HIM Certifications You Should Know About: A Comprehensive Guide
The world of health information managers (HIMs) is an exciting one. As the healthcare industry evolves and grows, HIM offers more opportunities to improve quality of care while also ensuring smooth operations, secure patient data transmission, and clear communication among the various stakeholders involved. So what does it take to succeed in a healthcare information management position? First, you’ll need to get certified.
Related: How a Great Health Information Manager Enhances Overall Workflow.
The Top HIM Certifications
These certifications are essential to a successful career. Not only do they help you differentiate yourself from a pool of competitive candidates, but certifications also help you increase your knowledge and skill set in an evolving healthcare field while you ascend to new levels. While they require time and money, they will provide a greater return on your investments, rapidly propelling you to the next level of your career without spending many years hoping to advance in one role. There are a number of excellent certifications available in healthcare information management. Which makes the most sense for your career? Consider the following: https://www.digidoc.tech/blog/best-him-certifications
What Are the Most Important HIM Certifications?
If you are entering or building a career in professional medical coding, here is a list of certifications you can pursue:
AAPC: The American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) provides more than a dozen certificates for medical coding and billing in a variety of facilities and settings, including both inpatient and outpatient. You can attain certification for medical billing, auditing, documentation, compliance, and practice management. While their most popular certification is Certified Professional Coder, all programs are valuable educational experiences that can help you further your career. If you are seeking outpatient coding or a specialty like cardiology, pediatrics, dermatology, or others, AAPC certifications make sense for you.
AHIMA Certifications and AHIMA Coding Certifications
AHIMA: The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) also provides an array of certifications, including:
- Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT)
- Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
- Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP)
- Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA)
- Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security (CHPS)
- Certified Coding Associate (CCA)
- Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)
- Certified Coding Specialist–Physician-Based (CCS-P)
AHIMA coding certifications cover coding that can be done in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Other AHIMA certifications focus on healthcare information management. You might consider obtaining an AHIMA certification or AHIMA coding certification if you are hoping to work in administration for larger facilities like hospitals.
HIMSS Certifications
HIMSS: Provided by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), these certifications center around health information and technology, and include the following:
- CPHIMS - Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) certification, which requires that candidates meet an international standard of professional knowledge and competence in healthcare information and management systems.
- CAHIMS - Certified Associate in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS) has a goal of expanding and diversifying health information industry knowledge.
- CPDHTS - Certified Professional in Digital Health Transformation Strategy (CPDHTS) mandates professionals are proficient in digital health transformation strategy.
CPHIMS certifications, CAHIMS certifications, and CPDHTS certifications are impressive HIMSS certifications that enable you to demonstrate expertise and mastery of the latest changes to healthcare policy, practice, and technology.
Which HIM Certification Is Right for Me?
Depending upon your specific objectives, these HIM certifications will help you reach the various healthcare information management goals outlined above. Familiarize yourself with their objectives and plan a course of action. Whether you choose an AAPC, AHIMA, AHIMA coding, CPHIMS, HIMSS, or other certification, by working steadily towards obtaining them, you demonstrate a strong dedication to your field and towards continuing to grow and acquire new knowledge. Even if you’re not seeking a new position, this will make your current job much smoother and easier.
Related: The Role of Health Information Managers: Orchestrating Data for Improved Patient Care.
Grow Your Healthcare Information Management Career With DigiDoc
At DigiDoc, we are dedicated to making HIM professionals’ jobs more efficient through DMS systems that can easily streamline workflows, data, and communications simply and securely. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your organization achieve its goals and save time and money, reach out today.