Health Records Administration
Overview
Health records administration programs prepare people to manage medical information.Health records administration programs include topics such as:
- Information technology and applications
- Medical terminology
- Data and database management
- Clinical research methodologies
- Health information resources
- Legal and professional standards
This program prepares people to work in health clinics, hospitals, and health care organizations.
Schools
Many community colleges offer certificate and associate degree programs in health records administration. A certificate program usually takes a year of full-time study. An associate degree program usually takes two years of full-time study to complete.
Colleges and universities offer bachelor's degree in health records administration. A bachelor's degree usually takes about four years of full-time study.
A few universities offer graduate degrees in health records administration. A master's degree typically requires two years of study beyond a bachelor's degree. Doctoral (PhD) degree programs usually require two or more years of study beyond the master's degree.
See schools that offer this program.
Related Educational Programs
- Database Administration
- Ethics
- Health Records Technology
- Health Services Administration
- Health Unit Coordination
- Informatics
- Information Science
- Long Term Care Administration and Management
- Medical Informatics
- Medical Office Management
Related Careers
Careers Directly Related to this Program of Study
Other Careers Related to this Program of Study
- Administrative Services Managers
- Database Administrators
- Health Information Technicians
- Medical Coders and Billers
- Medical Transcriptionists
Program Admission
You can prepare for this program by taking courses in high school that prepare you for college. This typically includes four years of English, three years of math, three years of social studies, and two years of science. Some colleges also require two years of a second language.
Some programs are intended for applicants who have an associate degree in health records technology.
Below is a list of high school courses that will help prepare you for this program of study:
- Algebra
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Biology
- Business Computer Applications
- Computer Math
- Computer Science and Programming
- Computing Systems
- General Computer Applications
- Health Education
- Healthcare Occupations
- Introduction to Business
- Medical and Clerical Assisting
- Psychology
- Recordkeeping
- Sociology
Graduate Admissions
Admission to graduate programs is competitive. You need a bachelor's degree and good grades. You also need to submit letters of recommendation and a personal statement.
Your bachelor's degree does not have to be in any particular major. However, you may find it helpful to major in either a health care related field or an information sciences field. You should also take courses in the following:
- Accounting
- Algebra
- Computer Programming
- Healthcare or Business Ethics
- Personal Computing Applications
- Statistics
Additional requirements may include:
- Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General
- Academic writing sample
- Personal interview
- Work experience in health records administration or technology
Typical Course Work
Program Courses
This undergraduate program typically includes courses in the following subjects:
- Accounting
- Applied Management
- Communication and Conflict
- Database Modeling and Implementation
- Financial Concepts in Healthcare
- Fundamentals of Medical Science
- Healthcare Ethics
- Health Information Science
- Human Anatomy and Physiology
- Information Systems in Business
- Information Technology and Implementation
- Issues in Health Systems
- Leadership Skill Development
- Medical Coding Systems
- Medical Terminology
- Medicolegal Issues
- Organizational Communication
- Principles of Information Systems
- Statistics
- Systems Analysis Methods
Graduate Program Courses
Course work in graduate programs varies. However, the outline of a typical master's curriculum usually looks like the following:
- Required core courses
- Thesis and thesis defense
The core courses are often a more thorough or more focused study of topics introduced in this undergraduate program. You also take courses in research methodology to assist you with your thesis.
Some programs offer practicum opportunities as part of their curriculum. This gives you hands-on experience applying your studies in this program to various health care settings.
You might work in a hospital, helping to compile data on patients with tumors for cancer research. Or you could work in a rehabilitation center, making sure patient files are up-to-date. Whatever the setting, you benefit from working under the guidance and direct supervision of an experienced health records administrator.
Things to Know
Graduating from an accredited program in health records administration qualifies you to take a national certification exam.
Schools
King-Snohomish Area
Bellevue College
- Associates in Arts Degree and Bachelor's Online Completion Program
Everett Community College
- Healthcare Risk Management
North Seattle College
- Human Health Pre-Major
Tacoma Area
Tacoma Community College
- Health Information Management