They compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements. They also process, maintain, compile, and report patient information to meet health requirements and standards.

HIM majors take basic & some required HIM courses at UT Martin, then transfer to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Memphis or other schools to complete a bachelor's degree in Informatics and Health Information Management.  There is also a Masters Degree in Health Informatics and Information Management for applicants with a Bachelors degree.  Check the UTMEM wesite (see link below) for details. Many HIM pre-health students choose a business major, but others such as computer science are appropriate.  Professionals in this field need a background in management, computer technology, business and legal ethics.

The US Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that:

Employment of Health Information specialists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2012, due to the rapid growth of tests, treatments & procedures that are increasingly scrutinized by insurance companies, regulators, courts & consumers.

Program of Study
Course Requirements/Hours

NOTE 1: One course in speech counts as a literature course.

NOTE 2: College algebra (Mathematics 140) is prerequisite to statistics (Mathematics 210).

NOTE 3: Suggested electives include accounting, business law, organizational behavior and theory, human resource management, business communications and medical terminology.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Chair, Department of Health Information Management
920 Madison Ave., Suite 518
Memphis , TN 38163
(901) 448-6486
FAX: 901 448 1629
Email: HIM@utm.edu
www.utmem.edu

•  American Health Information Management Association
•  www.bls.gov