Health Information Technology, A.A.S.

Amy Cunningham, Program Coordinator
116K Advanced Technology Center (ATC), Fairmont (304) 367-4764
Amy.Cunningham@pierpont.edu

Accrediting Agency

Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education
233 N. Michigan Avenue 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60601-5119
www.cahiim.org

Program Purpose

The A.A.S. Health Information Technology Degree provides training in the skills needed to be effective in maintaining health information. Such documentation assists in ensuring the continuity of care and protects the financial and legal interests of the patient, the health care facility, and the responsible practitioner caring for the patient.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the HIT Program at Pierpont Community and Technical College is selective and students are admitted each year prior to the opening of the Fall semester. The number of students admitted to the program is based upon available space in the clinical affiliates.

To be considered for admission, applicants must:

• Meet the general admission requirements at Pierpont Community and Technical College
• Have a high school GPA and, if applicable, a college GPA of 2.0 or better
• Students who meet or exceed WVHEPC Series 21 minimum test scores are eligible for admission into the traditional 3-credit/3-contact hour ENGL 1104  and math classes. Students who do not meet the minimum English test score will be required to enroll in a 4-credit/4-contact hour math course. The additional credit hours shown for ENGL 1104  and MTH reflect the embedded support (English) and math support course (MTH-S) hours.

Students must complete each course with a grade of “C” or better in order to continue in the HIT sequence.  Students who receive a “D” or “F” in a course must repeat the course before continuing in the HIT sequence.  If students receive two such grades in the same course, they will be removed from the program.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the AAS degree in Health Information Technology, graduates will be able to do the following:

• Collect, maintain, and analyze health data structure and content and be familiar with healthcare data standards and requirements
• Apply and validate clinical classification systems and support reimbursement methodologies
• Collect, organize and present healthcare statistics
• Participate and comply in quality assessment and performance issues, and healthcare delivery systems
• Implement, maintain and demonstrate healthcare compliance, confidentiality, ethical, legal and privacy issues
• Utilize and protect health information and communication technologies
• Design, maintain, and utilize health data, storage, security, and retrieval
• Develop, apply, and participate in human resource management, and financial and physical resources
• Demonstrate professional behavior through attendance, promptness, and ability to assume appropriate responsibility

Opportunities

Graduates with the Associate of Applied Science degree in Health Information Technology are qualified for entry level positions as Health Information Technicians. After graduation from the program, the graduate is qualified to take the National Accreditation Examination for Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).