Program Overview
Health Information Technology (HIT) prepares the student to perform tasks related to the use, analysis, presentation, abstracting, coding, storage, and retrieval of healthcare data in manual and electronic form. Graduates are eligible to take a national certification exam to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT).
Program Goals
- Produce competent entry-level health information management professionals at the Associate degree level in accordance with the American Health Information Management Association’s domains.
- Support faculty member’s growth to stay current with knowledge and expertise in areas taught.
- Assess student’s satisfaction with overall HIT program and institutional experience.
- The HIM program will demonstrate responsiveness to the needs of the community (ies) of interest.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| 2017 RHIT Pass Rate | 100% |
| 2016 Graduate Employment Rate* | 75% |
| 2017 Graduation Rate | 90% |
*Based on ESD Statistics
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The National Park College, Health Science, Health Information Technology Associate of Applied Science Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).
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The Professional Medical Coding Certificate at National Park College is approved by the Professional Certificate Approval Program.
Health Information Technology (A.A.S.) (66 SSCH)
A health information technician performs a variety of functions including: organizing, analyzing and technically evaluating health information; compiling various administrative and health statistics; and coding diseases, operations, procedures and other therapies. They also maintain and use a variety of health information indexes, special registries and storage and retrieval systems; input and retrieve computerized health data; and control the use and release of health information. Graduates are eligible to take a national certification examination to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT).
View complete catalog listings for the following degree plans:
HIT applications are accepted September 1 – October 20 for spring admission.
Professional Medical Coding Technical Certificate (35 SSCH)
Medical coding is the transformation of verbal descriptions of diseases and procedures into alphanumeric codes. The coding of health-related data permits access to medical records by diagnoses and procedures for use in clinical care research and education. Accurate coding is also required for reimbursement from Medicare and other insurance plans. Graduates are eligible to take the national certification exam to be a Certified Coding Associate.
The National Park College Medical Coding Program is approved by the AHIMA Foundation’s Professional Certificate Approval Program. This designation acknowledges the coding program as having been evaluated by a peer review process against a national minimum set of standards for entry-level coding professionals. This process allows academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and private companies to be acknowledged as offering an approved coding certificate program.
The AHIMA Foundation’s Professional Certificate Approval Program designation:
- Identifies specialized programs that meet established coding educational standards
- Stimulates improvement of educational standards through faculty development opportunities, and by involving faculty and staff in program evaluation and planning
- Promotes a better understanding of the goals of professional coding education
- Provides reasonable assurance that practitioners possess the necessary job skills upon entry into the profession.
Applications for the Professional Medical Coding courses are accepted from February 1st until March 20th for fall admission. Please contact Debby Hunt at 501-760-4182 or at dehunt@np.edu for more information.
Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology for Transfer to UAFS Bachelor of Applied Science - emphasis in Management & Leadership
This bachelor’s degree provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to either assume management and leadership roles in business and industry or to enhance current employment. The BAS degree is not specific to the program area or concentration.
