The University of Toledo

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Health Information Administration (CHIA)

The US Department of Labor predicts that in the next few years jobs for health information specialists will increase by more than 50,000 new positions!

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has been providing certifications in the health information management (HIM [HIA]) for over 80 years. With all of the changes happening in HIM [HIA], this is an excellent time to invest in certification and advance to the next step in your career —but only if you have the right training and technical skills.

• Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security
• Certified in Documentation Imporvement6 Practitioner
• Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)

Employers Value Credentials in Healthcare

Did you know certification can give you a competitive edge in the eyes of employers?

• Employers think favorably overall of industry credentials
• Employers feel that credentials are most important for medical coding professionals and other HIM [HIA] professionals, followed by IT professionals and privacy and security officers.
• Employers think credentialed employees require less trainint, produce more accurate work, improve the quality of healthcare delivery, improve reimbursement and billing, and help rduce exposure to fraud and abuse charges.
• 68% of employers report choosing a credentialed candidate over one who is not.
• Credentialed employees are rewarded financially—67% earn more than non-credentialed employees.

Reprinted in part from AHIMA-CCHIIM Commission on Certification 16 Dec 2011

Our Program Has 100% Employer satisfaction rate 100% Graduate satisfaction rate

Additional Information

The post-baccalaureate certificate program in Health Information Administration is designed to prepare students with baccalaureate degrees from accredited colleges/universities and who meet the University of Toledo admission requirements with the knowledge and skills necessary for administrative positions in the healthcare industry. Individuals interested in advancing in their current position, achieving a new career goal, or changing a career path will benefit from the HIA certificate program. Students who complete the certificate program will increase their potential for placement and/or promotion within a variety of healthcare settings.

Health information administrators perform essential functions within the healthcare industry. Typically their employment responsibilities include confidentiality and security of patient health information, management of employees, budgeting, report generation, interdisciplinary team participation, accreditation preparation, and much more.

The HIA certificate program can be completed in one year; however, students may opt to enroll in courses on a part-time basis. The program is sponsored by the College of Health Science and Human Services, Health Professions department. It is offered through the Health Information Management (HIM) program. The HIM program is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Upon completion of the certificate program, students are eligible to sit for the national certification examination of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) to become Registered Health Information Administrators (RHIA).

An out-of-state scholarship is available for students enrolled in online-only programs. Please contact us for more information or to apply for the scholarship: phone, toll free at 866.886.5336, or by email at utdl@utoledo.edu.

Students who have completed their course of study may apply for their certificate here.

Sample Plan of Study: 16 semester hours in semester 1 (S1), 12 semester hours in semester 2 (S2), and 4 semester hours in semester 3 (S3)

Course Semester	Title: Description	Hours
HIM 2210 S1	Medical Linguistics in Ancillary Services: Expanded medical linguistics utilized in coding, classification systems and ancillary services, especially surgery, medical imaging, anesthesiology, medical tests and laboratory procedures. Linguistics of pharmacology, pathophysiology and infectious/parasitic diseases are analyzed.	3
HIM 3210 S1	Acute Care Clinical Classification Systems and Services: Principles of coding diseases, conditions and procedures with the International Classification of Disease System. Practice in the assignment of codes using both computerized and manual methods.	3
HIM 3230 S1	Healthcare Documentation: Inpatient and ambulatory health care data requirements will be identified and analyzed, including collection, analysis and implementation. Form design and screen design will be developed and reviewed.	3
HIM 4260 S1	Legal and Ethical Issues in Healthcare Services: Medicolegal practice and professional ethics in healthcare. Overview of the legal system, identification of medicolegal topics, and related ethical concerns. Hardcopy and electronic health record legal issues examined in detail.	3
HIM 4500 S1	Health Care Informatics: Case study approach to application and evaluation of health care-related information systems. Includes different information systems used in health care organizations. Basic systems concepts and interrelation between departments and entire organizations.	4
HIM 3220 S2	Ambulatory Care Clinical Classification Systems and Services: Principles of coding with the HCPCS classification system. Practice in the assignment of codes using both computerized and manual methods.	3
HIM 3240 S2	Health Information Administration Practices: Theory and principles related to facilities, organizations and agencies in healthcare. Focus on HIM strategic planning, departmental responsibilities, marketing, training and development, privacy and security, compliance, and research and epidemiology.	4
HIM 4200 S2	Reimbursement Methodologies and Compliance: DRGs, APCs, RBRVs and reimbursement methods used by federal, state and private insurance. Compliance issues and case mix reviewed. Processes explored for providing and improving healthcare cost containment and quality.	2
HIM 4210 S2	Healthcare Statistics, Registries and Research: Various procedures specific to health information practice will be addressed including medical information, calculation and interpretation of health care statistics, tumor registry and health care records.	3
HIM 4940 S3	Professional Practice Experience  II: Specialized administrative assignment within health information management in a facility, agency or organization. Students submit a major project for the site and members of the related HIM community of practice.	4
	Total Semester Hours	32
Notes:	Depending on courses taken, prerequisites may be required.
	Medical Terminology is a pre-requisite for many of the HIM courses, so please take HEAL 1800 or transfer in equitable course credit from another college/university.
	Students must complete 25% of the program semester hours and the last 12 hours in residency (online or face to face at UT.)

For information please contact:

Support Services Staff
Email: utdl@utoledo.edu
Phone: 419-530-8835; 866-UTOLEDO toll free

The University of Toledo is regionally accredited by the North Central Association (NCA) and is authorized to offer degrees online.

RHIA Now Accredited by NCCA!

AHIMA is proud to announce that the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) has granted accreditation to AHIMA’s Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification program. AHIMA received accreditation by successfully demonstrating the program’s compliance with the NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. This is an important accomplishment that further enhances the value of AHIMA-credentialed professionals in the healthcare industry.