Post-Graduate MHIIM
CAHIIM program outcomes:
For the time period of August 1, 2017-July 31, 2018
- 100% pass rate on the RHIA exam
- 0% attrition
- 100% Employer satisfaction
Graduate placement rates are high and both graduates and employers are satisfied with the skills and education of the program graduates.
"The entry level MHIIM program has helped my career in many ways. The University of
Tennessee is a widely respected and recognized institution. According to the American
Health Information Management Association, roughly 10% of HIM professions have graduate
degrees in HIM. This program has helped me to stand out among my peers."
Rachel Berry, MHIIM, RHIA, CHPS
2014 graduate and Director of HIM at Community Hospital of McCook Nebraska
"The MHIIM Program at UTHSC has paid dividends for me already in the beginning of
my career in ways that I would not have imagined. After beginning my position as HIM
Director at National HealthCare Corporation, The critical thinking skills and leadership
principles added to the clinical knowledge that I received from the program have enabled
me to lead my HIM department in this company through the challenges that I have faced
along the way. Not that there haven't been any stumbling blocks, there always will
be, I just feel comfortable facing these challenges largely in part to the quality
education I received at UTHSC."
J. Marcus Rickman, MHIIM, RHIA
2014 graduate and Regional Health Information Director, National Healthcare Corporation
Admission Requirements for Post-graduate MHIIM
- Baccalaureate degree in a health-related discipline. Applicants without a degree in a health-related discipline will be considered for conditional admission and must complete HIIM 511 and HIIM 550 and earn a grade of “B” or better to continue in the program.
- Minimum grade point average of 3.0
- Three letters of recommendation from previous college instructors or immediate supervisors
- Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must submit results of TOEFL, with minimal score of 550, 213 on the computerized version
- Official transcripts
- Personal interview with the admissions committee
- Ability to meet published technical standards of the College of Health Professions and the Department of Health Informatics and Information Management (applicants should contact SASSI for questions and assistance)
- A completed application form including an essay describing the applicant’s career goals
- A non-refundable application fee must accompany the application.
Applications are accepted online at https://uthsc.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login.
There are two deadlines for applications each year. The early deadline for Fall admission is April 1 and the late deadline is July 1. The early deadline for Spring admission is August 1 and the late deadline is November 15. A telephone or personal interview is granted to an applicant by invitation only. For more general information, please visit the Admissions Office or apply online and follow the directions for admission.
Registration and Fee payment for each semester are done by mail. Each semester, students must pay fees to the Bursar's Office by the deadline to avoid late fee penalties. Students must pay fees to be considered "enrolled" in a course. Information about financial aid and fees are available from the Financial Aid office or from the Costs/Financial Aid page.
The curriculum for the Entry Level MHIIM degree is shown in the table below.
| Course # | Course Name | Credit hours |
|---|---|---|
| 600 |
Information Technology and Systems |
3 |
| 601 |
Quality Management in Health Services |
2 |
| 602 | Legal Issues in Health Information Technology and Systems Examination of legal issues related to electronic-based health information; the growth of computer and communication technologies, including privacy, security, electronic data interchange and compliance related issues; policy, regulatory and related concerns; interpretation and implementation of enterprise information policy. Principles of law applied to the health field with emphasis on federal, state, and local laws affecting health information management practice, confidentiality, and security of information. |
3 |
| 603 | Leadership for Health Information Technology and Systems Strategic management and planning, change management, leadership in e-health environment, project management including planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting, process modeling. This course builds on the foundations of health information management or other professional preparation. Discussion of implementation of electronic health record systems, systems analysis from the enterprise level will be the focus of the class. Students are expected to develop a systems-thinking approach to leading health IT projects. Prerequisites: MHIM 600, 601, 602, 604, 605. |
3 |
| 604 | Financial Management for Health Professionals This course will provide an overview of financial accounting and financial management principles that focuses not only on health informatics and information management but the health care industry as a whole. It is a blend of theory and practice, incorporating readings from the text books and problems to develop the student’s financial management and decision-making skills as future health care leaders. Without effective financial management, health care organizations/providers cannot fulfill their mission of provided needed services to their customers. Healthcare is a complex business and as such, the organizations success depends on the leadership of managers who understand and can apply key financial principles to help the organization meets it core business goals. |
3 |
| 605 | Healthcare Information Systems A survey of fundamental concepts of information technology applied to health care from the perspectives of providers, payers, consumers. Major topics include the electronic health record, health information systems, repositories and data bases, enterprise-wide systems, laboratory, radiology (PACs) systems, voice recognition, physician order entry, telemedicine, decision support systems. Overview of historical, current, and emerging health information systems; concepts and knowledge involved in making strategic use of information technology (IT) in health care organizations and linkages to business, planning, and governance; Overview of multiple systems, vendors, processes and organizations; methodology for evaluation of health information systems. Includes system design methodologies including systems analysis and design; systems selection and evaluation; workflow analysis and project management. |
3 |
| 606 | Healthcare Vocabularies and Clinical Terminologies Standard clinical terminologies including SNOMED, UMLS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, and ICD-10-PCS, CPT/HCPCS, National Drug Codes, RxNorm, National Drug File Reference Terminology6, LOINC, CCC and other nursing vocabularies, mapping, medical vocabulary standards, natural language processing and the role of healthcare vocabularies and clinical terminologies in the electronic health record. |
2 |
| 607 | Statistics and Decision Making Advanced statistical techniques building on existing knowledge of descriptive statistics and fundamental inferential statistics as applied in the field of health information; biostatistics, methods of health data collection, analysis, and interpretation, including descriptive statistics, probability, and hypothesis-testing and confidence interval estimation for normally distributed data; tools in using data to make informed management decisions; use of data from clinical information systems in performing clinical effectiveness research, including the strengths and limitations of these data. |
3 |
| 608 | Knowledge Management This course includes an overview of the application of decision analysis and knowledge-based systems and decision analysis techniques; Topics include data mining, data marts, data warehouses, clinical data repositories, OLAP and data modeling and obtaining information from clinical and administrative systems. Additional topics include the relationship and applicability of topics covered in other MHIIM courses in health information statistics, analysis, biomedical research and quality management, biostatistics, advanced research methods and biomedical research support to decision analysis and decision support, advanced information/data analysis and presentation techniques, evaluation methodologies. Prerequisites: MHIM 601, Quality Management in Health Services, and MHIM 607 Statistics and Decision Making. |
3 |
| 609 | Concepts of Research Methodology Discussion of the elements of research, evaluation methodologies including the research process, study design, methods of data collection with emphasis on preparation and evaluation of data collection instruments, statistical analysis of data including use of statistical packages, literature searches, and scientific writing. Prerequisite: 607 MHIM, Statistics and Decision Making. |
3 |
| 610 | Issues in Health Information Technology Seminar An exploration of current issues related to health informatics including healthcare policy analysis and development, ethical issues, structure of healthcare delivery systems, assessment of population health, models of health care delivery, access and quality of care issues. Prerequisites: 600 MHIM, Information Technology and Systems, and 605 MHIM, Health Information Systems. |
2 |
| 613 | Applied Research Project Rigorous project focused on a real-world informatics setting and application of problem-solving methods for development of solutions. May include original research in the area of health information management, information systems and/or health informatics. Oral and written reports required, including oral presentation and defense of project. Prerequisite: permission of course director. |
3 |
|
Total Hours
|
33 | |
- What are the application deadlines?
There are two deadlines for applications each year, April 1 for the fall semester start date (September) and August 1 for the spring semester (January).
- Can you send me more information?
All of the information is on our webpage so no additional printed information is available. If there is something which requires clarification, please contact the program director via email or phone.
- What is an average course load?
Currently a minimum of two courses are being offered per semester to allow students to progress in the program and graduate in a timely manner. Students are allowed to take one course or can elect to take all the courses offered each semester. Most students find it works to take two courses per semester.
- Can the entire curriculum be taken on-line without going to the Health Science Center campus?
Yes, all courses are available on-line.
- How does on-line learning work?
We utilize a course management system called Blackboard which is accessed via the Internet. Students do not have to purchase software in order to access the on-line course materials so everything is delivered to the student in an organized fashion making transition to on-line learning convenient and accessible.
- How much does the program cost?
The cost of the program is calculated by the credit hours you take each term. For more information, refer to the Cost of Attendance estimate for Health Professions. Or you may contact the Office of Financial Aid Counselor for College of Health Professions Gloria Dobbs by Email: gdobbs1@uthsc.edu or Skype: glor.dob90
- How long does it take to complete the program?
The program may be completed full-time in two years. However, most students take 2 courses per term and it takes 5 or 6 terms to complete the program. The majority of students graduate in 3 years or less.