AHIMA Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) and more

AHIMA is the American Healthcare Information Management Association, and it offers a reasonably complete, multi-tiered healthcare IT certification program.

In addition to the RHIA, this organization offers certification in health information data quality and completeness (RHIT), various healthcare coding credentials, and also certifies individuals as health data analysts, privacy and security specialists, and document improvement professionals (coming soon).

The RHIA provides the knowledge and services that link care providers, patients, and payers together in the medical system as practiced in the USA today. RHIA’s are expert in managing patient health information and related records, administering health information systems, collecting and analyzing patient data, and using classification systems and medical terminology. RHIAs must understand medical, administrative, ethical and legal requirements related to healthcare delivery, as well as privacy and confidentiality requirements for protected patient data. Such professionals may also manage people and operational units, interact with administrative and technical committees, and provide input to or prepare IT budgets.

Table 5: RHIA Facts & Figures

While AHIMA does not publish its membership list or a certification roster, it shows every other sign of being a serious, well-administered certification program, particularly where its affiliation with educational institutions (and degree requirements) are concerned. But unless you enroll for a degree in a CAHIIM (Committee for Accrediting Health Information and Information Management) program, you won’t be able to qualify for this credential anyway. So this information may be of most use for those looking for a good IT degree program, or who are ready to tackle another degree.