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Academic Programs

Contact

Connie Renda
MA, RHIA, CHDA
Program Director/Assistant Professor
Health Information Technology
Health Information Management

crenda@sdccd.edu
619-388-2606
Office S-308

Dean of Health Sciences and Public Service
619-388-2789
Office S-300

San Diego Mesa College
7250 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111

2024-2025

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Health Information Management

Health Information Management Program PDFHealth Information Management Program

Health Information Management Program PDFCourse Sequence

Updates 

  • HEIT/HIMS Info sessions:

    Dates:
    1) Tuesday, September 14th, 5-6pm
    2) Thursday, October 14th, 6-7pm
    3) Tuesday, November 16th, 5-6pm
    Where: Professor Renda's Zoom room: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/my/connierenda

  • Current Application Period: 
    February 8th, 2022 @ 12pm
       to
    March 24th, 2022 @ 12pm
  • Beginning in fall 2022, all CSU/IGETC must be complete by spring to apply for fall entry into the HIMS program
  • Under SB 769, the Bachelor of Science degrees will be awarded until the spring 2028 sunset date. If the sunset does not get removed or extended, no students will be admitted past fall 2026.
  • English 205 and Psyc 101 are prerequisites starting in 2021; these will be required to enter the HIMS program in fall 2022. For fall 2021, these are highly recommended to be completed prior to fall 2020.

Description

At the March 16, 2015, California Community College Board of Governors meeting, the members voted unanimously to approve San Diego Mesa College’s Health Information Management (HIM) Bachelor of Science degree as one of the fifteen community college pilot programs to be offered in the state. The HIM program received Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) approval.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Management program provides accessible, high-quality industry-approved instruction designed to prepare students to work at a management level in a variety of healthcare settings including acute and subacute hospitals, outpatient clinics, government health agencies, and electronic health records industry vendors. The Health Information Management program is seeking accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification exam once the accreditation has been approved.

View HEIT/HIMS Information Session

The Health Information Management Bachelor of Science degree program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). Graduates of the program are eligible to write the national accreditation examination of the American Health Information Management Association, and upon passing this exam become designated as an RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator). Check CAHIIM.org for more details.

CAHIIM seal of accreditation

Admission Pathways

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the HIM program will be able to:

  • Apply the laws of patient record confidentiality, privacy, and compliance
  • Use and design data, databases, and healthcare systems
  • Demonstrate and apply knowledge of the principles of personnel management
  • Develop a financial plan for a health information management department
  • Demonstrate mastery of the principles of health information management
  • Analyze healthcare data; assimilate data and information

Career Options

Graduates obtaining their Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certification are qualified to be a Health Information Department Manager or Director, a Coding Manager, a Healthcare Systems Manager, a Data Analyst, a Quality or Compliance Coordinator, or a College/University Professor of Health Information Technology or Health Information Management.

Directed Clinical Practice Requirement

Students accepted into this program will be required to successfully complete DCP, clinically-based courses held in health care facilities. These facilities may require background checks, including fingerprinting and drug screening, as a condition of placement at the clinic. Refusal to submit to a background check, or failure to meet clearance criteria established by the health care facility, may prevent placement in DCP courses and thus, it may not be possible to successfully complete the program. Health care facilities also require adherence to strict standards of conduct. Facilities may refuse educational access to any person who does not adhere to the facility’s standards of safety, health and ethical behavior. This may be cause for removal from the program.

Tentative  Fall Schedule

Session 1
(8 week)

Mondays 5-8pm HIMS 408 Ethics in Healthcare Administration
Wednesdays 5-9pm HIMS 405 Fundamentals of Health Information Management

Session 2
 (8 week)

Mondays 5-9pm HIMS 410 Healthcare Informatics
Wednesdays 5-8pm ENGL 401 Advanced Writing for Healthcare Professionals
Bachelor of Science Degree:

Health Information Management

Lower Division Courses Required for the Degree

General Education Requirement

In addition to the courses required in the major, students must complete a general education (GE) option to complete the program. The GE requirement can be completed at any point in the program.

General Education Options:

Prerequisites
Courses: Units
MEDA 55 Fundamentals Human Anatomy and Physiology 3
PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychology 3
MEDA 110 Medical Terminology 3
MEDA 115 Pathophysiology 3
Total Units = 12
Courses Required for the Major
 
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