Employment Outlook

Career & Job Outlook

The labor outlook for a career in the Health Information Management (HIM) profession is highly positive. There is an increasing need for credentialed HIM professionals due to the rapid and on-going advances in health information technology, constantly evolving trends in health care delivery, and the increased number of the aging population. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of health information technicians is projected to grow 22% from 186,300 in 2012 to an estimated 227,500 in 2022. This will demand more medical services, and health information technicians will be needed to organize and manage the health information data. The number of individuals that will have access to health insurance is continuing to increase due to the federal health insurance reform causing more claims for reimbursement from insurance companies.

Additional records, combined with widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) by all types of healthcare providers, will lead to an increased need for technicians to organize and manage the associated information in all areas of the healthcare industry.

On top of strong job prospects, competitive salaries also await HIM graduates. More than half of new graduates with an associate’s degree join the workforce and earn on average $40,110 annually as reported by the 2016 AHIMA Salary Survey. This figure is just an average — some new HIM graduates report even higher salaries.

Job Opportunities

Health Information Professionals primarily serve the healthcare industry in departments where patient data or health information is collected and stored. Registered Health Information Technicians (RHITs) enjoy a broad selection of job opportunities and options for professional growth. Over 70 percent of RHITs that work in HIM departments are located in hospitals. However, with the expanding uses of health care information and informatics, more RHITs are finding opportunities for employment in physician offices and clinics, long-term care facilities (nursing homes), health information software companies and health information consulting firms.

Job roles within HIM are wide and varied. A few examples include the following roles:

  • Director and manager of HIM
  • Electronic health record trainer
  • Healthcare data analyst/manager
  • Clinical coding/billing analyst/manager
  • Personal health record/consumer advocate manager/director
  • Electronic health record implementation analyst/coordinator
  • Electronic health record implementation project manager
  • Clinical documentation improvement specialist
  • Privacy and security coordinator/manager/officer

For more information on a HIM career visit the American Health Information Management Association webpage at www.ahima.org.

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