Health Information Management (Bachelor of Science, B.S.)

The Health Information Management (HIM) program is currently under review and admissions are paused through the end of 2024. The HIM program retains its CAHIM accreditation during this pause. Current students who complete their course of study by December 2024 will be able to sit for the RHIA exam.

The School of Nursing and Health Professions offers a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (HIM). The Bachelor of Science in HIM is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Graduates from CAHIIM accredited baccalaureate degree programs can take the Registered Health Information Administration (RHIA) exam.

What can I do with a Health Information Management Degree?

Health Information Management coursework prepares confident, innovative, and contributing healthcare professionals who have the ability to identify and utilize a variety of information resources and technologies. HIM professions work across a vast array of roles ranging from analytical to project management to healthcare system management and information governance roles. The baccalaureate degree health information management graduate serves as a pivotal team member in the planning, design, implementation, management, use and evaluation of electronic health records and other electronic information systems. Job responsibilities also include serving as brokers of information services. Among the information services provided are definition of requirements and design for clinical and administrative systems development, data administration, clinical data management, data privacy and security management, decision support and data analysis, management of information-intensive areas such as quality/performance improvement, case management and outcomes measurement as well as management of the health information management departmental services. Baccalaureate degree graduates may hold positions as compliance officer, data quality manager, data sets/nomenclature/classification standards manager, educator, healthcare consumer advocate, privacy/security officer, project manager, reimbursement or revenue cycle manager to name a few.

Practical Experience/Internship

Students gain both theoretical knowledge, and practical experience in healthcare settings to prepare them to respond to the challenge of working in health informatics and health information management. Students should be aware that some courses involve professional practice experiences for a significant number of hours. Because these experiences are usually only available during typical working hours, working students must make arrangements to be absent from their work. Students work closely with their advisors since many of the courses have prerequisites and must be taken in sequence. Some professional management experience sites may require criminal background checks, current medical history, proof of liability insurance, and proof of negative TB tests. Students will be required to travel and may be required to temporarily relocate in order to complete the practical experience. Working students may have to make arrangements to be absent from their work in order to complete class requirements.

Classes are offered in a variety of settings, including web-based learning management system, face to face, and a hybrid method. All HIM core classes are web-based.

The Health Information Management (HIM) program is currently under review and admissions are paused through the end of 2024. The HIM program retains its CAHIM accreditation during this pause. Current students who complete their course of study by December 2024 will be able to sit for the RHIA exam.

General Studies
Students must complete General Studies courses42
Major Requirements
HIF 132Pharmacology2
HIF 200Health Care Delivery Systems3
HIF 300Health Data Management3
HIF 310Clinical Classification Systems3
HIF 320Information Technology and Systems3
HIF 330Legal and Ethical Aspects of Healthcare Management3
HIF 350Quality Management3
HIF 371Professional Management Experience I2
HIF 379Revenue Cycle and Reimbursement Management3
HIF 410Human Resources and Operations Management3
HIF 420Clinical Data Management3
HIF 430Applied Health Informatics3
HIF 440Financial and Resource Management3
HIF 460Applied Research3
HIF 465Professional Management Experience II3
HIF 470Senior Seminar1
ACC 201Introductory Financial Accounting3
ACT 201Microcomputer Applications3
ACT 301Applied Database Systems3
ALH 106Medical Terminology2
BIO 101Principles of Biology4
BIO 250Anatomy and Physiology5
BIO 375Pathophysiology4
MGT 350Organizational Behavior3
NUR 314Quantitative Analysis for Health Care Research3
or PSY 300 Introductory Psychological Statistics

Program Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a grade of C or higher in all major coursework.
  2. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
  2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
  3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
  4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
  5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
  6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.