Health Information Management Department | William Carey University

Thank you for your interest in the H.I.M program at William Carey University. We are very proud of this innovative and timely degree. We hope you will consider joining us for an exciting educational journey.

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Health Information Management (H.I.M.) is designed to graduate professionals who can competently manage health care data and maintain information systems. Essential skills of graduates will include, but not be limited to, gathering and maintaining information, data analysis and interpretation, and maintaining health information systems. Also, graduates will have expertise in health informatics and technology as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the profession. The curriculum is a synthesis of content from information technology, business, biomedical sciences, healthcare organization and delivery, and health data courses. The curriculum will be supported by teaching-learning strategies that facilitate the development of the learner for the professional attributes necessary to attain organizational objectives through the appropriate use of health care data.

Our mission is to provide quality education that stimulates students to reach their full potential through respect for inquiry and lifelong learning, to develop required professional competencies that will enable them to succeed in an ever changing health care industry, and to develop leadership, problem solving and critical thinking skills for advancement in the field of health information.

Graduate outcomes for the program were adapted from the standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) and are as follows:

Graduates will demonstrate entry- level competencies of the profession as currently defined by the Domains and Subdomains for Registered Health Information Administrators established by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Graduates will pass the Registered Health Information Administrator national certification exam.
Graduates will demonstrate appropriate professional knowledge and skills as well as ethical and professional demeanor during enrollment in HIM 410 Professional Practice Experience and on the job one year following graduation.
80% of graduates from William Carey’s HIM program are currently employed in their field.

Upon completion of the program of study in health information management, the graduate will be able to:

articulate and promote the need for and uses of quality data and information requirements across the lifespan;
organize, analyze, and manage health care data in order to improve health care outcomes, implement standards, and control costs;
function as an agent to manage the content, integrity, accessibility, use, and protection of information resources;
use a core set of critical skills in order to adapt to multiple roles and work settings;
collect health care data in compliance with national and regional standards;
identify and use current quality improvement, risk management, and utilization review methodologies and models;
accurately implement and manage applications and processes for clinical classification and coding;
analyze and respond to the information needs of internal and external customers throughout the health care continuum; and
advocate confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of health care data.

Alumni Testimonials

Alicia Harris

Currently I work for Hattiesburg Clinic P.A. as a Clinical Analyst.

The Health Information Management (HIM) program at William Carey has helped me become a highly sought after HIM professional in a rapidly growing industry. This program has instilled a broad array of skills such as analytical and critical thinking, has enforced a strong knowledge of privacy and confidentiality principles, and has reiterated the importance of quality patient care through informatics. This solid background has allowed me to leverage a skill set to be successful in a variety of settings and job titles. If you want to make a difference in healthcare by working with data and technology, then HIM is the program for you!

Brandon Nicholson

Currently, I work for University of Mississippi Medical Center in the Division of Information Department. I support several Epic applications that focus on the patient experience, exchange of information, and external users.

The R.H.I.A. program at William Carey University (WCU) is preparing the next standard of informed professionals for an ever changing, technologically driven world. The quality education I received from the R.H.I.A. program at WCU prepared me to enter the workforce as an informed, educated, and valuable asset for each hiring organization. The amazing unforeseen variable of the R.H.I.A. education, the knowledge learned applies to a large facet of service lines in the medical field including Health Information Management, Compliance, the Information Technology (IT), among others. I recommend the R.H.I.A. program at William Carey University to anyone that is interested in the medical field aside from delivering direct patient care.

Fatma Otwane

I currently work for CDC-Info under MAXIMUS Federal as a Health Coordinator. I analyze and share healthcare data each day and much appreciation to the HIM program that provided me the skills and knowledge I enjoy my job every day!

The Health Information Management Program has and is still helping me in my career:

1. As an RHIA certified and AHIMA member since 2016, I have access to current HIM resources, job opportunities, guidance from experts to help me develop and grow in my HIM career.

2. HIM training helped me in Leadership skills that allowed me to lead a healthcare team as the health and wellness director in an organization that required leading, training, and supporting nurses during and after the implementation of electronic health records, data retention, data analysis, and privacy and security issues in a healthcare system.

3. HIM program prepared me for my master's program (MS-HAE) which I was able to complete successfully. The knowledge and skills that I acquired in the HIM program made it easy in my decision to continue my continuous education.

4. At this time, job opportunities related to HIM are growing by the day and this includes job opportunities in coding, education, health data analysis, healthcare administration, etc. I am glad I made the bold step to join the HIM program.

5. The knowledge I acquired from the HIM program helps me greatly in my current employment because I have an understanding of healthcare data, healthcare data exchange while maintaining privacy and security issues that are required in handling healthcare data.

6. Lastly, the health information program gave me the opportunity to be an RHIA and thus a custodian of healthcare data. I would encourage others to join the HIM program because as the healthcare systems continue to shift towards electronic health records so is the demand for HIM expertise. HIM provides guidance, sources, and expertise to help those who want to be custodians of healthcare data grow.

Tina McKeithen

Currently I work at Gulfport Behavioral Health System as their Health Information Manager.

The Health Information Management program(HIM) at William Carey University has helped me become a highly trained HIM professional. My skills include information management technology , that I can use in any healthcare organization. With my accomplishments learned in the program , my organization can rest assured they will have the right information when needed, by maintaining data integrity, confidentiality , and security. William Carey’s HIM program has given me a bright future and Job security. As Health information Management expands , so will the roles of the HIM professional.

*HIM is currently only offered on the Hattiesburg Campus.