Health Information Technology

The Health Information Technology curriculum provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to process, analyze, abstract, compile, maintain, manage, and report health information.

Students will supervise departmental functions; classify, code, and index diagnoses and procedures; coordinate information for cost control, quality management, statistics, marketing, and planning; monitor governmental and non-governmental standards; facilitate research; and design system controls to monitor patient information securely.

Graduates of the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Health Information Technology program will be eligible to write the national certification examination to become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). Employment opportunities include hospitals, consulting firms, computer and software vendors, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, health insurance organizations, outpatient clinics, physicians’ offices, hospice, and mental health facilities.

The Health Information Technology program currently offers seven (7) programs of study to meet a wide array of health informatics and information technology healthcare workforce needs with six (6) programs nested within our parent Associate in Applied Science degree in Health Information Technology.

The online Associate in Applied Science degree in Health Information Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM - http://www.cahiim.org). All courses are available online with the requirement of all clinical courses being fulfilled onsite at healthcare agencies geographically located in students’ areas with online documentation support, as available.

Due to limited Professional Practice Experience slots at healthcare agencies/ clinical sites, the program is limited on the number of students that can participate in these clinical courses. If there are more students ready to enter Professional Practice Experience than there are clinical slots, then selection will be based on objective criteria, including GPA and progression in the program. Students must follow the HIT program progression policy.

Admission Policies and Procedures for Health Information Technology

The Health Information Technology applicant is required to meet steps I-III before enrollment in the program.

STEP I Application Process (must be completed by June 1st for fall semester and October 1st for spring semester)

Submit an Edgecombe Community College Admission Application
Submit official transcripts of high school graduation or GED. Currently enrolled high school students should submit a partial transcript. A final transcript must be submitted at the time of graduation.
Submit official transcripts from all colleges attended.
Contact an Admissions counselor to determine need for placement testing.

Placement testing may be required if the prerequisites for ENG 111 and MAT 171 have not been completed or transferred in from another college. This determination is made by the counselor’s review of the high school transcript.
The BIO 168 prerequisite may be met by placing out of BIO 094 , or by completing or transferring in BIO 094 or an equivalent substitute as determined by the Science Department Chair.
If ENG 111 , MAT 171 , and BIO 168 or their prerequisites are transferred in from another college(s), placement testing is not required.

Submit a Health Information Technology program application by June 1st to be considered for fall admission or by October 1st for spring admission. Subsequent dates for acceptance of applications will be established if space becomes available prior to fall or spring semester admission.
Achieve a 2.5 GPA or greater on 3 HIT curriculum courses as follows:

HIT Degree Applicants: BIO 168 , MED 121 , and HIT 110
HIT Coding Diploma Applicants: BIO 168 , MED 121 , and HIT 114
Equivalent courses may be substituted as determined by the Program Chair.

Certificate applicants who decide at any point to pursue an HIT degree or diploma must complete another HIT application and meet admission requirements to the program.

STEP II Ranking and Conditional Acceptance

Eligible applicants who complete Step I will be ranked according to the GPA on all ECC HIT curriculum courses that have been completed from all colleges, including courses with less than a C. The ranking GPA also includes all courses that have been completed more than once.
A letter of conditional acceptance will be mailed to the highest ranking 60-75 applicants, depending on clinical space available.
A waiting list letter will be mailed to any remaining eligible applicants.
The student must accept or reject the seat in writing to the HIT Admissions Counselor by the deadline.
Applicants will continue to be selected from the waiting list until the program is filled.

STEP III Full Acceptance

After accepting an HIT seat, the student must meet the following requirements in order to be fully accepted:

Submit a completed medical form provided by the college, including required immunizations, performed within a 6-month time frame by the required deadline.
If developmental courses were required upon admission to the college, the developmental prerequisites for ECC HIT curriculum general education courses must be completed prior to enrollment in the program.
Demonstrate a 2.5 GPA on all ECC HIT curriculum courses that have been completed up to the point of enrollment in the program. The highest grade on all completed courses from all colleges will be used in this calculation, including courses with less than a C.
Submit criminal background check by the required deadline.
Failure to meet deadlines will result in withdrawal of acceptance status.
Demonstrate an overall 2.0 GPA at ECC on courses completed at ECC up to the point of enrollment.
A drug screen may be required after enrollment in the program depending on assigned clinical site requirements.

Program Progression Policy

Students must achieve a “C or better” on all curriculum courses and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA after being accepted into the program. Students failing to meet the required academic status will have the immediate next, one (1), semester to retake the non-compliant course and achieve a satisfactory course(s) grade and/or regain the required 2.0 GPA.
Students who do not achieve a satisfactory grade and/or regain a 2.0 GPA will be dismissed from the program. At that point, the student must follow the Readmission Policy, if desired.
Students who fail to meet the Program Progression Policy by making less than a compliant course grade of a “C or better” on any three (3) curriculum courses required of the HIT program shall in effect constitute usage of the admission and two readmission opportunities, be dismissed from the HIT program, and be required to immediately notify Student Services of a change in their major from the HIT program back to Associate in General Education (AGE) or any other program of study of the student’s choosing that will enable the student to be successful. Should the student fail to follow this policy, the HIT program chair will send a letter to Student Services requesting such action to be taken and the student’s record flagged to block unadvised self-registration.
Students should immediately notify their academic advisor of their first non-compliant grade in order that the appropriate resources can be identified to assist the student to be successful.

Readmission/Transfer Policies and Procedures

Students may apply for readmission to the Health Information Technology programs two times. Students desiring to transfer from another Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics & Information Management Education (CAHIIM) program or students applying for readmission that have been out for more than two years must take a proctored challenge exam for each HIT course previously completed. Students who have been out of the program for more than one year must meet the admissions and program requirements effective at the time of admission. Acceptance into the program is not guaranteed and is based on clinical space available.

Readmission Steps

Applicants must apply to the program as a “readmit” if they have previously been enrolled in any Health Information Technology program and exited for any reason. Transcripts of “readmit” applicants are evaluated by the Program Chair in consultation with the Dean of Health Sciences. The student will receive a letter from the Program Chair detailing requirements of readmission which may include challenge exams and/or competency check-offs.
Readmission is allowed twice. All admissions or readmissions in any Health Information Technology programs are counted toward this policy.
The applicant must meet admission requirements.

Transfer Steps

Applicants must apply to the program as a “transfer” student if they are currently enrolled in any Health Information Technology program or are eligible to continue in their current program. The Program Chair, in consultation with the Dean of Health Sciences, evaluates the core courses for equivalency to determine if transfer credit will be granted. The Registrar evaluates general education courses for credit. The student will receive a letter from the Program Chair summarizing the results of the transcript evaluation including core courses that were accepted for transfer credit and any additional requirements which may include challenge exams and/or competency check-offs.
The applicant must meet admission requirements.

Maintaining Online HIT Program Integrity

Graduates of HIT programs are required to submit a CAHIIM accredited school program code when registering for the AHIMA national “RHIT” examination. Submission of a program code validates to CAHIIM that the student completed the HIT course work at a specific school. Therefore, to maintain program outcome accountability, all HIT and OST course work must be taken at ECC once students are accepted into the HIT program.

It is recommended that the HIT degree program be completed in five (5) consecutive semesters and the HIT diploma program be completed in three to five (3-5) semesters. Degree students must complete the HIT curriculum within eleven (11) consecutive semesters; diploma students must complete the program within seven (7) consecutive semesters. For students not following the full-time program of study to complete the HIT degree or diploma programs, all general education and related courses must be taken prior to taking HIT prefixed courses. (HIT 110 and HIT 114 , the exception). This will provide a greater opportunity for students to maintain the body of knowledge needed for success on the national “RHIT” exam and/or the “CCS” and/or “CCS-P” exam.