Associate of Science
PROGRAM OF STUDY
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Criminal Background checks and program health and immunization requirements must be met. Please see current Program Handbook for deadlines and requirements.
Admission Requirements
A. All applicants must either be a high school graduate with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.3, or a general equivalency diploma (GED) recipient with a score of 530 (score of 53 prior to 2002). If an applicant’s GPA or GED score is below the minimum, he/she may be eligible for admission under transfer student guidelines.
Transfer Student Guidelines
A transfer student must be a high school graduate or a GED recipient and have earned a minimum of 12 credit hours of college coursework from a regionally accredited college, with a GPA of at least 2.3. For applicants who have attended more than one regionally accredited college, GPAs from all of these colleges must combine to equal at least 2.3 B. Applicants must have completed and passed these high school courses, or their college
equivalents, within the past seven years:
• Algebra - one unit
• Biology - one unit
• CIS 101 (or demonstrate computer/keyboarding proficiency)
Applicants should have completed and passed these high school courses, or their college equivalents.
• English- three units (May include public speaking or journalism. Not required for GED recipients.)
• Math - two units
• Social Studies- two units (Not required for GED recipients.)
All courses should be completed with a grade of “C” or better: a grade of “B” or better is preferred.
C. Health Information Technology degree applicants must have achieved the following testing scores:
• ACT composite score of 20, with a score of 19 on the sub-tests in both mathematics and scientific reasoning, or SAT with a combined score of 1575 or above.
• ACT/SAT testing will be waived for transfer students who have earned a minimum of 12 college semester hours at a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a minimum of 2.3 GPA.
D. Each completed application is given individual attention by the College Admissions Committee. Admission is competitive and the most qualified applicants will be considered first. Admission is not guaranteed. You will be notified in writing of the decision.
E. The following additional application guidelines are required for students who are not United States citizens and/or for whom English is a second language:
1. Applicant must be a Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) and present her/his Green Card for an admissions representative to photocopy for the applicant’s Mercy College application file.
2. Applicants with international transcripts are required to submit those transcripts to World Education Services CWES) for a course-by-course level evaluation and calculated cumulative grade point average (GPA). Contact WES at www. wes.org.
3. Applicants for whom English is a second language must complete the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a minimum combined score (internet-based) of 80. This test must be taken within the past two years. Contact TOEFL at www.
ets.org.
4. Please Note: Mercy College has not petitioned the United States Department of Homeland Security for approval for attendance by non-immigrant students and cannot issue immigration Form I-20.
Philosophy
In accordance with the College mission statement, the philosophy of the Health Information Technology program is to provide associate degree education based on the Christian values underlying the educational efforts of the Sister of Mercy of the Americas and the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns). It is a belief that the education of health information management technicians is responsive to national and community needs.
Changes in society influence the values and expectations placed upon healthcare professionals and institutions. The needs and influences of society impact the delivery of healthcare and the continued development of health information management technicians.
The program strives to set realistic and achievable goals/objectives for each student based on professional standards. The goal is to produce a competent practitioner who can function in a rapidly-changing healthcare environment. In addition, the Health Information Technology program is based on the belief that the education of the associate degree graduate should not be limited to their professional/technical area of study, but include exposure to a diverse general education.
Education is a continuous process through which learners develop knowledge, skills and attitudes resulting in cognitive, affective and psychomotor changes. The faculty facilitates the teaching/learning process through the sequential presentation of concepts, theories and experiential activities within an environment that promotes mutual trust, critical thinking and self-development.
Program Learning Outcomes
At the completion of the Associate of Science in Health Information Technology program, the graduate will be able to:
1. Apply legal policies, regulations, principles and standards for the control and disclosure of protected health information.
2. Review health records for timeliness, accuracy, appropriateness and completeness of health care documentation
3. Perform processes related to collection, storage and retrieval of health care data/
records.
4. Code, abstract, classify and index diagnoses and procedures for the purpose of reimbursement, standardization, retrieval and statistical analysis.
5. Apply principles of supervision and leadership and the tools used to effectively manage human, financial, and physical resources.
6. Review, abstract, retrieve, and compile health data for reimbursement, quality assessment, patient care research, clinical registries and other informational needs.
7. Collect, organize, and apply quality management and quality improvement tools and techniques for performance improvement.
Health Information Technology: Curriculum Plan
The associate of science degree program in Health Information Technology (HIT) prepares graduates to serve the healthcare industry and the public by managing, analyzing and utilizing data vital for patient care. Health information technicians work to ensure the quality of health records and healthcare data by verifying their completeness, accuracy and proper entry into computer systems. With the future state of health information being electronic, Health Information Technologists use computer applications to assemble and analyze patient data to improve patient care and control healthcare costs. Some areas of specialization include coding diagnoses and procedures in patient records for reimbursement and research, privacy roles due to HIPAA legislation and other clinical data management functions.
Employment opportunities exist in any organization that uses health information, including:
hospitals, managed care organizations, long term care facilities, consulting and law firms, information system vendors, ambulatory care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home care providers, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, physician practices and insurance companies.
All curriculum requirements for the associate of science degree in health information technology are arranged so that students follow a sequence of prerequisite courses building on their previous studies and preparing them for future courses.