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Post-Graduate MHIIM

The MHIIM program is an on-line degree with no on-campus component.

The goal of the MHIIM is to provide the competencies for health care professionals to manage the information in an increasingly complex electronic health environment. This is directly related to the overall mission of The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) which is to transform lives through collaborative and inclusive education, research/scholarship, clinical care, and public service.

Information is a key resource in the delivery and financing of healthcare and as such, it must be managed effectively. Health informatics deals with a broad range of issues to manage data to support decision-making activities. This knowledge base includes information technology as well as interpersonal skills necessary to communicate with clinicians and others to make change happen in health care organizations. The healthcare system has become a complex health information environment requiring all healthcare professionals to need greater skills in managing patient information through the continuum of care. Skills for data management and data integrity are imperative to improving quality and reducing medical errors and costs.

The Health Informatics and Information Management degree program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). For more information about CAHIIM, go to www.cahiim.org to verify the accreditation status of the programs.
 cahiim logo

Admission Requirements for Post-graduate MHIIM

  1. Baccalaureate degree in a health-related discipline.  Applicants without a degree in a health-related discipline will be considered for conditional admission and must complete HIIM 511 and HIIM 550 and earn a grade of “B” or better to continue in the program;
  2. Minimum grade point average of 3.0;
  3. Three letters of recommendation from previous college instructors or immediate supervisors;
  4. Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must submit results of TOEFL, with minimal score of 550, 213 on the computerized version;
  5. Official transcripts;
  6. Personal interview with the admissions committee;
  7. Ability to meet published technical standards of the College of Health Professions and the Health Informatics and Information Management program with or without accommodations. Applicants should contact Disability Services for questions about reasonable accommodations;
  8. A completed application form including an essay describing the applicant’s career goals;
  9. A non-refundable application fee must accompany the application;
  10. Applications are accepted online;

There are two deadlines for applications each year. The early deadline for Fall admission is April 1 and the late deadline is July 1. The early deadline for Spring admission is August 1 and the late deadline is November 15. A telephone or personal interview is granted to an applicant by invitation only. For more general information, please visit the Admissions Office or apply online and follow the directions for admission.

Registration and Fee payment for each semester are done by mail. Each semester, students must pay fees to the Bursar's Office by the deadline to avoid late fee penalties. Students must pay fees to be considered "enrolled" in a course. Information about financial aid and fees are available from the Financial Aid office or from the Costs/Financial Aid page.

The curriculum for the post-graduate MHIIM degree is shown in the table below.

Course # Course Name Credit hours
600

Information Technology and Systems
This course provides broad coverage of technology concepts underlying healthcare computing and information management as well as survey of the field of health informatics to provide students with a foundation for health informatics and information management.  Topics include overview of concepts in health informatics, information technology infrastructure, information systems management in healthcare, management IT challenges, interoperability and certification of clinical systems, Internet, basic computer security including identity and access management.

 3
601

Quality Management in Health Services
This course will cover diverse perspectives in quality management concepts and its relationship to healthcare organizational performance. This class will provide an overview of lean six sigma in healthcare, DMAIC methodology, quality improvement tools and techniques, health disparities, team approach to solving healthcare problems, and pharmacy related quality improvement topics.

 2
602 Legal Issues in Health Information Technology and Systems
Examination of legal issues related to electronic-based health information; the growth of computer and communication technologies, including privacy, security, electronic data interchange and compliance related issues; policy, regulatory and related concerns; interpretation and implementation of enterprise information policy. Principles of law applied to the health field with emphasis on federal, state, and local laws affecting health information management practice, confidentiality, and security of information.		 3
603 Leadership for Health Information Technology and Systems
This course explores the many aspects of healthcare organizational leadership using quality improvement and organizational excellence evaluation methodologies including the Baldrige Criteria and Shingo model. This course will have two foci. The first focus is on helping the student focus on his or her role in leadership and leading changes in the healthcare organization. The second focus is on the healthcare organization and the leadership challenges that the CEO/CIO faces with solving work/process issues and with organization performance and metrics.		 3
604 Financial Management for Health Professionals
This course provides an overview of financial management processes, healthcare reimbursement and the revenue cycle.  The course is organized in two units with one covering basics for financial management and the second covering reimbursement in the United States and managing the revenue cycle.		 3
605 Healthcare Information Systems
This course provides the fundamental concepts of information technology applied to health care from the perspectives of providers, payers, and consumers. Major topics include the electronic health record, health information systems, enterprise-wide systems, laboratory, radiology (PACs) systems, voice recognition, physician order entry, telemedicine, decision support systems. The course presents an overview of historical, current, and emerging health information systems; concepts and knowledge involved in making strategic use of information technology (IT) in health care organizations and linkages to business, planning, and governance. The course also includes system design methodologies including systems analysis and design; systems selection and evaluation; workflow analysis and project management.		 3
606 Healthcare Vocabularies and Clinical Terminologies
This course provides a review of clinical classifications, vocabularies, terminologies and standards including SNOMED, UMLS, ICD-10-CM, and ICD-10-PCS, CPT/HCPCS, National Drug Codes, RxNorm, National Drug File Reference Terminology, LOINC, CCC and other nursing vocabularies utilized in electronic health records.  The course includes data mapping, natural language processing and other data standardization efforts.		 2
607 Statistics and Decision Making
This course teaches students data wrangling skills and how to use statistical R packages for observational research. Students will learn how to load, clean, transform, visualize, and statistically analyze healthcare datasets. At the end of the course, students will have the necessary skills to perform a wide variety of data manipulation tasks such as reading from and writing to various file formats, handling missing data, aggregating data, grouping data, visualizing data, using statistical R packages, using data reporting standards, and building data-driven reports.		 3
608 Knowledge Management
This skills-based course exposes students to database management in healthcare. Topics include database management, data modeling, the role of IT professionals in healthcare, and data governance. Students will gain hands-on experience developing SQL queries on Electronic Health Record (EHR) data through exercises and project-based assignments. Additionally, students will gain insight into the use of data as a strategic resource in healthcare settings.  		 3
609 Concepts of Research Methodology
Discussion of the elements of research, evaluation methodologies including the research process, study design, methods of data collection with emphasis on preparation and evaluation of data collection instruments, statistical analysis of data including use of statistical packages, literature searches, and scientific writing. Prerequisite: 607 MHIM, Statistics and Decision Making.		 3
610 Issues in Health Information Technology Seminar
An exploration of current issues related to health informatics including healthcare policy analysis and development, ethical issues, structure of healthcare delivery systems, assessment of population health, models of health care delivery, access and quality of care issues. Prerequisites: 600 MHIM, Information Technology and Systems, and 605 MHIM, Health Information Systems.		 2
613 Applied Research Project
Rigorous project focused on a real-world informatics setting and application of problem-solving methods for development of solutions. May include original research in the area of health information management, information systems and/or health informatics. Oral and written reports required, including oral presentation and defense of project. Prerequisite: permission of course director.		 3
Total Hours
 33
 

What are the application deadlines?
There are two deadlines for applications each year, April 1 for the fall semester start date (September) and August 1 for the spring semester (January).

Where do I send my transcripts?
UTHSC Transcript Verification Department
PO Box 9141
Watertown, MA 02471

Can you send me more information?
All of the information is on our webpage so no additional printed information is available. If there is something which requires clarification, please contact the program director via email or phone.

What is an average course load?
Currently a minimum of two courses are being offered per semester to allow students to progress in the program and graduate in a timely manner. Students are allowed to take one course or can elect to take all the courses offered each semester. Most students find it works to take two courses per semester.

Can the entire curriculum be taken on-line without going to the Health Science Center campus?
Yes, all courses are available on-line.

How does on-line learning work?
We utilize a course management system called Blackboard which is accessed via the Internet. Students do not have to purchase software in order to access the on-line course materials so everything is delivered to the student in an organized fashion making transition to on-line learning convenient and accessible.

How much does the program cost?
The cost of the program is calculated by the credit hours you take each term. For more information, refer to the Cost of Attendance estimate for Health Professions. Or you may contact the Office of Financial Aid Counselor for College of Health Professions Erika Powell by email at fa-healthprof@uthsc.edu.

How long does it take to complete the program?
The program may be completed full-time in two years. However, most students take 2 courses per term and it takes 5 or 6 terms to complete the program. The majority of students graduate in 3 years or less.

 

Jul 1, 2025