Health Information Management

Types of Degrees Health Information Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many health information management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,579
Basic Certificate	596
Master’s Degree	575
Associate Degree	299
Undergraduate Certificate	214
Graduate Certificate	54

What Health Information Management Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to health information and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Health Information Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Health Information Majors

When studying health information, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Abilities for Health Information Majors

As you progress with your health information degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Health Information Management Major?

People with a health information degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical and Health Services Managers	20.5%	$99,730

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Management?

The major attracts more women than men. About 86% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health information majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	133
Black or African American	341
Hispanic or Latino	143
White	823
International Students	17
Other Races/Ethnicities	122

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Health Information. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Health Information Management Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Health Information majors often go into careers with median salaries of $113,730. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Information Management

Some careers associated with health information require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for health information careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	19.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	65.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.9%
Master’s Degree	11.5%

Online Health Information Management Programs

In 2020-2021, 197 schools offered a health information program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	23	12
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	50	20
Bachelor’s Degree	26	13
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	28	19
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Health Information Management Worth It?

The median salary for a health information grad is $113,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 185% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,476,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Health Information Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to health information.

Major	Number of Grads
Health Care Management	31,436
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,149
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	9,664
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	8,186
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary	8,049
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,894
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	4,391
Medical Office Management/Administration	3,564
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,245
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,180
Medical Reception/Receptionist	781
Long Term Care Administration/Management	353
Clinical Research Coordinator	344
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	224
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist	198
Healthcare Innovation	183
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	94
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	26
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	22
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	15
Disease Registry Data Management	8
Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security	7

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.