Health Information Management Careers

Health Information Management Overview

Health information managers design and manage health information systems to ensure they meet medical, legal and ethical standards. Working with a team of health information technicians, they ensure that each patient's medical record is complete, accurate and made available only to those directly involved with that patient's care. They are responsible for database management and for designing, generating and analyzing reports for administrators and physicians.

Health Information Management Education and Certification

In order to become a health information manager, you'll need to earn a bachelor's or master's degree in health information management from a school accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM.). You'll also need to earn the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification from the American Health Information Management Association.

While both bachelor's and master's programs will prepare you to sit for the RHIA certification exam, master's programs tend to incorporate more general management training. Master&'s programs are generally typically open to those who have earned a bachelor's degree in a health-related field, or to those who have earned a bachelor's degree and have substantial experience working in a health care setting.

Health Information Management Career Outlook

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment opportunities for health information managers to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014.

As a health information manager, you will be able to find work in a wide variety of health care settings, including hospitals, doctors' offices, home health agencies, nursing homes, public health offices and insurance companies. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 30 percent of all health services managers work in hospitals and another 16 percent work in doctor's offices, with the remaining 54 percent working in other health care settings.

Much of the job growth over the next 10 years is expected to occur in hospitals, doctors' offices and home health care agencies.

Health Information Management Salary

According to the American Health Information Management Association, health information professionals working as managers or directors can expect to earn anywhere from about $50,000 to just over $100,000 per year, with health information managers and directors working in hospitals and doctors' offices earning between about $50,000 and $79,000 in 2006.