Are you interested in career training that can offer you stability, even during these uncertain times? Healthcare careers are reliable, and administrative healthcare workers are essential workers who have largely remained employed even during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are looking for a stable career, that offers you the ability to remain employed even during these difficult times, consider training for an essential career as a health information technician in administrative healthcare! Careers in administrative healthcare often offer the ability to work remotely from a home office, so this is a career that can offer you both stability and flexibility – the ultimate objective in this uncertain job market. Read on to learn how ATA College can train you for a career as a Health Information Technician in administrative healthcare in as few as 8 months!
What Training Do You Need to be a Health Information Technician?
If you are detail-oriented and thrive in an administrative setting, then a career in health information technology could be a great fit for you. At ATA College, we offer an 8-month diploma program to train you for an administrative healthcare career as a Health Information Technician. Health information technicians play an important role in our healthcare system, performing the critical clerical and administrative tasks necessary to keep the medical system functioning effectively. Health information technicians manage health information data by ensuring that it maintains its quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security in both paper files and electronic systems. These administrative healthcare professionals use various classification systems to code and categorize patient information for insurance reimbursement purposes, for databases and registries, and to maintain patient’s medical and treatment histories.
What Does a Health Information Technician Do?
Health Information Technicians work exclusively with health information and medical data. They organize, maintain, and store electronic and paper health records so that the records are easily accessible. Physicians, nurses, and other medical staff may need medical records at a moment’s notice and a health information technician is trained to help. Responsibilities include:
- Reviewing records for completeness and regulatory compliance
- Transcribing health reports
- Filing health history and documentation
- Scanning paper documents into an electronic chart
- Diagnostic and billing codes
- Managing record security with HIPAA in mind
- Archiving health records
- Data entry and 10-key entry
Health records require special handling. These records follow patients for a lifetime, and a single chart could fill a filing cabinet. However, most documents are kept online, organized in databases by categories. Because records are used for healthcare as well as billing, health information technicians need quality training in both health and administrative processes to do their jobs properly.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Health Information Technician Education?
In ATA’s 8-month (34 weeks, 36 semester credits) Health Information Technician program students learn the essential skills for entry-level employment. After completing the 8-month diploma program, students have the option to continue in the Health Information Technician (HIT), Associate of Applied Science program. The AAS degree can be completed in an additional 6 months (60 weeks, 64 semester credits) and includes general education courses, along with advanced courses in billing and coding.
With ATA’s hybrid-online courses, career training is more accessible than ever before. ATA’s hybrid-online classes enable students to complete the majority of the coursework online while receiving hands-on skills training through regularly scheduled on-campus labs. Through this hybrid-online format, students receive the practical experience they need, in a safe manner that adheres to all local, state, and federal health guidelines.
Final Thoughts
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the demand for health information technicians to grow 9 percent through 2030. Advances in technology are improving the way records are kept and the tools that medical professionals use to care for patients. These technologies require fully trained health information technicians to manage the electronic health records and maintain the patient’s charting. And, with a longer life expectancy and more seniors getting care, more services and medical staff will be needed. Now is the time to train to become a health information technician.
Health Information Technician Diploma
After completing the 8-month diploma program at our El Cajon | San Diego Health Information Technician School, you have the option to continue in the Health Information Technician (HIT), Associate of Applied Science program. The associate degree can be completed in an additional 6 months and contains general education courses, along with advanced courses in billing and coding.
If you are detail-oriented, thrive in an administrative setting, and are looking for a career that offers both flexibility and stability even in a difficult job market, then a career as a health information technician might be a great fit for you! ATA College, in El Cajon, California, offers healthcare career training programs for medical assistants, health information technicians, and EKG technicians that are designed to quickly prepare graduates for immediate entry-level employment. Each of ATA’s programs can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, so you can get to work in your new career, sooner! Why wait any longer to get started in a better career? Contact us today!
