EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Health Care Information Programs

The Health Care Information Programs at Shoreline Community College offers Certificates of Proficiency for: Medical Transcriptionists (until 2002), Medical Coding Specialists (Physicians’ Office and Hospital), and Medical Reimbursement Specialists, as well as, an Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences degree for Health Information Technicians. Graduates are educated in the ethical, professional and technical collection, classification, application, analysis and control of health information.

HCI students continue to be individuals primarily in the 25-55 age range, who wish to obtain certificates or degrees that offer immediate employment opportunities upon graduation in office-based positions with reasonable salaries. Administrative reports show that 28 % of students enrolled in the HCI programs 2000-2001 are either of culturally diverse backgrounds or are international students. Upon separate review of our currently enrolled second year HIT students (unduplicated count) based on HCI Program records, we find that approximately 55% are of culturally diverse backgrounds, or non-native English speaking students.

The complete PPA document outlines 5 ½ pages (beginning on page 5) of outcomes, criteria for measuring program effectiveness, and evaluation methods. These are quite detailed and very measurable, and were presented to the full HCI Advisory Committee on for their review. These will become part of the HIT Program progress report that will be sent to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education (CAAHEP) March 2002. These include measurements related to demonstration of graduate competencies, student learning environment, demonstration of professionalism by students, location of appropriate employment by graduates, demonstration of current professional knowledge and teaching skills by faculty, assurance that HCI student composition reflects a diverse student population and meets target for enrollments, and continuation of ties with the health information management community practitioners.

The 2000-2001 student/faculty ratios by program (combined HCI and HE prefixed classes) show the annual FTES at 52.31, annual FTEF of 2.73, and the annual student/faculty ratio of 19.16. This may rise this year because of the new medical coding certificate program, but the numbers may be offset by the discontinuation of the medical transcription program.

Pages 12 – 16 provide great detail on anticipated changes in the program and profession. These include:

  • Need for additional HCI dedicated computers
  • Medical Transcription Program low enrollment
  • Changes in the health care industry
  • Balancing distance learning educational methods with on-campus offerings
  • Continuing need for Health Information Technicians and Coding Specialists
  • Continuing need for Medical Reimbursement Specialists
  • Government mandates related to fraud and abuse in medical coding and billing
  • Need to provide continuing education for advanced medical coding
  • Need for cancer registry training
  • Transfer of HIT graduates to the UW’s Health Information Administration Program

An extensive self-study was done during the 2000-2001 Academic Year for the Health Information Technology and sent to AHIMA/CAAHEP a year ago for its specialized accreditation. The college received the results of the this review this October, which showed that the following were satisfactory: faculty professional backgrounds and current knowledge, classes, laboratory simulations, clinical practice, competencies, syllabi, examinations and other student assessment activities, library holdings, general and HIT specific software, pass rates on the national certifying examinations, advisory committee activities, faculty reference materials, student handbook, and student support services. The following were the citations (partially met):

  • Sequencing of several classes is not in accordance with sound academic principles.
  • Additional full-time or pro-rata HCI faculty members are needed.
  • Additional dedicated computers for the HIT program are needed.
  • Additional secretarial help for the HIT program is needed.

Results of very detailed graduate and employer surveys provided data which helped the program redesign its curriculum in several areas. Approximately 90% of graduates have found employment directly in the HIM profession or related field. Faculty continue to retain their credentials through attendance at HIM conferences and graduate work. Review of student evaluations for tenure and triennial evaluations this academic year show continuing strengths of HCI faculty in teaching. Major work has been ongoing in converting some of the on-campus classes to a distance learning or hybrid basis (part web lessons and part on-campus sessions). Maintaining or increasing the number of HCI students is an ongoing endeavor. The HCI Programs web site is quite extensive and is now linked through the AHIMA and WSHIMA. The Medical Transcription Program was discontinued due to low enrollments but a new Medical Coding Specialist Certificate program was begun in response to community need.

All 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 goals and objectives were accomplished. The list of 2001-2003 goals and objectives is extensive and includes activities related to resolving the citations received from the HIT Accreditation Survey, reviewing reimbursement software, making recommendations regarding the final disposition of the medical transcription program, development of more hybrid classes, completion of a new detailed graduate and employer survey, performing an in-depth review of the Medical Reimbursement Specialist program, review of HCI program policies, searching for additional outside funding for the HCI programs, and recommending whether the college should offer advanced HIM courses.