School of Allied Health
Department of Health Information Management
Program Outcomes
The work of doctors and nurses is critical to the quality of patient care—but so is the work of health information professionals.
Start Your HIM Career
As one of the fastest growing careers in one of the fastest growing industries, health information (HIM) careers place you where healthcare meets cutting edge technology. By studying health information, you’ll learn versatile clinical, information technology, leadership, and management skills.
Health information professionals use their knowledge of information technology and records management to connect clinicians, administrators, technology designers, and information technology professionals. Our HIM program incorporates medicine, management, finance, information technology, and law into one curriculum. This unique mixture of concepts from multiple industries empowers our graduates to feel ready to work in a variety of settings across an array of healthcare environments.
Our program prepares you to be a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA). Whether you've already earned an associate's degree in HIM, are a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), or are interested in finishing your bachelor's degree, you'll feel at home at Coppin.
Paying for School
School can be expensive, but the good news is that financial assistance may be available for qualified students. If you are looking for federal financial aid in the form of loans, grants, and/or scholarships be sure to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The Federal Student Financial Aid Information Center can also answer financial aid questions at 1-800-433-3243.
Coppin offers the only accredited HIM bachelor’s degree in Maryland. Students network with field experts and gain practical knowledge by integrating course work with hands-on experiences. Our program is designed to support individual learning and prepare students to be effective health information professionals.
Mona Calhoun, Department Chairperson
Our Health Information Management program provides students with the knowledge and skills to become capable health information management professionals. Coursework emphasizes applying theory to practice. We focus on preparing graduates to meet demands of entry-level positions where they can apply management and problem-solving principles to every aspect of medical and health information systems, regardless of environment.
Health Information (HI) professionals provide reliable and valid information that drives the healthcare industry. Students graduating from this program are specialists in managing patient data, ensuring access and data integrity to authenticated users, coding and classifying data for reimbursement and research, analyzing information that supports decision-making, protecting patient privacy, providing information security, and enhancing the quality and uses for data within health information computer systems.
Career Trends
The need for HIM professionals is content and even projected to increase as we become an increasingly connected digital society. Even better, critical thinking and technology skills learned in HIM programs and careers easily translate to other industries.
Career Growth and Income
Health information jobs are on the rise at all levels of education and experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over 50% of new health information graduates with bachelor's degrees start with salaries in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. After 5 years, HIM professionals can earn upwards of $50,000 to $75,000 annually. Most new health information graduates with associate's degrees jump right in and earn $20,000 to $30,000 annually. These figures are just averages—many professionals report higher salaries.
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HIM Student Career Resources
Visit these organizations and learn how you can put your HIM skills to work within in-demand careers.