HIT Jobs in High Demand
The introductory course I teach in health information technology (HIT) gives students the basics on health information. This week I did a lecture on the diversity of career options available in HIT. Students coming into the program are usually familiar with coding and transcription, but they are not familiar with other positions within HIM. They were surprised to learn their options include compliance, consulting, privacy and electronic health records (EHRs) to name a few.
So far, most students are interested in coding and cancer registry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008-2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook shows employment is expected to grow faster than average. Employment of EHR and health information technicians is expected to increase by 18 percent through 2016--faster than average of all occupations because of the rapid growth in the number of medical tests, treatments and procedures that will be increasingly scrutinized by health insurance companies, regulators, courts and consumers.
When I chose HIM as a career years ago, I had no idea what it really was or what the job prospects were after graduation. In these tough economic times, students want to go into a profession that will offer them a career that will continue to be in demand.