If you're interested in this program, you should have an interest in the health care field, although actual patient contact is very rare. You also enjoy organizing, preparing, and retrieving detailed work.
Health Information Technicians compile, code, and maintain patient medical records and can also tabulate and analyze data to help prepare statistical information extracted from groups of records.
Upon completion of the program, it is expected that students will be able to:
Health Information Technicians are employed at hospitals, nursing homes, medical group practices, clinics, home health agencies, ambulatory care practices, insurance companies, and public health organizations.
The Health Information Technology program is designed to prepare you for potential employment in the following: (the occupation listed contains a link to information on the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET website).
29-2071.00 - Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
The Northwestern College Associate in Applied Science Degree in Health Information Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Northwestern College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, www.ncahlc.org.
See the Northwestern College Catalog.
The job placement rate for the Health Information Technology program was unable to be calculated at this time, pending the creation of an approved formula for job placement calculations by the U.S. Department of Education. Upon publication of a formula, this web page will be updated promptly.
During the 2010-2011 Academic Year (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011), 10 students graduated from the Health Information Technology program at Northwestern College. Of these students, 4 (or 40%) graduated on-time as defined in the Northwestern College catalog. (Part-time students generally take a longer period of time to graduate because they don’t take a full course load; therefore, the graduation rate is lower since part-time students are not considered to have graduated on-time). The median student loan indebtedness of the Health Information Technology program graduates in 2010-2011 was as follows: Federal Stafford Student Loans (subsidized/unsubsidized) - $24,899; Third-Party Private Education Loans - $29,670; Northwestern College Institutional (GAP) Loan - $2,787.
The tuition and fees cost for a student starting the Health Information Technology associate degree program as of the 2011-2012 academic year is estimated at $47,655, based upon six academic quarters of full-time tuition at current tuition rates. (Potential future tuition increases cannot be determined at this time, and hence are not factored into this estimate.) Book and supply costs are estimated at $2,400. (The actual cost will vary depending on multiple factors). Northwestern College does not offer on-campus housing. For additional information on college costs, please visit our Financial Aid Cost of Attendance web page.
