Health Information Management, Bachelor of Science (529P, 529)
Department website: http://www.wku.edu/publichealth
Program Coordinator
Janice R. Hunt-Shepherd, jan.hunt-shepherd@wku.edu, (270) 745-3548
The Health Information Management bachelor degree program is accredited by Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM)*. Graduates of the program are eligible to take the American Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA)** certification examination for the designation of Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA).
The major in health information management is designed to prepare the graduate HIM professional with skills and competencies in health data management, data analytics and informatics, information governance, privacy and security, compliance, clinical documentation improvement, revenue cycle management, medical coding, health information technology management and administrative and clinical work flow. Students will focus on operations management essential to ensuring an accurate and complete medical record and cost effective information processing.
A student's application to the baccalaureate degree program will be considered following:
- Admission to WKU;
- Earning grade of C or higher in introductory course, HIM 100: Health Data Content and Structure (or equivalent course or departmental exam) OR following successful completion of an associate degree in Health Information Management or Health Information Technology;
- Submitting a criminal background check; and
- Earning an overall GPA of 2.0.
Students are required to have professional liability insurance coverage prior to accessing health information and / or professional practice experience. Prior to participating in any professional practice experience (PPE) students are also required to provide a recent criminal background check, current immunization records and results of a current drug screen. At selected health care institutions, there may be additional certifications, training seminars, or other requirements that a student must meet in order to be eligible for training at the chosen facility. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all institutional requirements are met prior to participation in the PPE. Students may be responsible in part or in full for any costs incurred to meet such requirements. Policies, standards and requirements should be obtained directly from the program office or at http://www.wku.edu/healthinformationmanagement.
Program Requirements (61-64 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
This program requires a minimum of 120 hours and includes 61-64 hours for the HIM major; Colonnade courses must be completed in consultation with advisor and HIM courses completed with a grade of “C” or higher. Courses for transfer students and graduates from HIM and HIT programs will be accepted as substitutions for equivalent HIM courses. Departmental examinations are available for the following courses: HIM 100, HIM 230, HIM 250, HIM 251, HIM 252, AH 290/HIM 290, HIM 291, and HIM 292.
Students not achieving a satisfactory score (70% or above) on the department examination(s) must complete the corresponding course(s). National specialty certifications and / or training may be considered as evidence of mastery of course content in specific courses.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HIM 100 | Health Data Content and Structure | 4 |
| HIM 225 | Legal Issues in Health Information Management | 2 |
| HIM 230 | Computer Systems and Applications in Health Information Management | 3 |
| HIM 252 | Healthcare Payment Systems | 3 |
| AH/HIM 290 | Medical Terminology | 2 |
| HIM 291 | Advanced Medical Terminolgy | 2 |
| HIM 292 | Pharmacology and Laboratory Diagnostics | 2 |
| HIM 330 | Electronic Health Record Systems | 3 |
| HIM 350 | Health Informatics Research | 3 |
| HIM 353 | Management of Clinical Classification Systems | 3 |
| HIM 421 | Health Information Leadership and Management | 3 |
| HIM 422 | Clinical Evaluation and Outcomes | 3 |
| HIM 430 | Health Data Management and Analytics | 3 |
| HIM 450 | Application & Analysis of HIM Theory | 3 |
| HIM 495 | Capstone Professional Practice Experience | 3-6 |
| PH 383 | Biostatistics in the Health Sciences | 3 |
| or MATH 183 | Introductory Statistics | |
| or SOCL 300 | Social Statistics | |
| BDAN 305 | Principles of MIS with Spreadsheets | 3 |
| BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology | 4 |
| BDAN 250 | Introduction to Analytics | 3 |
| Select 6 credit hours of the following: | 6 | |
| Business Data Analytics | ||
| Web Analytics | ||
| Structured Data Analysis | ||
| Data Management | ||
| DSS Analysis and Design | ||
| Predictive Modeling | ||
| Data Visualization | ||
| Special Topics - Analytics & Information Systems | ||
| Big Data with its Applications | ||
| Personal Information Technologies | ||
| Emerging Information Technologies | ||
| Total Hours | 61-64 | |
*CAHIIM
233 North Michigan Avenue, 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60601-5800
info@CAHIIM.org
https:// www.cahiim.org
**AHIMA
233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2150
Chicago, IL 60601-5800
(312) 233-1100
https://www. ahima.org
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 100 | 3 | COMM 145 | 3 |
| HIM 100 | 4 | ENG 200 | 3 |
| HIM 290 or AH 290 | 2 | HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 |
| Colonnade - Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | HIM 291 | 2 |
| General Elective | 3 | BIOL 131 | 4 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| HIM 225 | 2 | HIM 230 | 3 |
| HIM 292 | 2 | HIM 252 | 3 |
| Colonnade - Arts & Humanities | 3 | Colonnade - Natural & Physical Science | 3 |
| BDAN 305 | 3 | PH 383, MATH 183, or SOCL 300 | 3 |
| Colonnade - Social & Behavioral | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 13 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| HIM 330 | 3 | HIM 421 | 3 |
| HIM 353 | 3 | HIM 422 | 3 |
| HIM 350 | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| BDAN 250 | 3 | Restricted Elective (BDAN 310, BDAN 320, BDAN 330, BDAN 350, BDAN 410, BDAN 420, BDAN 430, BDAN 440, CIS 320, CIS 321, DATA 301) | 3 |
| Connections - Systems | 3 | ENG 300 | 3 |
| Connections - Local to Global | 3 | ||
| 15 | 18 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| HIM 430 | 3 | HIM 495 | 3-6 |
| HIM 450 | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| Connections - Social & Cultural | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| Restricted Elective (BDAN 310, BDAN 320, BDAN 330, BDAN 350, BDAN 410, BDAN 420, BDAN 430, BDAN 440, CIS 320, CIS 321, DATA 301) | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15-18 | ||
| Total Hours 121-124 | |||