Health Information Technology Certification in New York - NY

Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT) work to provide patient health information to doctors, health care facilities, insurers, and other entities as needed. The work they do improves the quality of health care by preventing medical errors, decreasing paperwork, increasing efficiency, and ultimately reducing health care costs. RHIT certification in the state of New York involves attaining the appropriate educational background and passing the national certification exam. An associate’s degree from an accredited program is mandatory in order to take the certification exam. Requirements for this degree would include courses such as anatomy, medical terminology, and computer technology and applications. 

The certification exam includes 150 multiple-choice questions, of which 130 questions are scored. According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), which administers the exam, student competency is tested in these general areas: health data management; health statistics, biomedical research, and quality management; health services organization and delivery; information technology and systems; and organizational resources. Once a student has successfully passed the examination, they must keep their skills and knowledge updated by earning additional continuing education units (CEUs). RHITs must earn 20 CEUs every two years. The majority of CEU credits must in these topics: technology; management development (both business and clinical); performance improvement; external issues; clinical information; and privacy and security issues.