literacy for Healthcare 10-530-161 Health Quality Management 10-530-162 Foundations of HIM Challenge exam not available for Cancer Information Management program. 10-530-163 Healthcare Stats and Analytics 10-530-164 Intro to Health Informatics 10-530-165 Intermediate Coding 10-530-167 Management of HIM Resources 10-530-178 Healthcare Law & Ethics 10-530-182 Human Diseases for Hlth Profes 10-530-184 CPT Coding Current Certified Professional Coder (CPC) or Certified Coding Specialist - Physician Based (CCS-P) 10-530-197 ICD Diagnosis Coding Current International Classification of Diseases - 10 (ICD-10), Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) or Certified Professional Coder (CPC) 10-530-199 ICD Procedure Coding International Classification of Diseases - 10 (ICD-10) or Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) 10-801-136 English Composition 1 CLEP Test - College Composition 10-801-196 Oral/Interpersonal Communication 10-809-196 Introduction to Sociology 10-809-198 Introduction to Psychology CLEP Test - Introduction to Psychology
Outcomes
Program Outcomes
- Apply data governance principles to ensure the quality of health data
- Apply coding and reimbursement systems
- Model professional behaviors and ethics
- Apply informatics and analytics in data use
- Apply organizational management techniques
Health Information Technology Student Achievement Data
Student achievement/outcomes (2021-2022)
- Employment in related field:
- 90% of graduates were employed in related field for 2021-2022.
- Retention Rates:
- 62.5% retention rate for students.
- Course Completion Rate:
- 57% (in normal time for program completion, 24 months for Full Time students or 30 months for Part Time students)
Respectfully submitted by:
Jennifer Lame', MPH, RHIT – HIT Program Director
Kim Maier, Executive Dean
Revised April, 2023
Accreditation
The Health Information Technician program accreditor of Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for Associate degree in Health Information Technician has been reaffirmed through 2028-2029. 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.