Health Information Technology
2009-2010 Academic Year
Associate of Science, Health Information Technology College Mission Statement:
SCC enriches our community by providing life-changing educational and cultural opportunities focused on personal growth and student success in a global
society.
Health Information Technology Program Mission Statement:
The Health Information Technology Program will prepare graduates to begin and enhance dynamic careers as Registered Health Information Technicians through excellent training opportunities both pre- and post-graduation. Students will develop a solid foundation in Health Information Management that will enable substantive employment and/or transfer to the baccalaureate level, whichever is desired. As professionals in Health Information Management, graduates will recognize the value and necessity of life long learning in the advancing realm of health care.
Program Goals, Target Outcomes, Results, Recommendations:
Faculty will demonstrate current knowledge, skills, qualifications and
professional development in the content areas they teach.
Target Outcome
All faculty members will engage in at least one professional development activity per year in each content area that they teach.
Results Still awaiting evidence from some faculty.
Recommendation
All faculty are chosen because of their expertise in their subject areas; however, continue to monitor
Program graduates will demonstrate the Health Information Technology entry-level competencies.
Target Outcome
100% of HIT students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.0 in order to enroll in or progress through the program.
Results Goal met.
Recommendation None.
Target Outcome
80% of HIT students who complete HIT program classes earn a C or better in HIT and BIO classes.
Results
Students who failed to earn the required C were required to repeat the class with the Program Coordinator and Instructor’s permission.
Program graduates will demonstrate the Health Information Technology entry-level competencies, cont’d
Target Outcome
80% of graduates will write the
Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) examination.
Results 14/16 (88%) of 2010 graduates have
taken the RHIT exam.
Recommendation Stragglers were sent letters explaining the
benefits of certification
Target Outcome
80% of candidates will successfully complete the RHIT examination on the first attempt.
Results 11/14 (79%) who took the test passed on
their first attempt.
Recommendation
Look for trends and opportunities for improvement within the curriculum. Encourage students to take their test within three months of graduation.
Target Outcome
80% of graduates who seek employment are employed in the HIM or related fields within six months of graduation.
Results
13/16 (81%) of graduates obtained HIM-related employment within six months of graduation.
Recommendation None.
The HIT curriculum will include, at minimum, the required knowledge clusters with content and
experiences to enable students to meet current entry-level competencies.
Target Outcome All competencies and knowledge clusters
are included in the curriculum.
Results Work is still needed to reach the levels
prescribed in the knowledge clusters.
Recommendation Continue to work on.
Target Outcome
All clinical site supervisors are given the opportunity to have input into the program.
Results
All clinical sites were visited and
suggestions were solicited. No negative issues were reported.
Recommendation None.
Target Outcome
All suggestions from the HIT Advisory Committee members are discussed and considered into program inclusion.
Results
Advisory Committee members were anonymously surveyed to evaluate the curriculum for currency and program resources for adequacy. All items were rated adequate and above.
The HIT program will
demonstrate responsiveness to the needs of the
community (-ies) of interest.
Target Outcome The HIT Advisory Committee meets at
least twice per year.
Results The Advisory Committee met only once
during the 09-10 academic year.
Recommendation Strive to convene two meetings per year.
Target Outcome
At least one HIT-related Continuing Education course is offered per year, when feasible.
Results
SCC hosted a Missouri Cancer Registry workshop on 10/29-30/2010, free to both HIT students and interested community members.
Recommendation Continue this popular event.
Target Outcome
Graduates are eligible to transfer program credits to other higher education
institutions.
Results Articulations remain intact with St. Louis
University and Stephens College.
Recommendation None.
Target Outcome The majority of employers are satisfied
with the skills of graduates employed.
Results 50% response rate. All responses were
rated either strongly or generally agree.
Recommendation None.
Target Outcome The majority of students are satisfied with
their educational preparation.
Results
Teacher/course evaluations distributed during the academic year yielded no substantial problems. There was a 31% response rate on the graduate surveys. All responses were rated strongly or generally agree.
Recommendation None.
History and Implementation:
The Skills Assessment for the Health Information Technology (HIT) Program
consists of two parts.
1. Student success on the RHIT Certification Exam is considered the principal assessment measure. Beginning July 2, 2001, graduates of accredited Health Information Technology Programs may apply to the
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) to take the exam, which is administered at testing centers across the United States. Upon receipt of verification of eligibility from AHIMA, students make arrangements directly with the testing center to take the exam, at their leisure. Students are notified of their results before leaving the testing center.
Health Information Technology Programs receive a report of their
graduates' results quarterly. The HIT Program has no control over when or if students take the certification exam.
2. Students complete two clinical affiliations during their second year of the HIT Program curriculum: MRT 200, Directed Practicum II in the fall
semester and MRT 250, Directed Practicum III during the spring semester. 75% of the student's course grade is determined by the evaluation from the Clinical Site Supervisor; 25% comes from the Educational Program Coordinator upon evaluation of the student's clinical documentation. Since the majority of the student's grade is determined by the Clinical Site, a potential employer, this is a valid measure of the student's ability to succeed in the Health Information Management environment. A lower threshold of 75% is set for HIT student achievement.
Course Descriptions:
MRT 200, Directed Practicum II, gives students exposure and practice in the technical functions of a hospital Health Information Management department. MRT 250, Directed Practicum III, provides advanced practice in Health
Information Management with emphasis on supervisory skills. Length of clinical practice is shortened to accommodate capstone activities on campus, including WorkKeys® exams.
Academic Assessment Plan
At the beginning of the fall 2000 semester, all career-technical programs were notified of the requirement of some type of academic assessment. Performance would be reported yearly in order to remain eligible for special funding by federal and state agencies through the State Plan from DESE and CBHE bodies of Missouri.
WorkKeys® was chosen and discussions with vocational coordinators
determined that each program area would choose two of the eight test areas that best meet their students' assessment testing needs. It was determined to
implement this testing process beginning the spring of 2001. Testing takes place in the SCC Assessment Center.
The Health Information Technology (HIT) Program selected the following two tests as shown in Table 1 below. A level of 3 was set as the minimum acceptable level for HIT students to achieve.
Table 1. WorkKeys® Testing Structure for the HIT Program
Name Levels Type Time
Locating Information 3-6 Computerized 45 minutes
38 problems
Reading for Information 3-7 Computerized 45 minutes
33 problems
2010 HIT Graduate Results:
Results of the 2010 HIT Graduates appear below in Table 2. The Health Information Technology Program graduated 16 students. Results from the sixteen graduates are shown below in ascending order of HIT 200 grades. Consecutive numbers are assigned for reference purposes. (LT = Lower
Threshold, P/F = Pass/Fail) As of this date, July 5, 2011, two graduates have not taken their RHIT Credentialing exam.
Table 2. Results of 2010 HIT Graduate Assessments
# MRT 200 Semester Grade LT = 75 MRT 250 Semester Grade LT - 75 WorkKeys® Locating Information LT = 3 WorkKeys® Reading for Information LT = 3 RHIT Exam P/F 1 85 89 4 5 F 2 86 4 6 P 3 87 83 4 6 P 4 89 100 4 6 N/A 5 90 91 4 5 F 6 91 4 7 P 7 95 100 5 7 P 8 96 96 4 6 N/A
Table 2. Results of 2010 HIT Graduate Assessments, cont’d # MRT 200 Semester Grade LT = 75 MRT 250 Semester Grade LT - 75 WorkKeys® Locating Information LT = 3 WorkKeys® Reading for Information LT = 3 RHIT Exam P/F 9 96 97 5 7 P 10 97 4 5 P 11 97 4 5 P 12 99 87 4 7 P 13 99 93 5 5 P 14 99 95 4 5 F 15 99 100 4 6 P 16 100 5 7 P
student successfully challenged the course through work experience
Conclusions/Analysis/Recommendations:
All HIT graduates exceeded expectations for the WorkKeys® standardized tests as well as MRT 200 and MRT 250 clinical evaluations.
There are still challenges to overcome to reach certain goals and maintain a high quality program.
Submitted by
Candy Cundiff
Candace E. Cundiff, MDE, RHIA, CCS
Program Coordinator for Health Information Technology July 5, 2011
