Becoming Connecticut State Community College

STUDENTS: The Community Colleges are undergoing a merger with a plan to become Connecticut State Community College in fall 2023; please work closely with your advisor/program coordinator to select your courses accordingly. Click here for more details about this merger.

Mission

The Health Information Management associate degree is designed for students interested in an Allied Health career that incorporates a variety of healthcare administrative functions. The program is designed to prepare students for entry-level positions in medical office management, scheduling, advanced coding, auditing, and documentation improvement in ambulatory care centers, health insurance companies, health departments, and other allied health venues.  Topics include health information quality, accuracy, accessibility, and security; managing the revenue cycle; compliance regulations; documentation guidelines; EMR and PM software for auditing and revenue recovery; and medical billing and coding.  The Health Information Management associate degree is a pathway to a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration and prepares students to sit for the following national certification examinations: American Association of Professional Coders – AAPC: CPC-A – Certified Professional Coder, CPMA – Certified Professional Medical Auditor, CDEO – Certified Documentation Expert Outpatient, CPPM – Certified Physician Practice Manager; National Healthcare Association – NHA: CCMA – Certified Administrative Medical Assistant

Faculty

Melissa Bettigole, mbettigole@nwcc.edu, 860.738.6393

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of all program requirements, graduates should be able to:

1. Apply principles as they relate to healthcare privacy, confidentiality, legal and ethical issues.
2. Interpret and apply health information policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state and accreditation agency requirements.
3. Utilize EMR/EHR software.
4. Audit outpatient documentation for accuracy to support ICD, CPT, and HCPCS coding, quality measures, and clinical requirements.
5. Find and communicate documentation deficiencies to providers to improve documentation for correct risk adjustment coding.
6. Describe the different types of healthcare delivery systems and Telehealth services regulatory requirements, and compliance.
7. Utilize medical coding and clinical classification systems as they relate to the human body and disease processes.
8. Use coding and documentation guidelines to produce ‘clean’ claims.
9. Utilize proper terminology including abbreviations related to pathological conditions, diagnostic procedures, surgical interventions, and therapeutic procedures.

Coursework

SEMESTER 1

ENG* 101 Composition – 3 credits
CSA* 105 Introduction to Software Applications – 3 credits
MED* 125 Medical Terminology – 3 credits
HIM* 102 Introduction to Healthcare Systems – 3 credits
HIM* 205 Medical Coding I – 3 credits

SEMESTER 2

HIM* 201 Health Information Management Principles – 3 credits
HIM* 203 Pathophysiology – 3 credits
MED* 112 Medical Insurance & Billing – 3 credits
MAT* Elective-MAT* 137 or higher – 3 credits
HIM* 210 Medical Coding – 3 credits

SEMESTER 3

BIO* 110 Principles of Human Body¹ – 3 credits
COM* 173 Public Speaking or
ENG* 102 Literature & Composition – 3 credits
BBG* 101 Intro to Business – 3 credits
MED* 250 Principles of Pharmacology¹ – 3 credits
HIM* 211 Advanced Medical Coding – 3 credits

SEMESTER 4^{^}

PHL* 112 Medical Ethics – 3 credits
MED* 216 Electronic Medical Records – 3 credits
PSY* 111 General Psychology I – 3 credits
Social Science Elective – 3 credits
Directed Elective² – 3 credits

TOTAL CREDITS  60/61

¹ A lab option is offered for this course.  It is not required for this degree; however, it may be necessary for students working on more than one major, or beneficial depending on career goals. Consult with your advisor.

² Directed Electives should be chosen in consultation with your advisor and are chosen from HIM*, MED*, BBG*, CSA*, CSC*, ENG*, MAT*, BIO*, SOC* designated courses.

^{^} For students desiring field work experience, an independent study may be arranged. Consult with the program coordinator.

Federal Regulation, 34 CFR 668.43-Institutional Information for Disclosure for Licensure Program requires the institution to disclose whether completion of a covered licensure program would be sufficient to meet licensure requirements in a State for that occupation.

Disclosure is not applicable to this program.  Professional licensure, certification and/or education are not state requirements to work in Health Information Management.

Our program(s) lead to eligibility for nationally-recognized professional certification(s) that are preferred by employers but not required by the state for employment in the field.