Industry Demand: EHR Skills
The Affordable Care Act has been front and center in the news for several years now, and regardless of which party you subscribe to, there’s unified consensus around the significant impact its made (and is still making) in the healthcare industry. One such change falls on the IT department which is charged with planning and implementing the, Health Information Management systems, or HIM.
ACA has also added Meaningful Use and ICD-10; both incorporate IT functionalities and both are in very high demand. HIM career opportunities, however, require entirely different certifications than are focused on more conventional IT positions. Here are some of the certifications you may wish to consider in moving to a HIM position. (NOTE – most of these require prior education to be eligible to test or receive the certifications. Check here for more about the requirements.)
RHIA. The Registered Health Information Administrator is a prerequisite for most EHR (electronic health records) positions. This is a very versatile position, albeit relatively lower-level, and many HIM jobs require this prior to employment. It blends IT aspects with medical terminology and standard procedures for EHRs.
RHIT. Registered Health Information Technician is similar to the RHIA, but the RHIT is also geared towards medical coding, applications and analysis. This is also a very common prerequisite for management.
CHDA. Certified Health Data Analysts are usually tenured individuals with several years of experience. This certification serves for analyzing and understanding patient data.
CHPS. Certified Healthcare Privacy and Security is predominantly a security and privacy degree (think: Sec+ for HIM). With HIPAA’s stringent requirements, this is a rapidly expanding field and pays exceptionally well.
CDIP. Certified Document Improvement Practitioners preserve the integrity of EHRs. EHRs are the heartbeat of Health Information, and the CDIP allows holders to serve as a medical records administrator. This also relies heavily on a medical coding background even more than others.
Finally, there are three medical billing coding credentials that are earned with successive mastery. The CCA, CCS, and CCS-P are Certified Coding Associate, Certified Coding Specialist, and Certified Coding Specialist-Physician Based. Most of the certifications require at least a CCA.
Health Information Management is projected to have a massive shortage of workers over the next decade and beyond. While very challenging and quite different from more conventional IT paths, this nonetheless provides a very rewarding and lucrative career opportunity.
Regardless of which one of the certifications best fits your career path, we can help. At CultureFit, we have a wide network of business relationships and can help you find the next career opportunity. We place a special emphasis on pairing candidates with the right business culture as well as the proper certifications in order to fortify job satisfaction and maximum productivity. Contact us today to see how we can help you!
