The Advancement of Technology Has Expanded the Field of Health Information Management

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One of the most underappreciated sections of healthcare is the documentation department because it is a background process. Nevertheless, medical histories, treatment data, patient progress data, prescriptions, medicine logs, bills, insurance data and so much more are all part of this process and without health information professionals constantly documenting, maintaining, interpreting, explaining and updating them, healthcare institutions would simply cease to function the way they do today. This is why professionals with a bachelors in health information management have become so sought after these days. To add to this, the enhancements in electronic documentation technology in the recent years have further expanded the field and now, the position of the health information professional has become even more important than it was previously.

The Future is Electronic Health Records

In almost every field, the use of paper is slowly becoming obsolete as the entire world is moving onto electronic records. The healthcare industry is no different and with the vast amount of information which it must deal with every day, moving on to electronic records is the only logical step. It has been estimated by analysts that by 2027, ninety-nine percent of medical facilities in the US will have shifted to electronic records, thereby increasing efficiency. What this also means is that the demand for technologically aware and well-trained health information managers will increase significantly in the coming years.

Interpretation

Electronic medical data is often coded for security reasons so that the untrained eye cannot interpret it. As both the coding and the interpretation are absolutely vital for maintaining patient-hospital relationships and for bill generation, among other things, one could become an inseparable part of a medical institution by simply completing an online HIM program. The only thing which you need to make sure is that the course you are doing is updated enough to teach you about medical coding and other later developments in the field. The online health information management degree offered by the University of Cincinnati,for example, is an excellent program that continuously updates itself to incorporate new developments in the field of health information management, so students are always ahead of the competition.

Legal Expertise

When speaking of health care and the associated fields, we often forget that legal bindings, rules, and regulations are a big part of the system as well. A properly trained healthcare information professional will also be aware of the legalities that are commonly associated with healthcare data. Handling the legal terms associated with the release of a patient’s medical information and even subpoenas, which are not uncommon, fall within the expertise of a healthcare information specialist.

Earlier, we seldom thought about the person in charge of handling all the data as one of the most important people in a medical facility, but today it is a fact which every institution has to acknowledge. As the field continues to become a lot more technical and a lot bigger than it ever was, it can be said without a shred of doubt that the importance of healthcare data management is only going to increase with each passing day.