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Health Information Technology

Certificates and Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree

The Business Side of Health

The HIT certificates and degree program focus on the business operations of healthcare. Employment opportunities range from entry-level clerical roles to more advanced roles within the revenue cycle and medical information management.

HIT Certificates + Associate of Applied Science Degree

The first-year certificates can be taken as stand-alone options or applied to a degree. Each certificate builds on the one before.

1. Health Records Certificate

This certificate can be taken as a stand-alone option, or it can be applied to the HIT Associates in Applied Sciences degree. Prepares students for employment in entry-level healthcare clerical roles such as: Customer service representative, call center representative, patient service representative, medical records clerk, medical receptionist, and more.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

PROGRAM MAP

2. Health Information Associate (HIA) Certificate

This certificate can be taken as a stand-alone option, or it can be applied to the HIT Associates in Applied Sciences degree. Prepares students for employment in entry-level health information roles such as: health information technician, medical records specialist, patient access representative, scheduling coordinator, or release of information clerk.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

PROGRAM MAP

3. Health Information Technology (HIT) Associates in Applied Sciences Degree

The HIT AAS degree builds upon HIT certificates to prepare graduates to take the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) credentialing exam. This degree prepares students for employment in a wide variety of roles related to the quality of health records, the assignment of medical codes, analysis of patient data, and/or the release health information.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

PROGRAM MAP

Learn More About HIT

Explore our virtual information sessions and research jobs and careers for this area of study.

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Program Pathway

TCC’s HIT AAS degree prepares students for a variety of careers in health information technology. The two-year Associates in Applied Sciences (AAS) degree can also lead to the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Health Information Management offered at TCC.

Academic Requirements

Review the degree requirements and map out your courses.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

PROGRAM MAP

Non-Academic Requirements

Professional Practice Experience internships for the program require:
- Criminal and federal fraud background checks
- Health insurance
- Immunizations
- Vehicle insurance (where applicable)
- 80 hours of in-person, onsite clinical experience
Accreditation

The Health Information Management accreditor of Tacoma Community College is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). The College’s accreditation for associate degree in Health Information Management has been reaffirmed through 2029-2030.

All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed by mail to

CAHIIM
200 East Randolph Street, Suite 5100
Chicago, IL, 60601
phone at 312.235.3255
email at info@cahiim.org

Graduates of the Health Information Technology (HIT) Associates of Science (AAS) degree program are eligible to sit for the Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) national accreditation examination.

Certification Information

In accordance with U.S. Department of Education Regulation 34 CFR 668.43 (a) (5) (v), educational institutions must provide information related to whether their programs will fulfill educational requirements for specific professional licensure or certification and to inform prospective students whether their degree upon graduation will qualify them to work in the state where they are located. Graduates of the HIT program are eligible to sit for the RHIT exam, which is valid in every state.

Program Effectiveness

Program Effectiveness Outcomes

TCC’s HIT AAS program stives to provide the best learning environment for success on the RHIT exam.

RHIT Pass Rate
Exam Period	TCC HIT Program
2023	85%
2022	78%

Graduation Rate within 150% of Published Time
Academic Year	Completion Rate
2022 - 2023	100%
2021 - 2022	100%

Student Statisfaction Rate
Academic Year	Satisfaction Rate
2022 - 2023	95%
2021 - 2022	97%

Employment Rate (based on survey results)
Academic Year	Employment Rate
2022 - 2023	80%
2021 - 2022	100%

Program Learning Outcomes
1. Apply policies and procedures surrounding data structure, data content, and information governance. (COK,COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
2. Evaluate health recod, data dictionary and data set regulatory and accreditation compliance. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
3. Apply legal and information protection solutions for maintaining privacy, confidentiality and security of health information. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
4. Apply informatics and analytics concepts to health data use and technologies such as clinical decision support, statistical calculations, graphical representations, research methodologies, and data management. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
5. Evaluate the management of database systems and health information exchange standards. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
6. Apply revenue cycle policies and coding methodologies in accordance with guidelines. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
7. Evaluate revenue cycle processes and compliance with regulatory requirements and reimbursement methodologies. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
8. Identify legislation, legal processes, health policy, and risk management concepts that affect health information. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
9. Demonstrate leadership skills that adhere to equity, diversity and inclusion policies, human resource strategies and performance improvement techniques for workforce training, organizational change, and financial management. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, ICD, RES)
10. Evaluate compliance with federal regulations and ethical standards of practice. (COK, COM, CRT, IIT, RES)
11. Identify major concepts of supportive knowledge to include pathophysiology, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, statistics and computer applications. (COK, COM, CRT)