Health Information Management and Technology Major (BS)
The bachelor of science in health information management and technology (HIMT) is a 61-credit online degree completion program which is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). This is one of the only programs that teaches essential skills in both health information management (HIM) and health information technology (HIT)—providing the new HIMT skills you need to succeed in today’s ever more technology-focused healthcare environments. Graduates of UW-Parkside’s Management track of HIMT are eligible to apply for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credentialing exam.
The degree program focuses on the information sector of the healthcare industry because it is one of the fastest growing and evolving segments of the industry. The new advances in health-related technologies, patient records, etc., bring with them new regulations and new concerns for privacy and security. Highly skilled professionals are needed to manage this area, and graduates of the HIMT degree program will be very well positioned to meet that need. The online program is designed to meet the needs of adult learners.
By focusing as much on health IT and analytics skills as the traditional skills associated with health information management, the HIMT degree program will prepare knowledgeable and skillful professionals to assume leadership positions within the public and private sectors. Within organizations, a HIMT professional will be able to manage and administer health-information technologies that span across divisions, departments, and businesses.
This program offers courses in conjunction with three partner campuses – UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point.
- Demonstrate through the healthcare management track the principles of leadership and management in the HIMT environment or demonstrate through the healthcare technology track the application of information technology in the HIMT environment
- Apply quantitative methodologies to process healthcare information
- Evaluate, use, and integrate information technology to support medical decision making and processes
- Apply critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and effective inter-professional communication skills related to health information management
- Apply principles of healthcare privacy, confidentiality, legal, ethical issues and data security
- Demonstrate knowledge of dynamic healthcare delivery systems and regulatory environments
- Demonstrate knowledge of healthcare terminology and medical conditions
- Demonstrate knowledge of healthcare billing, coding and reimbursement policies
Requirements for the Health Information Management and Technology Major
Students are eligible for admission to this program once they have earned 60 credits of college work through an associate’s degree from an accredited institution or 60 equivalent credits of course work. Students must also have completed the following prerequisite courses: college algebra, introductory biology and introductory communications with grades of C or better. Please contact the Academic Director of the HIMT program at UW-Parkside for more information.
To complete the degree program, students must successfully complete all of UW-Parkside’s graduation requirements including the general education and ethnic diversity requirements. Students admitted to the program will take 49 credits of core courses and 12 credits in either management or healthcare technology designed to prepare them for the HIMT field and further focus their knowledge in one of these areas of specialization. Course work will culminate in a capstone course, where students will complete an HIMT project in a field setting.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| HIMT 301 | Digital Literacy in Healthcare | 3 |
| HIMT 310 | Healthcare Systems and Organizations | 3 |
| HIMT 320 | Survey of Information Technology in Healthcare | 3 |
| HIMT 330 | Healthcare I: Terminology and Body Systems | 3 |
| HIMT 340 | Ethical Issues, Security Management and Compliance | 3 |
| HIMT 350 | Statistics For Healthcare | 3 |
| HIMT 360 | Healthcare II: Survey of Disease & Treatments | 3 |
| HIMT 370 | Healthcare Systems: Analysis and Design | 3 |
| HIMT 380 | Healthcare Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement | 3 |
| HIMT 400 | Healthcare Information and Technology - Data | 3 |
| HIMT 410 | Healthcare Systems: Implementation and Integration | 3 |
| HIMT 420 | Healthcare Systems: Project Management | 3 |
| HIMT 430 | Quality Assessment and Improvement | 3 |
| HIMT 440 | Group Processes, Team Building and Leadership | 3 |
| HIMT 450 | Healthcare Information and Technology-Standards | 3 |
| HIMT 489 | Pre-Capstone: Health Information Management and Technology | 1 |
| HIMT 490 | Capstone Project | 3 |
| Required Core Courses Subtotal | 49 | |
| Major Elective Courses | ||
| Choose one group of courses: | 12 | |
| Healthcare Management Track | ||
| Principles of Management For HIMT Professionals | ||
| Healthcare Economics | ||
| Human Resource Management in Healthcare | ||
| Application of Leadership and Management in Healthcare Technology | ||
| Healthcare Technology Track | ||
| Programming and Software Development | ||
| Database Structures and Management Systems | ||
| Data Warehousing and Mining | ||
| Data Communications and Computer Networks in Healthcare | ||
| Major Elective Courses Subtotal | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 61 | |
To complete the major, students are required to complete the core 17 courses and 4 courses in one of the tracks available for a total of 21 courses (61 credits). Because these courses are designed specifically for this degree, are online, and include a focus on health information management and technology, these courses do not duplicate courses already available at the partner campuses.
Students who are completing the HIMT degree and who have entered the program with more than 60 credits do not have to fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement at UW-Parkside.
Degree Requirements (Bachelor's Degree)
In addition to individual program requirements, students must also fulfill the following requirements.
- Complete 120 credits of college work. This must include 36 credits in courses numbered 300 or above. Certain elementary courses are identified in the catalog and/or course schedule as not counting toward the 120 credits required for graduation. In addition, only the first 8 credits of physical education activity courses (100-level) may be counted toward graduation or grade point averages (GPA).
- Earn a minimum of 30 credits toward their undergraduate degree at UW-Parkside. Individual departments and programs may require that certain courses must be taken at UW-Parkside. Students must complete all course work to be counted toward graduation by the end of the semester/subscription period in which they graduate.
- Attain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale. Some programs have higher GPA requirements. Transfer students must also have a cumulative 2.00 GPA on the combination of transfer credits accepted and credits attempted at UW-Parkside.
- Complete an approved major program of study with the minimum major GPA as specified by the program or department. Usually, the minimum GPA is 2.00 on a 4.00 scale, but some majors require a higher GPA. Students who apply transfer credits to their majors must also meet the minimum major GPA requirement on the combination of transfer credits and UW-Parkside credits. At least 15 credits of upper level course work (courses numbered 300 or higher) must be completed at UW-Parkside. A student may not graduate with an incomplete grade in major course work if failure in that course would reduce the GPA in the major below the minimum GPA.
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Minimum Total Credits | 120 |
| Upper Level Credits (300 level or above) | 36 |
| Residency | 30 |
Cumulative Degree GPA: 2.0 minimum
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Skills | 7-8 |
| General Education | 36 |
| Foreign Language** | 6-8 |
| Ethnic Diversity | 3 |
| Total | 52-55 |
** Transfer students in sustainable management, and health information management and technology collaborative, online degree-completion programs, the business management online degree-completion program, and the flexible option degree-completion program will be exempt from the university’s foreign language requirement. See appropriate academic section for further information.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | ||
| ENGL 101 | Composition and Reading | 3 |
| Computational Skills | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4-5 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| College Mathematics with Applications | ||
| College Algebra I | ||
| Total Credits | 7-8 | |