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Health Information Management

A program that prepares individuals to plan, design, and manage systems, processes, and facilities used to collect, store, secure, retrieve, analyze, and transmit medical records and other health information used by clinical professionals and health care organizations. Includes instruction in the principles and basic content of the biomedical and clinical sciences, information technology and applications, data and database management, clinical research methodologies, health information resources and systems, office management, legal requirements, and professional standards.

Types of Degrees Health Information Management Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Health Information Management can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	141
Associate’s Degree	240
Bachelor’s Degree	1,273
Master’s Degree	1,125

What Health Information Management Majors Need to Know

Programs in Health Information Management emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Information Management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Health Information Management emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administration and Management — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Health Information Management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Health Information Management careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Information Management graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Working with Computers	4.6 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.5 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.4 / 7
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Information Management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
SAS	Analytical or scientific software	—
SAP Business Objects	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Electronic medical record EMR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Exchange	Electronic mail software	—
IBM Cognos Impromptu	Business intelligence and data analysis software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—
American Medical Association CodeManager	Categorization or classification software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
PCC Pediatric Partner	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Information Management graduates include:

• Medical Records Director
• Health Information Specialist
• Medical Records Clerk
• ROI Specialist (Release of Information Specialist)
• Health Data Analyst
• Data Integrity Specialist
• Cancer Registrar
• Health Records Technician (Health Records Tech)
• Clinical Data Specialist
• Health Information Technician
• Health Information Management Specialist
• Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist (CDIS)
• Cancer Tumor Registrar
• Healthcare Data Analyst
• Digital Health Technologist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Information Management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	46.4%
Master’s degree	21.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10.7%
Postsecondary certificate	7.1%
First professional degree	3.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.6%
Some college courses	3.6%
Post-doctoral training	3.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Information Management?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 85.4% of Health Information Management degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,374	85.4%
Men	407	14.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Information Management graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,223	44.0%
Asian	275	9.9%
Hispanic or Latino	383	13.8%
Black or African American	645	23.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	23	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	3	0.1%
Two or More Races	76	2.7%
Race Unknown	117	4.2%
International Students	36	1.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Information Management Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Health Information Management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,041
4 years	$36,054
5 years	$40,847

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $40,847 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Health Information Management Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Health Information Management. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	15	11
Bachelor’s	44	29
Master’s	23	1
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Health Information Management Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Health Information Management graduates earn a median of $36,054 four years after completion — about 5% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	28,347
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	11,963
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	11,828
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,171
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary	7,771
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,494
Health and Medical Administrative Services, Other	3,168
Medical Informatics	3,054
Medical Office Management/Administration	2,900
Health Services Administration	2,629
Community Health and Preventive Medicine	2,571

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.