Health Information Technologist
Overview
Health Information Technologists work behind the scenes to manage and protect patient data in hospitals and healthcare facilities using advanced computer systems and databases. They help healthcare organizations choose the right technology, set up electronic health record systems, and ensure patient information stays secure and private. These professionals analyze medical data to create reports that help doctors improve patient care and track health outcomes. Many work in collaborative teams with IT specialists and healthcare providers, often in hybrid work environments, and typically need an associate degree in health information technology or a related field.
Did you know?
Mastery of HIPAA regulations and healthcare data privacy laws is essential for handling protected health information in the American healthcare system.
At a Glance
Median Wage
$64,582.94 Avg/yr
Growth
Fast Growing
Key Responsibilities
- Retrieve patient medical records for physicians, technicians, or other medical personnel.
- Resolve or clarify codes or diagnoses with conflicting, missing, or unclear information by consulting with doctors or others or by participating in the coding team's regular meetings.
- Facilitate and promote activities, such as lunches, seminars, or tours, to foster healthcare information privacy or security awareness within the organization.
- Monitor changes in legislation and accreditation standards that affect information security or privacy in the computerized healthcare system.
- Assign the patient to diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), using appropriate computer software.
- Protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
- Compile medical care and census data for statistical reports on diseases treated, surgery performed, or use of hospital beds.
- Identify, compile, abstract, and code patient data, using standard classification systems.
- Prepare statistical reports, narrative reports, or graphic presentations of information, such as tumor registry data for use by hospital staff, researchers, or other users.
- Plan, develop, maintain, or operate a variety of health record indexes or storage and retrieval systems to collect, classify, store, or analyze information.
- Evaluate and recommend upgrades or improvements to existing computerized healthcare systems.
- Train medical records staff.
- Design databases to support healthcare applications, ensuring security, performance and reliability.
- Develop in-service educational materials.
- Manage the department or supervise clerical workers, directing or controlling activities of personnel in the medical records department.
- Write or maintain archived procedures, procedural codes, or queries for applications.
Career Considerations
HIPAA Compliance Expertise
Mastery of HIPAA regulations and healthcare data privacy laws is essential for handling protected health information in the American healthcare system.
Healthcare Informatics Proficiency
Strong technical skills in electronic health record systems, SQL databases, and statistical analysis software are crucial for success in this data-driven field.
Growing Market Demand
The increasing digitization of American healthcare and emphasis on evidence-based medicine creates expanding career opportunities and competitive salaries.