Our Health Information Technology (HIT) Associate in Applied Science (AAS) program incorporates clinical, information technology, leadership, and management skills and explores the digital/computer side of health care. After a patient meets with their healthcare provider, all the information collected from their medical history, exam, diagnosis, and everything in between has to be processed, analyzed, compiled, and maintained to support the patient and the hospital or doctor’s office.
Graduates of the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in the HIT program will be eligible to take the national certification examination to become a Registered Health Information Technician.
The HIT program also offers a certificate option.
Learn more about this program’s student outcome data.
Skills You’ll Learn
The Health Information Technology program is focused on job-related skills in the following areas:
- Demonstrating that patient health information is complete, accurate, and protected
- Understanding how to effectively use computer applications to assemble and analyze patient data for the purpose of improving patient care or controlling costs
- Mastering how to code, classify, and index diagnoses and procedures for the purpose of reimbursement, standardization, retrieval, and statistical analysis
Career Opportunities
There are many employment opportunities for Health Information Technology graduates, including:
- Health insurance organizations
- Hospices
- Hospitals
- Insurance companies
- Mental health facilities
- Nursing homes
- Outpatient clinics
- Physicians’ offices
- Rehabilitation facilities
- Veterinary clinics
- Law offices
- Governmental agencies
- Research organizations
- Software vendors
- Prison system
- Remote positions
- View more career opportunities
Watch a 2020 Craven CC HIT graduate talk about her career.
Plan of Study
The recommended course sequence for this program and a complete list of related classes are available in the Academic Catalog. Click the button below to view a copy of this plan of study, which is also available as a PDF.
Questions others are asking.
We offer several credentials that provide the flexibility you need. Most degree programs last two years and provide the most in-depth study of a particular subject. Diplomas and certificates take less time and are often taken in conjunction with other degree programs. Specialized training is also available for workforce development programs that are completed in less than a year.
The HIT program teaches a wider spectrum of billing and coding that qualifies an individual to do billing and coding in both a hospital and a doctor’s office or clinic. MOA graduates focus on the outpatient services billing and coding associated with a doctor’s office, clinic, or outpatient hospital services, and not inpatient hospital care. The HIT program is accredited by CAHIIM, so graduates are eligible to take the RHIT certification exam through AHIMA. The MOA program is approved by the state, and students are eligible to take the CPC certification exam through AAPC.
This program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management (CAHIIM). CAHIIM strives to provide the public with effective and consistent quality monitoring of academic programs in health information management and health informatics through maintenance of accreditation policies and processes.
The college’s accreditation for associate degree in Health Information Technology has been reaffirmed through 2031-2032. All inquiries about the program’s accreditation status should be directed by mail to:
CAHIIM
200 East Randolph Street, Suite 5100
Chicago, IL 60601
312-235-3255
Email CAHIIM
You can view it here:
The 2021-2022 program outcomes are as follows:
- The RHIT exam pass rate for the Health Information Technology program for the 2021-2022 reporting period is 100%.
- For the reporting period of 2021-2022, the Health Information Technology program had an 86% graduation rate.
- For the reporting period of 2021-2022, 80% of graduates were employed in a healthcare-related field within one year of graduation.
This data is available only if a student reports back or completes the graduation survey.
The HIT program is offered in a synchronous online hybrid format, so the answer is either/both. Nine core courses are fully online and four core courses are synchronous online.
The reason for this is that the college and employers noticed that students who had a "live" component for these courses often had a stronger understanding of the content and were often better able to apply it on the job. The synchronous online format means students have the choice each week to attend their scheduled class/lab time in person or online with a web camera and a computer. The program also contains two opportunities for clinical experience, which is done in person at an employer’s clinic, hospital, or office.
Yes, students have two courses with a clinical component. The first occurs in the second semester and involves touring multiple clinical sites, some guest speakers, and virtual simulations. The second clinical experience is during the last semester of the program with students learning and practicing hands-on activities at a clinical site chosen to meet the student’s interests.