Tyler Junior College’s nationally accredited health information technology program offers career opportunities in a growing field within the health care industry.
“The best way to describe it is if you were to take a business degree and combine it with a nursing degree, you would get health information technology,” said Nancy Rendon, TJC health information technology program coordinator and professor.
Students learn the practice of acquiring, analyzing and protecting digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality patient care. They also receive training in the latest information management technology applications to understand the workflow in any health care provider organization, from large hospital systems to private physicians’ practices.
“Your medical records tell your medical story,” Rendon said. “We protect the integrity and confidentiality of those records, plus we tend to the reimbursement side of the health care industry, for physicians, hospitals and clinics. Both are very important and require someone who is thorough and detail oriented.”
TJC offers the only online health information technology program in East Texas. The application deadline for the next available term is Friday, May 19.
An Associate of Applied Science degree in health information technology provides students with the technical and administrative skills needed to solve complex problems in the health care industry.
TJC’s HIT degree courses are offered completely online, except for anatomy and physiology labs and the clinical rotations. This allows students flexibility while completing their degree.
“We also work with hospitals and clinics in the area to arrange for clinical time, as required by the degree,” Rendon said, “and while the degree is entirely online, our faculty are available here on the TJC campus to answer any questions or help guide students toward their career goals.”
Health information professionals are in high demand as the health sector continues to expand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites medical records and health information technicians as one of the 20 fastest-growing occupations in the country.
The average annual salary for an entry-level health information technician is $35,000.
For more information, go to www.tjc.edu/hit.