Diploma in Health Information Management Fleming College - Sutherland Campus (Peterborough), Canada

The Fleming College Health Information Management (HIM) program is one of only three Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) recognized college programs available in Ontario.

Program Highlights
In this challenging two-year diploma program, students will learn to use computer technologies to capture and analyze data, and to create health information for healthcare delivery use, financial and management planning. Health records are the primary source of information used by hospitals and health care facilities to code services for reimbursement purposes. This information is also needed by public health officials to indicate disease patterns and trends, and by medical researchers for analysis, comparison and decision support.

Health service careers are among the fastest growing occupations in the economy. In the healthcare field, this really is the information age. There's a whole new growth market for the skills and training of health information management and health records professionals. An aging population and increasing health care needs, combined with the focus on accountability, efficiency and effectiveness of health care services delivery, has led to a skills shortage. You will graduate equipped with very marketable skills in the health information management sector. Some of those skills will include expertise in the following areas:

• Data quality
• Data collection and coding
• Record /systems management
• Privacy, confidentiality and security of health information
• Transitioning to the electronic health record

This program is recognized by the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA). Graduates are eligible to write the National Certification Examination of the Canadian College of Health Information Management.

WHY CHOOSE FLEMING
Fleming College has a reputation as a leader in technology-based learning. The HIM program at Fleming follows this trend with a vision of "Inspiring innovative students to become innovative leaders in HIM through applied learning." One of our mission statements is to "Espouse the state of the art in Health Information Management." We demonstrate this through our brand-new, fully-computerized lab with over 500 anonymized patient records and scanning equipment, to provide students with practical application knowledge that supports the move in healthcare to electronic health records (EHRs). A real-world populated database of patient information allows the learner to run realistic reports to support the needs of users for decision-making purposes.

Through its previous successful practicums, the HIM program has developed excellent relationships with numerous healthcare facilities throughout the region and beyond, resulting in good practicum and employment opportunities for graduates.

WORK EXPERIENCE
The program includes a strong practical component. Students will participate in two work placement experiences, a total of eight weeks in all. Students spend two weeks in a workplace setting in semester two, and four weeks in a workplace setting in semester four. Practicum components will not necessarily be in the immediate Peterborough area. Practicum agencies may require proof of immunization and a criminal records check (vulnerable sector).