The Council for Allied Health in North Carolina, the North
Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program, and the
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are proud to announce the release
of "The Health Information Management Workforce in North
Carolina: Current Trends, Future Directions." The report
was funded by a grant from The Duke Endowment.
The report is a culmination of the work of the Technical Panel
on the Health Information Management (HIM) Workforce, a collaboration
of HIM stakeholders representing educators, employers, practitioners,
and workforce planning experts. This detailed analysis of the
HIM workforce in North Carolina examines the short- to medium-term
outlook for practitioners in the state, and provides recommendations
related to supply and distribution, marketing, education, diversity,
and data collection and workforce surveillance.
The report can be found in electronic format on the Sheps Center
website at the following url:
http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/hp/
Sample findings:
-- the HIM workforce faces difficulty in marketing the profession.
Healthcare providers, organizations, and the general public
are often unfamiliar with the profession's scope of practice,
competencies, educational qualifications, and credentials.
-- hospital HIM vacancies tend to be facility-specific and the
majority of vacancies are in coding positions.
-- nearly 30% of the hospital-based HIM workforce lacks a credential
from an HIM certifying entity.
-- accredited Health Information Administration (HIA) and Health
Information Technician (HIT) programs are not filling existing
enrollment slots and are not graduating all enrolled students.
-- no minimum education standard for entry into a coding position
is required, contributing to multiple training paths and misunderstanding
surrounding coding programs and credentials.
-- the diversity of the HIM workforce in North Carolina is not
representative of the general population in terms of racial/ethnic
or gender makeup; however, the diversity of the HIM student
body in accredited HIA and HIT programs is much more representative
of NC's population.
--The absence of a single HIM workforce data source, the existence
of multiple credentialing organizations, the large proportion
of the HIM workforce who are non-credentialed, and the considerable
amount of cross-training among HIM practitioners impede the
complete enumeration of North Carolina's HIM workforce.
We hope that you find this publication informative and useful.
[Suggested citation:
Dyson, Susan, Erin Fraher and Laura Smith. "The Health
Information Management Workforce in North Carolina: Current
Trends, Future Directions." A Report of the Technical and
Advisory Panels on the Health Information Management Workforce.
October 2002. ]
Sincerely,
Susan Dyson
Research Associate
susan_dyson@unc.edu
(919) 966-7922
Erin Fraher
Director, NC Health Professions Data System
erin_fraher@unc.edu
Laura Smith
Research Associate
laura_smith@unc.edu
Submitted by: David
E. Yoder
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