KCC Health Information Management program earns initial candidacy status
- Academic
Klamath Community College’s Health Information Management Associate Degree program is in candidacy status, pending accreditation review by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).
The move toward candidacy status has been a 10-year endeavor for the program, requiring continued work and performance evaluations by CAHIIM accreditors. The program, which combines elements of business and health, trains students for careers as medical coders and medical data analysts – among the fastest-growing and most sought-after career fields today.
“This process is well worth it for KCC HIM students, alumni, and our community partners,” said Jennifer Briscoe, Health Information Management lead for KCC. “The mission of CAHIIM is to provide innovative leadership that drives enhanced workforce competence by ensuring educational excellence.”
KCC offers HIM as a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree, one-year Certified Coding Specialist Certificate, or less-than-one-year accelerated certification as an Electronic Health Record Career Pathway or Medical Administrative Assistant Career Pathway.
HIM roles in a medical office supplement the quality of health care provided by ensuring the best information is available for a health care team, while also providing clear lines of communication with patients.
If CAHIIM approves final accreditation, it confirms the KCC HIM program as complying with the highest of standards for the career field, while permitting graduates to sit for American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exams.
Success in these exams qualifies graduates for better job opportunities and higher wage increases at a rate of upward of $9,000 in additional annual salaries as HIM professionals, while job growth for those with RHIT credentials are 10% higher than non-credited HIM positions.
According to the Oregon Employment Department and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is an expected 7% growth employment projection for HIM-related jobs from 2021-2031.