The Health Information Managers are not just medical record holders. Rather, they observe the treatment and go deep while preparing the patients’ history. Whatever information they provide, those play a key role in the medication process, which eventually help the patients recover from illness. They put the test results, reports of X-rays, diagnosis and treatment plans together to build healthcare records, which is maintained electronically.

Health Information Manager organizes, analyzes and manages all health information and ensure its accuracy and appropriate disclosure so that not a single mistake occurs during the treatment or medication. Their recommendations also helps the patients in quick disbursal of medical reimbursements. The most important part of their job is to spend a lot of time working with computers and Internet to comply with federal requirements for electronic storage of patient information.

Education Requirements:

1. Earn a Bachelor’s Degree: A bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management is very much essential for aspiring Health Information Managers. They are also required to take courses such as statistics and research methods, electronic health records and health information services management. Apart from this, good knowledge in some other topics like legal and ethical issues in medicine and privacy and security of health information may come in handy when they go for further studies.
2. Obtain a Master’s Degree: After completing Bachelor’s Degree, it’s mandatory to enroll into a master’s degree program in Health Information Management for career advancement. Topics in master’s degree may include statistics, financial management, medical terminology and legal issues.
3. Certification in Health Information Management: The aspiring Health Information Managers are required to sit for the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) examination conducted by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). The certification from AHIMA gives a boost to the profile while looking for employment.

Salary & Job Outlook:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for Health Information Managers are expected to grow at 23% during the 2012-2022 period. The average salary for HIMs was $101,340 as of May 2013.