Health Information Technology Certification in Oregon - OR

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

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Many Oregon students who graduate receiving an associate degree in Health Information Technology from colleges and technical schools that are nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) choose to sit for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) national certification examination. Those that successfully pass the examination are certified as a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT). From the perspective of many who have gone through the AHIMA certification process, the RHIT certification has provided career options with a higher salary and opportunity for advancement. No Oregon license is required for this occupation. The RHIT certification examination in Oregon, like in other states, consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and the testing period is 3½ hours. Health data management is an important part of the examination and testing may cover health data structure, content and standards; healthcare information requirement and standards; clinical classification systems; and reimbursement methodologies. Another key area of the examination is information technology and systems. Potential questions may cover areas such as information and communication technologies, including common software applications and specialized software in the completion of HIM processes; data, storage, and retrieval; data security and health information systems. Topics such as healthcare compliance, confidentiality, ethical, legal, and privacy issues and implementing the legal and regulatory requirements related to health information are addressed as well.