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Health Information Managment Course in Maryland - MD

By Susan Maphis, allied health world contributing writer
Published: September, 17 2010

According to the Maryland Health Information Management Association (MdHIMA), there are over 1000 specialists in the discipline of medical information management working in the state of Maryland. Health information management is concerned with maintaining, collecting and analyzing data for medical records to be shared by and accessed by a variety of health care providers. A variety of jobs exist under the heading of medical or health information management, depending upon which degree you pursue. With a bachelor degree, you can become a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA). You can obtain a health informatics degree in Maryland at any of the colleges and universities offering such training.

If you already have an associate degree in healthcare informatics, many schools will allow you to pursue a certificate to bring you up to Administrator status. Following graduation, you will need to become certified by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), as passing their examination will certify you as an RHIA. While the state does not mandate professional certification, the majority, if not all, employers of health information management administrators will not hire you unless you have RHIA status. Jobs for RHIAs can be found at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore; Aeortek in Annapolis; Advanta Medical Solutions in Washington, DC; and GBMC Healthcare in Baltimore.