JENNIFER BOULDEN

Arkansas Tech University in Russellville has the state’s only 4-year HIM program.

While doctor and nurse shortages are predicted to get worse in coming years, one ancillary profession that is charting upwards, both in terms of numbers in the field and in anticipated demand, is health information management (HIM) professionals. Having a guy who is good with computers around the office doesn’t cut it anymore, said Melinda Wilkins, director of the HIM program and associate professor at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Russellville. Computer systems and software can be incredibly complex and healthcare management certainly is, as well. Having someone who understands the nuances of both is becoming integral to running a successful hospital or clinic and navigating the labyrinth of new and emerging healthcare technologies, she said.

Training those professionals is the goal of three academic programs in the state: the baccalaureate program at ATU, a two-year program in health information technology (HIT) at National Park Community College in Hot Springs and a two-year HIM program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The fast pace of changes in HIT translates into a similarly fast-growing field of HIM professionals. The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 49 percent growth in the number of HIM workers by 2010. People enter the field at any age, both as new high school graduates and as people transitioning from another profession later in their careers.

“There’s definitely a growing interest in the field of health information management,” Wilkins said. “I know we’ve seen our numbers go up. But even with all the interest and new people going into the field, for the future, they’re projecting shortages in the area because it’s just getting so much more electronic.”

HIM professionals may go by more than 125 job titles and work in close to 40 different work settings, including a hospital’s HIM department, designing new programs for a medical software company or working to implement electronic health records for a physician group.

“From our program, our graduates are trained for the management arena, rather than just on the technical aspects. We’ve got them working with databases, with Blue Cross in the IT area, hospital directors of the HIM, some that are pharmaceutical sales reps, one that’s a CEO of a hospital,” Wilkins said. “There’s just a wide variety of things you can do with the degree.”

Wilkins said graduates of the ATU program are experts in the field of health record systems and data analysis. The quality and accessibility of medical documentation and the validity of statistics for the entire hospital fall under graduates’ jurisdiction.
Besides being trained in general management and supervision traits, graduates have learned to obtain complete health records for use in research; gather statistical information on which to base long-range health planning goals; determine the legitimacy of requests for confidential medical information; control the circulation and integrity of health records; and many other valuable skills.

The value of her field and the need for more HIT and people to manage it became acutely apparent to Wilkins recently when her mother had a debilitating stroke a year and a half ago. “Just trying to take care of her healthcare when nothing is electronic, trying to find out information just to take care of her was next to impossible. I didn’t know her drug allergies, details of her medical history, anything like that,” she remembered, saying that having an electronic medical record or health information exchange in place would have been invaluable.

She said the more Arkansas’ medical community transitions to incorporating HIT at the bedside and in the office, the better care will be possible. “For consumers, it’s going to lead to better quality care. We can see more clearly what works and what doesn’t work,” she said. Wilkins added that while initial costs of HIT can be intimidating, including hiring trained health information managers or technicians, the long-term cost-savings is worth it. 

“Having all the needed health information available and accessible for the doctors is always a good thing,” she said. “Our graduates, and the graduates of the two other programs in Arkansas, are some of the people who help make that possible.”



July 2008