Program Review
2010 – 2011
Health Information Management – AAS
Medical Information Coder/Biller –
Certificate
Submitted by:
Brandy Ziesemer, Program Manager
Date:
April 11, 2011
Table of Contents 2010-11
Executive Summary…...................................................................................................................Page 2
I. Program Overview ....................................................................................................................Page 3
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Mission
Vision
Program Description
Program History Summary
Advisory Committee
II. Review of Curriculum .............................................................................................................Page 7
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Curriculum Structure
Formal Articulation Agreements
Transfer and Non-Transfer Programs
Grade Distributions for Program Courses
Job Prospects
III. Faculty Program Data ............................................................................................................Page 14
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Organizational Structure
Faculty Credentials and LSCC Teaching Summary
Additional Responsibilities
Additional Faculty Needed
Faculty Development
Faculty Evaluation
IV. Student Data............................................................................................................................Page 20
A.
B.
C.
D.
Enrollment
Retention
Graduation
Success and Completion Rates
V. Program Support ....................................................................................................................Page 26
A. Budget
B. Support Services
C. Facilities and Equipment
VI. Measures of Program Effectiveness ....................................................................................Page 29
A. Student Learning Outcomes
B. Employment of Graduates
C. National Exam Results
D. Program Strengths and Weaknesses
VII. Use of Previous Assessment Findings.................................................................................Page 35
VIII. Recommendations and Action Plan..................................................................................Page 36
IX. Follow-up………………………….......................................................................................Page 41
X. Appendices……………..........................................................................................................Page 42
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 1
HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The Health Information Management (HIM) Associate in Applied Science degree program is a stateof-the-art medical technology curriculum offered by Lake-Sumter Community College that is
nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information
Management Education (CAHIIM). Successful graduates of the LSCC HIM program are eligible to
write the national qualifying examination for certification as a Registered Health Information
Technician (RHIT). Strong job prospects and competitive salaries await graduates; entry level
health information graduates with an A.A.S. degree are in demand and may earn up to $30,000
annually. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified that HIT needs will grow to encompass a
variety of new workforce positions including mobile support adoption positions, public health
informatics, implementation support specialists, and information management redesign specialists.
(www.hicareers.com).
The HIM program at Lake-Sumter enjoys a mutually beneficial partnership with the Lake-Sumter
Medical Society and with the Medical Informatics Certificate Program through the University of
West Florida. The program also holds affiliation agreements for professional practice experience
sites with all Lake-County hospitals, both major hospital networks in Orlando and Vicinity, the two
major hospitals in Ocala, Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness, the Lake-County Department of
Health, Lake Corrections Institute, Thomas Langley Health Clinic, Cornerstone Hospice, LifeStream
Behavioral Center and several other Central Florida medical practices.
The partnership with the Lake-Sumter Medical Society has resulted in the HIM students being able
to research health information technology products and present their findings using donated space at
the annual Medical Society Physicians’ Expo. Physicians and practice managers interact with the
students by asking questions and discussing career options with them.
The program has experienced a significant increase in interest with job related national health
information technology programs, and received two workforce grants to help re-train unemployed
citizens for successful emerging career opportunities.
Even in difficult economic times our LSCC HIM graduates continue to have very positive career
options available to them in obtaining entry-level jobs and beginning their professional lives with
rapid growth opportunities.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 2
I.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
A.
Mission
The mission of the HIM degree program is to prepare students for entry-level employment as a
health information technician in any healthcare setting. Upon successful completion of this program,
the student will be able to perform the following competencies: manage all aspects of healthcare
data; health statistics; participate in biomedical research and performance improvement teams; apply
knowledge of health services organization and delivery to ensure compliance with health laws;
manage health information technology; and manage organizational resources.
B.
Vision
The HIM degree program at Lake-Sumter Community College models the overall vision of the
College by fostering excellence and the values of scholarship, respect, honesty and integrity,
teamwork, high performance, and service, in order to serve the workforce needs of the diverse and
dynamic health information arm of the healthcare community and to be successful professionals.
C.
Program Description
The HIM program at LSCC is a 67-credit hour Associate in Applied Science degree. Within the
degree program, there is an option for students to earn a 34-credit hour technical certificate as a
medical information coder/biller. A majority of the students who earn this certificate eventually
work toward the degree, even when they choose coding as a career option. Graduates of the degree
program are eligible to take a national exam qualifying them as Registered Health Information
Technicians (RHIT). In addition to the RHIT exam, one of the program graduates earned a Certified
Tumor Registrar (CTR) credential. The national coding certification exams do not require specific
education but they are specialist-level rather than entry-level exams. Graduates of LSCC’s certificate
program have successfully taken and passed the Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) and Radiation
Oncology Certified Coder (ROCC) exams.
Of note is the fact that certain courses in the HIM degree program and the coding certificate are also
required courses in LSCC’s Office Administration, Medical Office Specialization AAS degree and
the technical certificate in Medical Office Management that is part of the full degree program.
Although this program will undergo a comprehensive review in 2012, it is important to note the
program statistics for certain courses reflect these students in addition to the coding certificate and
HIM degree students. Furthermore, many of the courses attract students in three distinct categories
outside of certificate or degree-seeking students. These categories include: prerequisites for associate
or baccalaureate allied health programs not offered by LSCC but for which the local students attend
LSCC for general education and applicable allied health prerequisites before transferring; prenursing students or AA degree students who take some of these courses to satisfy full-time status or
as electives even though they aren’t required for nursing; and, students who are already in a related
position who select certain courses for professional development but don’t intend to complete the
program. Finally, some of the certificate and degree-seeking students are in such high demand, they
are hired in HIM-related jobs part way through the program and decide that they don’t need to
complete the program because that is the job they want to have as a career.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 3
In 10 years, the HIM program has had 68 degree graduates, 31 of whom are credentialed HIM
professionals. In the 8 years the coding certificate has been in place, 41 students have completed the
program and 14 have earned one of the national coding certifications described above. Students in
both the degree and the certificate programs are primarily nontraditional students who attend classes
on a part-time basis, and some do not complete the program once the acquire marketable skills.
D.
Program History Summary
In 1996, the Office Administration program offered electives in health information. The Advisory
Committee at that time recommended the college pursue a grant to develop a full degree program in
health information management. At the end of 1997, LSCC received a Capitalization Incentive
Grant, based on a proposal that included documentation of need for a local health information
workforce, to develop this program. Accreditation requirements included having students in the
second year of the program the year the site team conducts an evaluation. Students entering their
second year of the program for the 1999-2000 academic year graduated from an accredited program.
The accreditation agency was subsequently transferred from the Commission on Accreditation for
Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) to the newly formed Commission on Accreditation
for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). Beginning in 2005,
CAHIIM requires a comprehensive annual program review, submitted electronically between the
end of February and early May. As CAHIIM identifies any negative trends from one year to the
next, the program will be notified to create and submit a corrective action plan and resolve the
problem within the amount of time specified by CAHIIM. In the absence of such a notice, the
programs automatically retain full accreditation status on a continuing basis, which this program has
since initial accreditation in 2000.
In its 10-year history of being accredited, the program has generated a strongly competent, mostly
local, health information management workforce, including several graduates who have gone on to
obtain baccalaureate degrees in HIM and related fields. Employer and graduate surveys continually
demonstrate the program is keeping abreast the ever-changing demands of health information
management and technology.
E.
Advisory Committee
The HIM Advisory Committee is comprised of four program alumni who have become credentialed
as health informational professionals and leaders. Additionally, the committee has representatives
from a cross-section of work settings and job titles, all relevant to health information management.
A formal meeting with the full Advisory Committee every fall is a kick-off to that year’s national
health information and technology week followed by an Advisory-Student mixer. Throughout the
year, the program manager exchanges email and phone calls regularly with individuals and the full
group regarding curriculum changes, evaluation of hired graduates, needs assessments, support
letters for grants, requests for the college to offer continuing education units on a major change,
answering questions for each other regarding on-the-job legal, technology or coding issues,
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 4
arranging professional practice and back-to-industry experiences for students and program
faculty/adjunct faculty, job opportunities for graduates and other issues.
The following table lists the current committee members along with their contact information.
LAKE-SUMTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ADVISORY COMMITTEE LISTING
Name of Committee:
Committee Chairperson:
College Liaison:
Academic Year:
Name
Susan Bump, RHIA, CCS
[email protected]
Health Information Management
Kathleen Leiffort
Brandy Ziesemer, Health Information Program Manager
2010-2011
Term
Expires
June 2013
Title, Name of Institution, and
Mailing Address
Telephone No.
HIS Systems Specialist
CFHA
1451 El Camino Real
The Villages, FL 32159
352-751-8665
Wanda Calhoun, RHIT
June 2012
[email protected]
Manager, Health Info. Mgmt.
South Lake Hospital
1099 Citrus Tower Blvd.
Clermont, FL 34711
352-241-7130
Rita E. Crews, MHSA, PA-C
[email protected]
June 2012
Office Administrator & Phys. Asst.
Steven A. Crews, DO
8135 Centralia Ct. Ste. 101
Leesburg, FL 34788
352-360-0654
352-638-3365(c)
Becky Dicus, RHIA, LHRM
[email protected]
June 2012
Director, HIM
Ocala Regional Med Ctr.
1431 SW First Ave.
Ocala, FL 34474
352-401-1287
Julie Edmonds, RHIT
[email protected]
June 2013
Systems Coordinator, HIS/Transc
Florida Hospital Waterman
1000 Waterman Way
Tavares, FL 32788
(352)253-3333
X4569
Pat Freeman, RHIA
[email protected]
June 2011
HIM Consultant/Adj. Instructor
464 Petunia Drive
Fruitland Park, FL 34731
352-728-6684 (h)
352-250-6982 (c)
Susan Gregory
[email protected]
June 2013
Director, HIM
LifeStream Behavioral Center
PO Box 491000
Leesburg, FL 34749-1000
352-315-7462
352-276-3376 (c)
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 5
Health Information Management Advisory Committee (cont’d)
Name
Term
Expires
Title, Name of Institution, and
Mailing Address
Telephone No.
Diane Howard, RHIA
[email protected]
June 2011
Sci. Teacher/Adj, HIM Instructor
1115 Lake Dr.
Grand Island FL 32735
352-669-4741
Kathy Leiffort
[email protected]
June 2013
Director, Physicians Services
Central Florida Health Alliance
LRMC North Campus
700 N. Palmetto St.
Leesburg, FL 34748
352-504-6104
Carol Millwater
[email protected]
June 2013
Executive Director
Lake Sumter Medical Society
PO Box 1578
Mt. Dora, FL 32756
(W) 352-483-4748
(C) 352-552-0476
Linda Renn, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CPCH
[email protected]
June 2011
Advocacy Liaison-FHIMA
STAT Solutions, Inc.
2407 Winona Avenue
Leesburg, FL 34748
Phone & FAX
352-787-9590
Cell
352-874-5520
Medical Records Contractor
8596 NE 9th Terrace
Wildwood, FL 34785
352-217-3208
Alphonso Sanders, RHIT
June 2012
[email protected]
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 6
II.
REVIEW OF CURRICULUM
A.
Curriculum Structure
Health Information Management courses are listed below as in the 2009-2010 LSCC Catalog. These
courses are ALL requirements of the HIM A.A.S. credentialing process. The required courses are in
a basic sequence of ascending skills order and increasing levels of subject complexity. There are
only limited electives in this process and they are commonly within the scope of the General
Education cluster. Italicized courses are required for the 34-credit Medical Information
Coder/Biller certificate.
General Education Courses
ENC 1101
College Composition 1
BSC 2093
Human Anatomy & Physiology 1
BSC 2093
Human Anatomy & Physiology 2
Elective
Humanities
Elective
Social & Behavioral Sciences
AAS
17 Credits
3
4
4
3
3
Certificate
8 Credits
Beginning Courses
HSC 1531
Medical Terminology 1
HSC 1532
Medical Terminology 2
OST 1854
Microsoft Office – Introduction
HIM 1003
Foundations of Health Information Management
HIM 1433
Concepts of Disease
HIM 1800
Professional Practice Experience 1
HSC 1000
Introduction to Healthcare
OST 2336
Business Communications
HIM 1512
Medical Office Management
MAT 1033
Intermediate Algebra or QMB 1001
HIM 1012
Medicolegal Aspects of Records
27 Credits
2
2
3
3
3
2
1
3
3
3
2
15 Credits
2
2
Intermediate Courses
HIM 2112
Electronic Health Records & Informatics
HIM 2222
Basic ICD-9-CM Coding
HIM 2253
CPT Coding & Reimbursement
HIM 2442
Pharmacology & Laboratory Analysis
10 Credits
3
3
3
1
6 Credits
Advanced Courses
HIM 2214
Healthcare Statistics
HIM 2234
Advanced ICD-9-CM Coding & Reimbursement
HIM 2510
HIM Compliance & Performance Issues
HIM 2810
Professional Practice Experience 2
HIM 2820
Professional Practice Experience 3
HIM 2930
Health Information Technician Review
13 Credits
2
3
3
2
2
1
5 Credits
TOTAL CREDITS
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
4
4
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
2
67 Credits
34 Credits
AAS Degree
Certificate
Page 7
Curriculum Note: In analyzing performance of students in the HIM associate degree, the following
graphic depicts the importance of realizing that many of the HIM core courses are taken by students
who are not seeking the HIM degree so this mix needs to be considered in analyzing student
performance in specific HIM courses.
Organization Graphic of
The Health Information Management
CORE COURSES
Showing Variation of Student Population
• HIM - Core Course
Student Mix
A.A.S.
• Office Administration
(Medical Office
Management Track )
• Coder/ Biller
Certificate
• Medical Office Mgmt
Individual
Courses
B.
• Nursing Electives &
Prerequisites for
other Allied Health
Programs
• Professional
Development
Formal Articulation Agreements
Formal Tech Prep/Career Pathways agreements are in place with Lake and Sumter County Schools.
Although there isn’t a formal articulation in place with any universities, the University of Central
Florida (UCF) awards credits toward several program-specific courses in addition to the general
education courses, toward a bachelor’s degree in HIM. Another CAHIIM and regionally accredited
university, the University of Cincinnati offers a fully online baccalaureate degree to those students
who have graduated from a CAHIIM associate degree program (AAS or AS) AND passed the
national RHIT examination. Finally, University of West Florida is working with the LSCC HIM
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 8
program manager on an articulation agreement for a bachelor’s in health sciences – medical
informatics track.
C.
Transfer/Non-Transfer Programs
The AAS degree in HIM is not designed to be a transfer program, however, a growing number of
graduates have transferred to universities and obtained baccalaureate degrees in HIM and related
fields. As a result, effective fall of 2010, LSCC implemented an Associate in Science degree in HIM
as an option to the AAS to make it easier for students to transfer while still being workforce-ready
upon completion of the AS.
One issue related to transfer versus non-transfer status of the AAS degree that we are making some
progress on resolving is the fact that traditionally our academic advisors are a potential or newly
registered student’s first point of contact. Many of these students are unsure of exactly what they
want but they ask some general questions about the degree. For years, the general philosophy in our
advising department was to encourage students to work toward an AA degree even if they didn’t
think they wanted to pursue a bachelor’s upon completion of an associate degree. Therefore, these
students are more difficult to track as far as success because if they are initially registered as AAseeking, the correct program often does not get discovered until they are well into the AAS in HIM
and either someone in Financial Aid catches the discrepancy (every semester the student is evaluated
on progress toward their chosen major for renewal of financial assistance but since the AAS has
general education in it and students can take a certain number of general electives in an AA degree,
the discrepancy isn’t often discovered until the student’s second year), or the HIM program manager
checks the program code when students are seeking advice for their intermediate and advanced
courses. This problem impacts the ability to accurately report the number of new enrollees and
attrition using system reports. It doesn’t impact completion because, if not before, the grad check
includes changing a student’s program code to the degree being sought.
D.
Grade Distribution for Program Courses
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
HSC 1000: Introduction to Healthcare (1credit hour)
Academic
Passed
Year
A, B, or C D, F, or I Withdrew
2005/06
19
4
0
2006/07
18
7
1
2007/08
20
6
0
2008/09
16
8
0
2009/10
33
8
2
Total
106
33
3
Total
Enrolled
23
26
26
24
43
142
%
Passed
82.6
69.2
76.9
66.7
76.7
74.6
%
Withdrew
0.0
3.8
0.0
0.0
4.7
2.1
This 1-credit hour course is required for: the degree in HIM, the degree in office administration,
medical office and the certificate in medical office management. Other students who are interested in
healthcare take this course as an elective. A detailed analysis of the last two academic years reveals:
• 5 students earned an “F” in the 2009-2010 academic year including 1 student who was taking
the class as “personal enrichment” 2 “AA-Transfer Students,” and 2 Medical Office
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 9
•
Management Tech Certificate students. Of these 2, this was the only course they took in that
semester which means they probably did not seek academic advising for that term and one of
those was on her second attempt after failing this course the previous academic year. The one
D was an Med Off Mgmt tech student who has since finished the full certificate and
graduated with a 3.0 GPA but had to miss 2 of the 5 class meetings due to being dislocated
from his home – he got Bs in his online courses that same semester. Note: If the pass rate in
2009-10 is adjusted to remove the 2 students who never attended (Zs), the pass rate increases
to an acceptable 80.5%.
The lowest pass rate, in 2008-09 was an anomaly in that enrollment was 10 in the fall. The
one F and the one D in the fall were both AA general transfer students. In the spring, there
were 14 students registered of which 6 received F or D, 4 were AA transfer students, 1 a fire
science AAS student and 1 is an office admin certificate student who took this course as a
first attempt and failed and was one of the students who failed a second attempt in fall 2010
above.
This course is challenging but it is apparent that the HIM degree students are all passing with at least
a C grade.
The higher pass rate in 2005/06 reflects the last year we used a textbook that was less complex than
the current text that is used today but adopted fall 2006 for the first time.
HIM 1003: Foundations of Health Information Management (3 credits)
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
33
6
25
17
34
115
D, F, or I
2
2
1
1
3
9
Withdrew
2
1
2
3
2
10
Total
Enrolled
37
9
28
21
39
134
%
Passed
89.2
66.7
89.3
81.0
87.2
85.8
%
Withdrew
0.0
11.1
7.1
14.3
5.1
7.5
This course is required for all students in either the HIM degree and its certificate or Office
Administration, Medical Office and its certificate. An 85.8% pass rate is acceptable for a strong
foundational course. Overall enrollment was low on the years the withdrawal rate was over 7.5
percent.
HIM 1012: Medicolegal Aspects of Records (2 credits)
Academic
Passed
Total
Year
A, B, or C D, F, or I Withdrew Enrolled
2005/06
23
0
2
25
2006/07
23
1
1
25
2007/08
32
2
0
34
2008/09
14
0
4
18
2009/10
29
9
10
48
Total
121
12
17
150
%
Passed
92.0
92.0
94.1
77.8
60.4
80.7
%
Withdrew
8.0
4.0
0.0
22.2
20.8
11.3
This course was moved from seated to fully online and taught by a different instructor in the 08-09
academic year making it attractive to other health program students (AA or Pre-nursing) as an
elective. Although overall enrollment dropped in 08-09 some of the students were other than the
HIM/Med Office students who take this required course. Another change that same year was a
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 10
change from a more basic text used almost exclusively by associate level students to a
comprehensive text used extensively by graduate, baccalaureate and associate level students
nationwide. Some of these programs have this course set as 3 credits due to the amount of
information students must learn to be successful as a result of recent increases in health law.
The 2009-10 academic year was unique because the HIM program started students in a grant-funded
certificate program (spring and summer 2010). In addition to students who would have taken this
course anyway, approximately 20 students were grant funded, unemployed workers, several of
whom had limited computer skills. Due to the grant structure, the first semester consisted of fully
online courses (HIM1012, HSC1531 and HSC1532). In retrospect, not having the cohort group in at
least one seated course was not a good “student success” decision. Of the 9 D/F/I grades in 09-10, 3
Fs were grant students and of the 10 withdrawals, 5 were grant students. If you remove the grant
students from the mix, the pass rate increases to 73%. The goal is to increase the pass rate to a
minimum of 80%. The program manager will work with the instructor to determine how we can
achieve this goal.
HIM 2442: Pharmacology & Lab Analysis (1 credit)
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
0
11
16
7
2
36
D, F, or I
0
0
0
2
1
3
Withdrew
0
0
0
1
1
2
Total
Enrolled
0
11
16
10
4
41
%
Passed
-100.0
100.0
70.0
50.0
87.8
%
Withdrew
-0.0
0.0
10.0
25.0
4.9
This course is only required for HIM degree students but is sometimes taken as an elective by other
students. Although the pass rate average is acceptable, the drop in percent passed in 2008-2009 was
due partially to a change in instructors and partially due to moving the class from seated to fully
online. Additionally, this course did not require a textbook as it had previously. The further drop in
2009-10 was due to a combination of low enrollment and the fact that there was another change in
instructors plus a complete re-design of the first online version of this course. A textbook was
required and was quite comprehensive for a 1-credit hour course. The current instructor has analyzed
the issues students reported and has already substantially improved course structure and content for
fall 2010. (This course is only offered one time per year).
HSC 1531: Medical Terminology 1 (2 credits)
Academic
Passed
Year
A, B, or C D, F, or I Withdrew
2005/06
87
12
6
2006/07
96
12
9
2007/08
93
8
5
2008/09
79
8
3
2009/10
141
23
19
Total
496
63
42
Total
Enrolled
105
117
106
90
183
601
%
Passed
82.9
82.1
87.7
87.8
77.0
82.5
%
Withdrew
5.7
7.7
4.7
3.3
10.4
7.0
It is important to note that although it takes both HSC1531 AND HSC1532 to learn all of the body
systems, almost twice as many students take the first level as the second. The reason for this
anomaly is that the students who don’t go on to level 2 are mostly students who took level 1 as an
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 11
elective but not a requirement. All HIM and Med Office students must take both levels to stay in the
program.
The only year this course pass rate was below an acceptable 80% was 2009-10. That year had two
factors influencing this course – both of which will not influence student pass rates again. First, of
the 19 who withdrew, 4 were grant students described above under HIM. Second, due to the increase
in popularity of health programs brought about by health being a growing career in a sluggish
economy and by federal funding for HIT programs, we hired a second adjunct instructor to start
teaching both levels of terminology beginning spring 2010. Although this instructor participated in
the seated portion of LSCC’s Blackboard Training, she did not complete training and was not able to
get her online course ready in time for the first day of class. It turns out there was a breakdown in
communications which was not remedied until students had already fallen behind in an intense 7week course. Although several people helped resolve the issue and the students were given relief on
the first major deadline, many students couldn’t keep up with such a rigorous pace after getting off
to a rocky start through no fault of their own. The second time this instructor taught the course, the
student performance was similar to that in the sections taught by the more experienced medical
terminology adjunct instructor. All other years this course has acceptable pass rates.
HSC 1532: Medical Terminology 2 (2 credits)
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
51
56
53
44
99
303
D, F, or I
4
5
4
3
4
20
Withdrew
3
2
6
0
4
15
Total
Enrolled
58
63
63
47
107
338
%
Passed
87.9
88.9
84.1
93.6
92.5
89.6
%
Withdrew
5.2
3.2
9.5
0.0
3.7
4.4
The pass rate in this course is very strong and reflects the fact that the students taking this course
had to pass the first level plus the fact that the majority of students in the second level require this
course for either HIM or Medical Office Admin/Management. The new instructor described under
Level 1 taught 2 sections of Level 2 in the 2009-10 academic year and had resolved the issues she
had with the first section of level 1 described above by the time level 2 began halfway through each
semester.
Please see Appendix A for tables of courses with acceptable pass rates that will be monitored to
ensure the success rate continues but do not need detailed analysis at this time including HIM2930
HIT Review which is a capstone course effective Fall 2009.
E.
Job Prospects
The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites medical records and health information technicians as one of the
20 fastest growing occupations in the US and this growth is projected to continue at about 20% per
year through 2018. (www.HICareers.com).
Nationally, job titles for entry-level graduates of an associate degree program (especially with an
RHIT) include: health data analyst, insurance claims analyst and data quality analyst paying an
average of $20,000.00-$30,000.00 per year. As the health information technician gains experience,
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 12
career growth includes titles such as records technician specialist, clinical coding specialist,
compliance specialist, patient information coordinator, medical staff coordinator, DRG/APC
coordinator, physician practice manager or health information services department manager. Salaries
for an experienced health information professional with an associate degree range from $25,000.00 $60,000.00 per year.
Locally, graduates have experienced temporary jobs paying $20 per hour to full-time jobs ranging
from $10-$14 per hour. Many graduates promote rapidly and make between $24,000-$50,000 per
year after 3-5 years of experience. For example, one recent graduate started working as a health
information analyst while still a student at $10.60 per hour. At her first annual review, she had
earned her associate degree so she received a larger than usual increase. She subsequently
volunteered in the department’s tumor registry and studied for the national exam as a certified tumor
registrar. After passing the exam, she was promoted to tumor registry and paid nearly $40,000.00 per
year after only having her degree for 2 years.
Another recent graduate had obtained the coding certificate and gained some medical office coding
and billing experience before deciding to come back to LSCC and earn the degree in HIM. She
worked in a temporary position for about six months after graduation and then was hired as an HIM
supervisor for a hospice center at a rate of about $29,000.00 per year.
The most recent graduate of this degree (May 2010) passed her RHIT and is being interviewed by a
software company to work as a health informatics specialist – a liaison between the end user and the
software developers. If hired, she’ll earn $13 per hour to start.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 13
III.
FACULTY PROGRAM DATA
A.
Organizational Structure
Dean of Career and
Technical Programs - Dr.
Mary Jo Rager
Vice President of
Academic and Student
Affairs - Dr. Barbara
Howard
Dean of General
Education and Transfer
Programs - Dr. Gary Sligh
Program Manager (50%)
and Program Full-Time
Instructor (50%) - Brandy
Ziesemer
Program Adjunct
Instructors
The HIM program manager reports directly to the Dean of Career and Technical Education
Programs. The HIM program manager has 50% release time from teaching responsibilities to
manage the program but often teaches overload. There are no other full-time positions in the HIM
department. The adjunct faculty who have taught in the program during the period of this program
review (2005-2006 through 2009-2010) report to the program manager directly but with oversight by
Dean Mary Jo Rager.
B.
Faculty Credentials and LSCC Teaching Summary
For a complete list of credentials for HIM faculty who taught in the spring or fall of 2009, please see
Appendix B. All current HIM faculty who were teaching any classes during these semesters or
subsequently have been alternatively credentialed to meet SACS requirements. Previous HIM
faculty members teaching in the five-year period covered by this program review were all eligible
under the alternate credentialing criteria established in 2009.
The following tables list course load by year for the five-year period for each person who has taught
or is currently teaching in the HIM program.
Full-Time Faculty with Number of Credit Hours Taught in Health Information Management Courses
Full-Time
Faculty
Haugabrooks#
Ziesemer B.
Total
Degree or
Certification
Alt. Cred*
Alt. Cred
Courses
Taught
Introduction to Healthcare
Most HIM Courses
2005/ 2006/ 2007/ 2008/ 2009/
06
07
08
09
10
2
2
2
2
2
39
37
33
39
36
41
39
35
41
38
# Full-time Nutrition faculty member
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 14
Adjunct Faculty with Number of Credit Hours Taught in Health Information Management Courses
Adjunct
Faculty
Bakuzonis K,
Ph.D, RHIA
Bird J, BSN
Bowe H, MS,
RHIA
Calhoun W,
AS, RHIT
Craine R, AS,
RHIT
Crews R,
MHSA, PA-C
Daniel S, MS
Dicus R, MS,
RHIA, LHRM
Freeman P,
BA, RHIA
Howard D,
MS, RHIA
Stowe C, MS
Zerbe M, BA,
RN
Degree or
Certification
Alt. Cred*
**
**
Alt. Cred
**
Alt. Cred
**
Alt. Cred
**
Alt. Cred
**
Alt. Cred
Courses
Taught
Medicolegal Aspects of Records
Medical Terminology I
2005/ 2006/ 2007/ 2008/ 2009/
06
07
08
09
10
6
2
4
2
3
Foundations of HIM
Medical Terminology I & II
4
4
4
4
4
3
Foundations of HIM
4
Medical Terminology I & II
Medical Terminology I
2
2
2
4
Medical Terminology I & II
Medicolegal Aspects of Records
Foundations of HIM; Healthcare Statistics;
CPT Coding & Reimbursement; Medical
Terminology Iⅈ Pharmacology Lab
Medical Terminology II
Medical Terminology I & II; Concepts of
Disease
Total
4
2
4
13
10
12
6
2
14
14
16
14
30
39
34
40
30
52
∗ The majority of full and part time faculty in the associate degree for HIM have alternate credentials for regional
accreditation purposes because the discipline has only had approved (CAHIIM-accredited) master’s degree programs for
the past few years. HIM is a multidisciplinary field involving primarily allied health, technology and business expertise.
Therefore, the RHIA or RHIT credential with directly related industry experience or an RN for medical science courses
is acceptable for SACS accreditation. The minimum credential for teaching in this program is the associate’s degree
with related work experience and appropriate industry credentials.
∗∗These adjunct instructors would qualify for alternate credentials but the program does not plan to use them again due
to retirement, relocation or the program manager’s discretion.
C.
Additional Responsibilities
The program manager receives 50 percent release time (fall and spring) from teaching duties and an
annual stipend for the hours worked on program management that fall outside the regular full-time
faculty contract. For example, the program manager officially works 10 days in the summer and
unofficially works substantial hours beyond those required under contract.
The program manager is responsible for:
• academic and career advising to some degree for all HIM degree-seeking students, Medical
Information Coder Biller certificate students and a large percent of the Medical Office
program students (degree and certificate).
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 15
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
D.
Preliminary graduation checks
Budgeting and managing the budget for HIM and for any HIM-related grant budgets and also
requesting funding from the HIM endowment (Laura Clark Memorial HIM Book Collection)
as needed to keep the HIM references current
Curriculum development, approval and improvement
Hiring and scheduling adjunct faculty with oversight by the dean
Course scheduling and book orders for all HIM courses
Annual HIM—related catalog maintenance
PPE, guest speaker and physician expo (student participants) coordination
Assisting graduates with job placement
Program marketing and community relations activities
Statewide participation on frameworks committees and other HIM-specific coordination with
colleagues including serving on committees for workforce-related activities such as a special
FHIMA task force on Health Information Exchange
Pursuit, implementation and maintenance of HIM-related grants with support from CTE staff
and administration
Advisory Committee Liaison activities
Articulation agreements both formal and informal
Assisting with Tech Prep activities
Maintaining program accreditation (CAHIIM) which requires specific surveys to be
distributed, returned and analyzed (students, graduates and employers), analysis of results of
graduates taking the national exams, an annual online program review, ensuring adjunct
faculty are appropriately credentialed including maintenance of CEs (program manager
requires 30 hours every 2 years for RHIA credential maintenance plus an additional 10 for
CCS credential maintenance), ensuring adequate resources for students, academic and career
advising, implementing changes as applicable based on industry trends and CAHIIM –
initiated changes and tracking program demographics
College Committees (during the review period, served as faculty liaison to Admin Council,
Distance Learning Subcommittee, Department Chair, Teaching and Learning, Human
Resources, SACS Subcommittees, Foundation Liaison, Enrollment Development, and
assisted with Catalog Committee.
Additional Faculty Needed
The following tables show the percent of HIM credits taught by adjunct and full-time faculty.
Number of Health Information Credit Hours Taught by Faculty Status and Academic Year
Academic Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Total Credits
80
73
75
71
90
389
Full Time
41
39
35
41
38
194
Adjunct
39
34
40
30
52
195
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Percent Full Time
51.2
53.4
46.7
57.8
42.2
49.9
Percent Adjunct
48.8
46.6
53.3
42.2
57.8
50.1
Page 16
Number of Health Information Credit Hours Taught by Faculty Status and Level of Course
Level of Course
Beginning
Intermediate
Advanced
Total
Total Credits
243
37
109
389
Full Time
57
32
105
194
Adjunct
186
5
4
195
Percent Full Time
23.5
86.5
96.3
49.9
Percent Adjunct
76.5
13.5
3.7
50.1
For the past five years, about half of the HIM credits have been taught by adjuncts, but as the
program continues to grow, that percent is increasing to catch the national trend. Nationally, in
associate degree level HIM/HIT programs, 69% of the courses are taught by adjunct faculty. This
trend is partially due to college funding limitations for full-time, master’s qualified faculty (even
with master’s in related disciplines such as informatics), partially to a limited number of HIM
professionals with master’s degrees and partially due to the fact that a master’s qualified professional
earns significantly more money, nationally, in industry than in the academic setting.
The program manager teaches a substantial number of overload credits which contributes to the
lower percentage of adjunct-taught credits when compared to the national trend. If the program
manager only taught her contracted amount then the picture drastically changes as shown below.
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Total
Credits
80
73
75
71
90
389
Contracted*
Full-Time Credits
17
17
17
17
17
85
Overload
Credits
24
22
18
24
21
109
Adjunct
Credits
39
34
40
30
52
195
Percent
Full-Time
21.3
23.3
22.7
23.9
18.9
21.9
Percent
Overload**
30.0
30.1
24.0
33.8
23.3
28.0
Percent
Adjunct
48.8
46.6
53.3
42.2
57.8
50.1
*50% release time for program manager + 2 credits taught by full-time nutrition faculty = 17 contracted credit hours for
each school year.
**Overload and summer.
There is a need for one full-time HIM instructor. This is consistent with a proposal pending in 2011
through CAHIM to require one full-time instructor in addition to the full-time program manager with
teaching responsibilities to increase academic and career advising by an HIM professional as well as
to create a stronger foundation for continuous quality improvement. Comments so far have indicated
that if adopted, this proposal may cause many smaller programs to close. The comments will be
accepted through March 2011 and then the resolution will go for either approval, modified approval
(perhaps programs with fewer than 50 students would be exempt) or rejection.
From summer of 2010 through the 2010-11 academic year, grant funding enabled the program to
hire part-time people for both assistance with curriculum development – especially application
exercises for increased hand-on experience on a number of HIT-related software programs – and for
assisting students with classroom demonstrations and homework assignments involving any of the
several types of software used in the program and assisting with professional practice experience
coordination. Performance-earned funding will enable the program to have 60 hours per semester of
help for ongoing support of application activities and PPE coordination as well as assisting with job
placement (curriculum development for new courses is complete). Given AHIMA/CAHIIM’s
proposal discussed in the previous section, to require programs have, at a minimum, a full-time
program manager plus a full-time faculty position, and given the program growth which is projected
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 17
to continue, the program would greatly benefit from a half-time professional practice coordinator
with responsibilities for assisting students with hands-on technology application activities that
prepare students for their PPEs and supplement site time in PPEs. This support would substantially
increase the program manager’s ability to more effectively advise students with an emphasis on the
transition from college to the workforce and to meet the rising demand for teaching more sections of
medical coding (including the transition to a new diagnostic coding system that will require courses
for existing coders (CE) and the responsibility of teaching both coding systems during the transition
period (ending with an implementation date of Oct 13, 2013).
E.
Faculty Development
All adjunct faculty maintain their credentials through continuing education activities plus some of
the adjunct faculty take advantage of LSCC’s Professional Development Center. The program
manager routinely exceeds CE maintenance. During this period, this included both HIM-specific and
general professional development activities such as:
• Completing an 18-credit hour graduate certificate in medical informatics teaching and
integration through the University of West Florida
• Several online industry-specific webinars
• Conferences for: AHIMA national, Assembly on Education Summer Symposium, FHIMA
state conference, and PAHCOM (Professional Association of Healthcare Office
Management)
• Guest lectures on Electronic Health Records and on Medical Office Revenue Cycle Issues
• Co-authored a book with two colleagues that requires annual editing; in progress of authoring
a text on Medical Office Management and Technology (both for LWW Wolters Kluwer) that
has received excellent feedback from reviewers for the first draft of each chapter and should
be published by the end of 2011; and contributed a chapter to a medical informatics text
• Actively participating on a statewide task force to develop a toolkit for health information
exchange that can be used by health information professionals as a guide
• Serve on a statewide frameworks committee for HIM, Coding Certificate and Medical
Transcription
• Facilitated two online mini-courses in electronic health records and patient safety for a pilot
group of local physicians and practice managers plus a second group of Lake and Sumter
County high school allied health instructors
F.
Faculty Evaluation
An annual analysis of student feedback of all HIM adjunct faculty along with the program manager
has resulted in mostly positive feedback for those instructors the program still uses as active
instructors.
One of the current instructors is frequently criticized because her online exams are structured so the
student only receives a score, not any feedback of which questions the student missed or what the
correct answer should have been. The program manager has discussed the instructor’s philosophy
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 18
with her at length and fully supports her methods. The instructor feels that test integrity for fully
online, non-proctored assessments would be compromised if students have a chance to review the
details of their test results. On the other hand, she posts discussion topics for all students once she
analyzes the results of an exam. These discussions address any topic that she feels students need to
go back and review and why. Additionally, she invites each student who is concerned about their
results to ask her specifically where they were weak on that exam and she’ll reply or even call each
student to discuss areas on the assessment where the student may have missed or misunderstood the
concept related to something they missed on the test.
There are no other consistent areas where students express disagreement or criticism of the
instructors.
Each year, the program manager must review student feedback of instruction for each adjunct
instructor and provide results on the annual CAHIIM program review along with a plan for
correcting any areas where the instructor received a low overall rating.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 19
IV.
STUDENT DATA
Originally, in 1997-98 when we received capitalization incentive grant money to start the HIM
degree and Coding Certificate Program, the economy was decent but with the growth of the
healthcare industry in Lake and Sumter Counties, a needs assessment confirmed that more health
information professionals were needed in the region. However, since HIM is not a common choice
for traditional students coming right out of high school and a lot of good candidates already either
had lesser day jobs in local health facilities or worked in an unskilled but full-time position and who
didn't think nursing was a viable choice for them, expressed an interest in a career change to a nonnursing allied health career. Therefore, the original program was designed with the classes all being
available at night so a person with a full-time day job could attend classes part-time at night over a
few years and obtain the degree.
With the shifts in economy, there is more interest in a full-time program but not enough to justify
offering both a day and a night time program. Also, we are moving toward making 50% of the
program or more available online so that may meet everyone's needs - full and part-time students.
A.
Enrollment
The following graph and table show trends in program enrollment for both the AAS degree and the
certificate program.
H. I. M. Programs Enrollment
Fall 2005 - Summer 2010
60
50
40
A.A.S.
30
20
10
Summer 10
Spring 10
Fall 2009
Summer 09
Spring 09
Fall 2008
Summer 08
Spring 08
Fall 2007
Summer 07
Spring 07
Fall 2006
Summer 06
Spring 06
0
Medical Coder/Biller Certificate
Fall 2005
Number of Students Enrolled
70
Source: LSCC Banner Data, November 2010
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 20
Program
Headcount Enrollment*
06/07
07/08
08/09
09/10
05/06
06/07
07/08
08/09
09/10
40
10
50
37
13
50
34
20
54
41
16
57
79
30
109
17.0
3.2
20.2
17.0
4.7
21.7
18.0
6.3
24.3
17.5
3.9
21.4
35.4
9.3
44.7
AAS – Health Info Tech
Cert – Coder/Biller
Total
*
**
FTE Enrollment**
05/06
Headcount Enrollment – unduplicated headcount within a school year.
FTE Enrollment – total LSCC credits taken by all students in program divided by 30.
The increase in enrollment in HIM programs is the result of several factors. First, national awareness
of the HIM/HIT profession skyrocketed early in 2009 due to the HITECH part of the American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act which funded a variety of programs incentivizing physicians to
convert from paper to interoperable electronic health records, training programs and programs that
hire grads of HIT programs to assist providers in obtaining the available incentives and make
progress toward national health information exchange.
Secondly, a weak economy has resulted in record numbers of people seeking re-training in a growth
career due to a decline in jobs in certain other fields such as construction, real estate and other hardhit industries. Healthcare is a huge growth market and Lake County has a greater than average
number of aging citizens creating a higher than average demand for healthcare workers.
The third factor was a grant that paid tuition and fees for approximately 23 students (of which 14
have been successful) unemployed workers to train in an informatics certificate program – all credit
hours apply to the degree in HIM. This program did not have its own code when the cohort group
started in Spring 2009 so everyone was registered under the HIM AAS degree which inflated the
numbers.
Percent of Students enrolled in Health Information Management Programs by Demographic
Characteristic During Fall Terms
Student Characteristic
Female
Black
Hispanic
White
Other Ethnicities
Unknown
Under 18 Years Old
18 – 21
22 – 25
26 – 35
36 – 45
46 – 55
56 and older
Number of Students
Enrolled
Health Information Programs
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
94.1% 97.2% 89.7% 89.2% 89.8%
All LSCC
Students
Fall 2009
Students Enrolled
in CTE Programs,
Fall 2009
63.0%
64.4%
17.6%
5.9
70.6
5.9
0.0
0.0%
11.8
5.9
29.4
29.4
20.6
2.9
16.7%
0.0
77.8
5.5
0.0
0.0%
13.9
8.3
30.6
27.8
19.4
0.0
10.2%
7.7
76.9
2.6
2.6
2.6%
15.4
7.7
25.6
23.1
20.5
5.1
13.5%
8.1
64.9
2.7
10.8
0.0%
8.1
10.8
18.9
40.5
10.8
10.8
22.0%
6.8
62.7
3.4
5.1
0.0%
6.8
15.2
11.9
22.0
28.8
15.2
11.3%
11.7
68.4
4.1
4.6
13.5%*
46.1
12.3
13.5
9.2
4.2
1.2
13.1%
10.6
70.0
2.8
3.5
1.4%
29.5
15.5
21.6
17.4
10.8
3.8
34
36
39
37
59
4,740
793
* Includes dual-enrolled students
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 21
LSCC HIM student characteristics are very similar to the national figures. A national survey of
students in HIM programs (all levels from associate through masters) reflects the national average in
2009 of: 89% female; 13% black, 6.6% Hispanic, 71.7% white, and approximately 10% other
ethnicities. Age groups revealed: 18-22 (19% - probably higher if the associate level was reported
separately from the baccalaureate level students based on discussions with colleagues at both levels),
23-33 (26%), 34-44 (25%), and 45-55 (24%). The average age of HIM professionals is 46 years.
Progression of Students through program:
Experience has shown that many students enroll in the degree instead of the coding certificate
because the coding certificate did not qualify for financial aid (except through Workforce Investment
Act programs) until recently. Of those students, some of them finish the coding certificate, look for
work and then come back to complete the rest of the degree (certificate is 34 of the 67 hours required
for the associate degree). Other self-pay students enroll for the certificate but decide they would like
the full degree.
Regardless of whether or not a student starts out with the intent of earning the degree, they are
advised to complete the medical sciences (anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, concepts
of disease) first or as co-requisites as they progress from beginning, to intermediate and then
advanced courses as outlined in the college catalog. Degree students are also advised to work on all
general education courses from the start.
B.
Retention
True retention is hard to measure because students don’t always use the most appropriate program
code when registering. Sometimes they register for an AA when they are actually pursing the AAS
and sometimes they register for HIM for financial aid purposes but are actually in a pre-allied health
program planning to transfer to a college that offers that degree such as dental hygiene or physical
therapy assisting. Until recently, this problem was complicated by the fact that the medical
information coder biller certificate was not eligible for federal financial aid so many students
registered for the full degree even if their intent was just to complete the certificate program.
For the purposes of the annual CAHIIM program review, the program manager only counts those
students for retention and attrition who have sought advising from the program manager or who have
responded to an instructor survey in an introductory class such as Foundations of HIM that they are
pursuing the HIM degree regardless of what they are actually registered under.
The results reported to CAHIIM for the degree only, using standard reports with manual adjustments
based on program manager’s advising records are as follows (any variance from the student tables
located earlier in this section are due to the issues mentioned above):
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 22
Academic Year
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
Enrollments
41
46
52
45
69
Graduates
5
4
9
4
3
Attrition
3
2
3
4
7* Includes grant certificate students who
Remaining
33
40
40
37
59
were enrolled in degree as a holding place
TOTAL Period
C.
253
26
19
59
Graduation
The following table displays the number of program graduates each academic year. The trend in the
HIM degree program of peaking in 2008-09 (for this 5-year cycle) and declining in 2009-10 is not a
concern because some of the HIM-required courses are only offered once per year and these courses
also have prerequisites. Students sometimes meet each other and become study partners resulting in
taking courses together and graduating as an informal cohort group while other times students don’t
for those cohorts. Also, many of the students who were able to take more classes before the decline
in the economy had to stop-out of school or cut-back on coursework to work more hours.
Number of Program Graduates
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
AAS – Health Information Technology
5
4
9
4
3
Five-Year
Total
25
Cert – Medical Information Coder/Biller
7
5
5
4
4
25
12
9
14
8
7
50
Health Information Management Programs
Total
Academic Year
Characteristics of the 50 graduates over the five-year period from Fall 2005 through Summer 2010.
All CTE
AAS
Cert
Programs
Health Info
Coder/Biller
(n=815)
Percent of Graduates with Characteristic
Gender
Female
84.0
100.0
65.0
Male
16.0
0.0
35.0
Ethnicity/Race
White
88.0
80.0
82.4
Minority
12.0
12.0
16.1
Unknown
0.0
8.0
1.5
Age
21 and under
0.0
4.0
8.8
22 – 25
20.0
16.0
22.3
26 – 35
16.0
24.0
33.4
36 – 45
28.0
20.0
24.2
46 – 55
24.0
20.0
9.2
56 and older
12.0
16.0
2.1
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 23
The average GPA for students in both programs for the five academic years covered by the program
review has been 3.0 or higher. As discussed earlier in the grade distributions, students tend to do
well in the program courses for the AAS degree and certificate.
Average GPA of Program Graduates
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
D.
HIM - AAS
Total
Average
Graduates
GPA
5
3.5
4
3.3
9
3.1
4
3.0
3
3.6
Coder/Biller Certificate
Total
Average
Graduates
GPA
7
3.0
5
3.1
5
3.3
4
3.1
4
3.0
All LSCC Graduates
Total
Average
Graduates
GPA
475
3.1
587
2.9
549
3.0
648
3.0
692
3.0
Success and Completion Rates
The vast majority of HIM degree and Coder/Biller certificate are part-time as shown on the
following chart and take anywhere from 1-5 years to complete the certificate or the degree.
Full-Time Enrollment
Fall 2005 - Summer 2010
60%
Percent Enrolled FT
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
AS HIM
Cert Coder/Biller
Other CTE
Programs
AA
LSCC
Some people who complete the certificate come back and work on the degree but there is often a gap
between completing coding and returning to work on the degree. The program has actually had a few
completers who take as long as 7 years to complete the degree. Some of the attrition from the degree
program is because of a common misconception that coding and billing is a medical office
profession that is more business than allied health. The reality is that medical offices employ
insurance or billing specialists (offered through our medical office management certificate at LSCC
but with a misleading title) but call these specialists coder billers even though they aren’t required to
have a strong medical science background. Professional coders, on the other hand, actually read,
analyze and make decisions based on documentation in complex medical records using reports such
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 24
as operative reports, pathology, laboratory, medication administration, progress notes, history and
physicals, discharge summaries etc and primarily work for hospitals or large, multi-specialty
physician groups. Students hear that medical coding and billing is a good profession so they register
and don’t always see the program manager before they take an anatomy class and fail the course.
The program manager will differentiate clearly between the HIM program and the Medical Office
program whenever possible but some students register for HIM and switch to Medical Office or else
quit altogether without seeking advisement.
Completion
With smaller programs, changes in the number of graduates or enrolled students will drastically
affect the completion percent. As shown below, the number of graduates as a percent of the number
of enrolled students has fluctuated over the five-year period. The most recent year, 2009/10 had a
significant increase in enrollment which affected the completion greatly. The college-wide percent
is approximately 10%. It is anticipated that a larger number of HIM graduates will be seen over the
next several years to accompany the recent increase in enrollment.
HIM - AAS
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Coder/Biller Certificate
Enrolled*
Graduated
%
Enrolled*
Graduated
%
40
37
34
41
79
5
4
9
4
3
12.5
10.8
26.5
9.8
3.8
10
13
20
16
30
7
5
5
4
4
70.0
38.5
25.0
25.0
13.3
* Unduplicated headcount
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 25
V.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
A.
Budget
2009-2010
Expenditures
(Actual)
$4033.82
Expenditures
(Budgeted)
$5561.00
2008-2009
$5230.33
$5661.00
2007-2008
$7189.28
$5461.00
2006-2007
2005-2006
$5428.17
(est)$5800.00
$5843.00
$5817.00
Year
Academic
Year
2009/10
2008/09
2007/08
2006/07
Total
Expenditures
$92,513
82,316
100,278
85,951
Notes
Expenditures reduced from previous year due to grant funding that paid
for certain expenses traditionally budgeted under Fund 1 HIM such as
travel, e-resources etc. that were used for the grant but benefitted the
degree program as well.
The program is fully supported from a budget perspective between fund
1, an HIM-resource endowment, SPD, Perkins, Foundation projects and
grants
The difference was covered by transferring funds from other budgets in
the CTE program
Budget fully funded
Budget fully funded
FTE Students in
HIM Courses
41.87
24.79
31.37
29.69
Expenditures
per FTE
$2,209.53
3,320.53
3,196.62
2,894.95
Fees per
Credit Hour
84.53
76.37
72.39
64.40
Fee Revenue
per FTE
$2,535.90
2,291.10
2,171.70
1,932.00
Grant Information: Two cost-based grants for new EHR and Informatics Programs with
performance incentive funds were awarded in 2009. The first was New and Emerging, a non-credit
grant that ran from January 2010 through December 21, 2010.
The final report for 12/31/2010 is not yet available but any money not spent reverted back to
Workforce Central Florida. LSCC did earn the full possible amount of performance funding which
was $25,000.00. Some of the cost-based expenses also helped with some expenses that would
normally come from fund 1 for the HIM degree such as help with software expenses and reference
books used by both grant students and regular HIM students. Approximately $2,000.00 of the
incentive money was spent on travel and conferences for the grant program manager and for the
HIM program manager. The balance rolled into the HIM program development budget.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 26
The second grant, Paperless Initiative began in January of 2010 and will end June 30, 2011. The
purpose of the grant was to develop a new, 18-credit hour healthcare informatics certificate program
that provides a new specialization in the HIM AAS and AS degree (both effective fall 2010).
This grant was also cost-based with performance money available. The maximum that can be earned
with the current number of students is $21,000.00 (if all 14 remaining students complete Spring
2011 and get training related jobs by the end of June 2011). As with the first grant, some of the costbase expenses, especially curriculum development and software benefitted the HIM program as well
as the grant students.
B.
Support Services
In addition to support all programs receive such as the career center, the media center, the center for
teaching and learning, academic advising etc. along with faculty secretarial support and support by
the Dean of Careers and Technical Education’s staff, this program receives grant support, support
from an endowment through the Foundation and occasionally a work study student or volunteer.
Other critical support services include distance learning staff and IT for a variety of program-specific
software. Finally, several software programs have been donated to the program and the budget
supports a hands-on virtual lab annual subscription fee.
C.
Facilities and Equipment
The program has access to two computer classrooms and two smart classrooms for all evening
courses. The program does not offer daytime courses. Distance Learning and IT Staff support all
online course delivery. IT also supports specialized software for the HIM program.
There is a dedicated library of HIM resources purchased through a living endowment in an area of
the Leesburg Campus Library. Additional resources used routinely during a semester are housed in
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 27
the program manager’s office. The manager’s office is more than adequate and is equipped with an
updated desktop computer, printer, telephone, file cabinet, bookshelf, large desk and chair.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 28
VI.
MEASURES OF PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS
A.
Student Learning Outcomes
There are six SLOs for this degree program. SLO 2 is also the only SLO for the coding certificate.
Each of the SLO’s is presented in the tables that follow along with the analysis of results and plans
for improvements.
SLO 1: Manages health care data according to established legal and accrediting agency guidelines
and standards.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Initial Analysis of Results
Spring 2010
HIM 1012
HIM 2820
HIM2930
(note, with HIM2930
as a capstone, will
shift to using
HIM1012 as an SLO
developed rather than
assessed mode
beginning Fall 2010)
Although these courses were not formally assessed
until Spring 2010, starting in the fall the instructor
for HIM1012 noted a decline in performance by
students on early assessments. By early spring,
2010, she realized she had made some assumptions
based on the college where she had been teaching
this course that our students had Introduction to
Healthcare as a prerequisite. When she realized we
did not, she recommended the change and
meanwhile integrated some key basic information
into her course. HIM2820 and HIM2930 only had
1 student, the same one, who demonstrated full
mastery of these learning outcomes. However,
during spring of 2009, it became obvious that this
should be a capstone course with a mock exam to
ensure that all graduates, not just those who take
the national RHIT exam, demonstrate mastery of
all program SLOs at graduation.
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
HIM1012: Curriculum revision to require
Introduction to Healthcare submitted and
approved. Since this change was not made
before the paper catalog deadline for 201011, students Fall 2010 will take this course
as a co-requisite the first 5 weeks of the
semester. Instructor has added some
supplemental information to the online
lectures to give students a stronger
foundation until the prerequisite is fully
implemented. HIM2820: No significant
changes are necessary at this time but will
continue to monitor each semester.
HIM2930 – Curriculum change effective
Fall of 2009 to make it mandatory to pass a
mock national exam or take the actual
national exam during the last semester in
order to pass the course.
SLO 2: Identifies correct diagnostic and procedural codes and uses the appropriate classification
systems/nomenclatures to correlate the timeliness, completeness and accuracy of coded data for
research, quality and reimbursement purposes.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Analysis of Results
Spring-Summer 2010
HIM 2810 and
HIM2930 (Coding
Specialization) OR
HIM2222C and
HIM2253C for new
informatics
specialization (new
Fall 2010)
Assessed Spring & Sumer 2009. Not assessed F09
(didn’t make). The combined results for this small,
independent study (9 students total) revealed two
significant findings: Students aren’t getting handson exposure to the reimbursement aspects of
hospital coding; and, this course exceeds the
requirements for the HIM program so it is not
beneficial to those who are going to specialize in
another area of HIM.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
Two improvements have been initiated for
fall 2010 implementation: (1) Provide an
alternative PPE for those students more
interested in healthcare informatics than in
coding; and, require a minimum of 2 hours
in the hospital business department for
students who do take the coding PPE and,
provide some reimbursement‐focused
exercises on the V‐Lab for this course.
Page 29
For SLO 2, changes are approved for fall of 2010. Assessment of students in the spring and summer
of 2010 did not reveal any additional areas of improvement but more of both types of encoder
assignments will be added Fall 2010 using the 3M and QuadraMed applications on the Virtual Lab.
3M is used by all local hospitals but students will get some exposure before conducting the onsite
portion of this practicum. The virtual lab has actual medical records to code and analyze
reimbursement
SLO 3: Performs health information analysis tasks such as abstracting data and calculating,
interpreting and presenting statistics and coded data for research.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Analysis of Results
Spring-summer 2010:
HIM 2820
HIM2930
Not assessed Fall 09. Spring and Summer 2010
assessed but only 1 student each term. Both
students performed well but didn’t get as much
exposure to the statistical applications at the
facilities as necessary
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
Fall of 2010, will supplement onsite
experience with a cancer registry database
assignment, including statistical analysis
and data presentation, using a new
application on the virtual lab.
SLO 4: Applies principles of legal and ethical behavior as they relate to legal aspects of health
information and healthcare delivery.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Analysis of Results
Spring 2010
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
HIM 2820
HIM2930
Assessed spring of 2010 but only one student and
that student was rated high in all aspects of the
PPE
Will incorporate more release of
information and other HIPAA activities in
the virtual lab for fall 2010.
SLO 5: Uses specialized and general health information technology and systems including:
communication technologies; database architecture and design; data collection/abstracting; storage
and retrieval; data security; and healthcare information management.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Analysis of Results
Spring 2010:
HIM 2820
HIM2815 (new course
approved for Spring
The student assessed in Spring 2010 demonstrated
2011)
excellent technology application skills.
HIM2930
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
As the result of an increase in technology
used in HIM recently (e-referral systems
and more interoperable EHRs as well as
more sophisticated revenue cycle tracking
systems, the technology students are
exposed to will substantially increase fall
2010. The Virtual lab has more applications
that will be integrated more fully into the
curriculum; a leading Electronic Health
Record with Integrated Practice
Management System was donated to the
college and graduates have been creating
hands on activities with real medical
records for student use; an electronic
referral system and a voice recognition
Page 30
software package were also donated and
will be incorporated into all practicums plus
the technology-based classes and the
hospitals have the students doing more
systems-based work during practicums.
SLO 6: HIM-6 Applies the principles of organizing and managing resources including human,
financial, and physical resources.
Courses assessing
for this SLO
Analysis of Results
Spring 2010
HIM2820
HIM2930
Results of assessments spring 2010 in these
courses demonstrate the didactic courses that
introduce and develop these management skills are
effective.
B.
Plans for Improvements –
Instruction & ProcessBased on Analysis of Results
No changes planned currently to improve
this SLO, however, will continue to monitor
each semester and ask for suggestions Fall
2010 from the advisory committee
Employment of Graduates/Transfer to Universities
(HIM Degree Only)
Academic
Number of
Year
Graduates
Transfer
Rate
Notes
4 of 5 placed; 5th decided to retire
2005-06
5
80%
0
instead
4 of 5 placed; 5th was eventually
2006-07
5
80%
0
employed but it took longer than a
year after graduation
8 of 9 placed; 9th moved out of
2007-08
9
88.9%
0
state to find work and decided to
change fields
1 of 4 placed and 3 of 4 transferred
2008-09
4
25%
75%
to work on bachelor’s*
2009-10
3
33%
66%
1 of 3 placed and 2 of 3 transferred
*Graduates of the HIM degree during this review period transferred to: UCF to pursue BS in HIM or
Healthcare Services Administration (3), University of Cincinnati for HIM (online, special
nationwide articulation for people with RHIT(1) and one out-of-state online for business
administration.
C.
Placement
Rate
National Exam Results
The RHIT credential is not required for most jobs in the HIM/HIT field so only some graduates take
the exam. It is also expensive to take the exam – approximately $300.00. The results for those who
have taken it during the five years covered by this program review are as follows (one year is
measured from 10/1 to 9/30):
2009-2010
One student took the exam but exceeded national average in all categories – 100% pass
2008-2009
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 31
3 of 3 passed (100%). Of the 3, 2 strongly exceeded the national average in all categories and 1 was
slightly below in some of the categories that he didn’t do well in for the courses where those subjects
are introduced and developed.
2007-2008
1 of 1 (0% passed) failed the national exam. This student who failed graduated in 2002 and
attempted the exam for the first time in 2008 after having a mild heart attack during the prep time for
the exam and after repeatedly cancelling appointments with the program manager to help her with a
study plan.
2006-2007
1 of 1 passed (100%) and exceeded the national average in all but 3 categories and was only slightly
below in those areas.
2005-2006
7 of 8 passed (88%) and all but one of those 7 exceeded the national average in all categories.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 32
D.
Program Strengths and Weaknesses
The HIM AAS degree and the certificate in Medical Coding and Billing at LSCC enjoy many
strengths. As is evidenced in this review, student success rates in core program courses are strong
and most years, the percentage of graduates who either transfer to a university or get a job in the
field is 100%. The community is very supportive of these programs as is demonstrated in the
participation of Advisory Members in both formal meetings and in informal discussions with the
program manager throughout the year as well as their support in offering student professional
practice sites and considering graduates for jobs. The partnership with the Lake Sumter Medical
Society over the past couple of years has increased physician awareness of what a graduate of these
programs can do for them. Prior to that, the majority of students worked in hospital HIM
departments after graduation.
These programs are on the leading edge of new technology in health care. Although the HIM
program curriculum has included electronic health records, the goals of an interoperable national
health information exchange network and the importance of correct coding for research, quality
improvement and reimbursement since its inception at LSCC, many of the graduates have gotten
jobs where the technology caught up with their knowledge after they had been on the job for some
amount of time. This led to promotions for some graduates as local hospitals implemented electronic
health records and will lead to a high demand for hospital coders as the diagnostic coding system
undergoes significant changes to accommodate interoperability and increased specificity for
research.
Meanwhile, due to the passage of the HITECH Act in 2009 and significant incentives for physicians
to adopt interoperable electronic health records, new graduates in 2011 and beyond will enjoy a
mutually beneficial employment relationship in physician practices whereby they learn how the
practice operates while concurrently teaching experience workers how to use electronic health
records efficiently and, when the time comes, how to code using the new system.
The HITECH Act resulted in LSCC receiving two grants related to electronic health records and
informatics as well as a Regional Extension Center that is focused on hiring graduates and possibly
using student interns to help Central Florida physicians select, implement, train and maintain the best
EHR for their practice. One of the credit hour program grant students was already hired by the REC
for $55K per year. Another grant employee found a directly related job for almost $13 per hour at a
local hospital. Many of the students are working with Lake-Sumter Medical Society for their
professional practice to convert the administrative side and at least one clinic for We Care from
paper to electronic health records.
In addition to grant funding, the program received a life endowment of $12,000.00 in 2000. The
program manager is allowed to spend any profits this investment generates to buy books and other
reference materials for the program. The Laura Clark Memorial HIM Book Collection is housed on
the Leesburg Campus in the Library with some books maintained in the program manager’s office.
Another strength is the fact that Workforce includes the HIM degree and the Coder/Biller certificate
in its list of programs eligible for Workforce Investment Act candidates has led to many new
students from that resource. Also, recently, the medical coder/biller certificate qualifies for federal
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 33
financial aid which will possibly increase enrollment and make reporting more accurate as these
students will no longer sign up for the degree when they only want the certificate.
Between an annual subscription to a VLAB consisting of approximately five major, commonly used
hospital health information systems (databases, tracking, EHR, coding and grouping, release of
information and master patient index management) budgeted in fund 1 most years but split with
grants 2009-10 and 2010-11, 2 large donated physician-based systems (an EHR with Practice
Management and an e-Referral system) for which the grants paid a 5-year server lease beginning in
2009-10 until the college can host the server in-house, EHR software that comes free with one of the
texts and a free, web-based EHR, the students get hands-on experience with all of these systems
before they go out to sites for their professional practice experiences.
Finally, the last course in the HIM degree has been changed to a capstone course in which the
students must either pass a proctored mock exam or take the national RHIT exam in order to pass the
exam. This will increase the number of students who take the national exam and motivate them to
pass it. It will also ensure that every graduate is at least minimally competent for any entry-level job
in HIM.
On the areas that need to be reviewed for quality improvement opportunities include the following:
• A more consistent way to ensure students register for the exact program code they plan to
pursue as soon as they decide
• Continued discussions with academic advisors regarding the impact of having CTE program
students register for an AA degree instead
• Students would benefit by more hands-on experience than will fit into the program but many
cannot afford to volunteer so the program director is working with Advisory Members and
other employers to see if a pool of paid interns can be formed for EHRs as well as coding.
The students receive adequate hands-on for all other jobs this degree prepares them for at
entry-level.
• Many students cannot afford the coding certification or the RHIT certification exams so they
delay taking them until they can save enough money which often takes so long that they
either never take it or they have forgotten a lot of things that they learned in the program
• The program has difficulty recruiting qualified adjunct instructors and would probably have
trouble finding a qualified full time instructor. The challenge in finding qualified adjuncts is
difficult because most potential applicants have 50-60 hour per week management jobs and
don’t have time or energy to teach. Some of these individuals would teach online but have
trouble getting motivated to take our online Blackboard training without any reimbursement
for the extensive time they spend between attending classes and completing the online
assignments. The training is critical but perhaps we can find a way to pay the adjuncts a
stipend. The full time instructor issue is that most qualified HIM instructors make
significantly more money in industry so even when they are interested in teaching, it’s hard
to take such a large cut in pay. Finally, LSCC has more need for additional full-time faculty
than the budget can handle in most years.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 34
VII.
USE OF PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
During the 5 year period under review, significant changes have occurred in the HIM curriculum to
meet the demands of local employers for a well-trained HIM workforce and the requirements of the
national accrediting agency. The sources for continuous program assessment and improvement
include: Advisory Committee Members, Lake-Sumter Medical Society Members, Student
evaluations of instructor and graduate surveys; employer (of graduates) surveys, results on the
national RHIT examination, and discussions with colleagues both in Florida and at the national
Assembly on Education. The program manager tracks trends in industry through research and
attending professional conferences. Finally, some changes are dictated by the Florida Department of
Education.
Significant program changes based on these results include increased technology in the degree
program, a decrease in management, turning the course that is a review for the national examination
from a tool for students to prepare for the exam to a capstone course that culminates in a mock exam
(or the students taking the actual national exam which they are permitted to do during the semester
they plan to graduate) covering all HIT entry-level competencies described in the program SLOs.
Effective Fall 2010, the program added an Associate of Science option for those students wanting to
transfer to a university but who had trouble doing so previously with an AAS degree. Also effective
Fall 2010, students can chose to specialize in medical coding or they can select a healthcare
informatics specialization. Guest speakers have increased. The annual “mock” technology expo for
Advisory Members and guests has been changed to students in an EHR and informatics class during
the fall semester actually exhibit assigned projects at the Lake-Sumter Medical Society annual
physicians’ expo in November. All HIM students still host a fall mixer after the fall Advisory
Committee Meeting to kickoff National Health Information and Technology Week as well as to
mingle with future employers. Hands-on application exercises have increased along with the variety
of software that is offered through the program.
The program is considered a partner of the Lake Sumter Medical Society and is also mentioned as a
partner in education with the UWF medical informatics certificate program. Physicians, practice
managers, and HIM professionals at the hospitals in Lake County along with the UCF Regional
Extension Center and the Adventist Hospital HIT recruiters are all aware of the program’s currency
with teaching students how to select, implement, customize, optimize, train and maintain EHRs. In
2011, the new PPE in Healthcare Informatics consists of 17 students, 10 of whom are working on a
high-visibility project for the county’s We Care clinics to convert the administrative function and at
least 1 clinic from paper to electronic health records including having students set up the network,
security, create and conduct HIPAA privacy and security training, develop forms, scan old paper
records into a free web-based EHR, write a compliance manual and a disaster recovery plan. This
process also includes forms design. There are templates from which the students are customizing
policies and procedures. The project is on schedule as of March 2011.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 35
VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION PLAN
A. The Future of HIM at LSCC
Moving forward, the HIM program at LSCC is projected to grow in both enrollment and in certificate offerings to meet the
growing local demands for a workforce capable of assisting physicians implement and maintain electronic health records and
health information exchange systems. The new AS degree option in HIM will also assist students who desire a bachelor’s degree
in HIM or a related health field to articulate to a university more efficiently and increase opportunities for formal articulation
agreements. A part-time professional practice experience coordinator in the near future and the addition of a full-time faculty
position in the next year or so will enable the program manager to formally increase the amount of exposure students get to the
information technology aspect of deploying and maintaining electronic health record systems in physician practices. Successful
grant awards will accelerate the ability of the program manager to have more hardware applications incorporated into the preprofessional practice experience coursework. The increase in staff and faculty will also provide an opportunity to reach more
providers and establish partnerships that include many sites where students can conduct their professional practice experience
with the assurance that if they perform well, they will most likely be hired upon graduation if not prior to graduation. The increase
in staff and faculty will also enable the program manager to more efficiently follow trends and ensure statewide curriculum and
the LSCC program is meeting the ever-changing needs of both the traditional healthcare facility employers of HIM and Health
Information Coder Certificate graduates and the emerging needs of the physician-based practices in moving from low-technology
and standardized procedures to high technology, complex quality and reimbursement driven procedures. An example is having
the program manager trained as an ICD-10 Instructor to prepare students for the demands of a much more clinically-oriented
method of coding medical records for hospitals and physicians as well as to help train existing employees in preparation for the
transition.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 36
B. Recommendations
Recommendations (R), Action Plans (AP), and Criterion for
Evaluation (C)
(R) Hire a part-time Professional Practice Coordinator (for
onsite, in-house software and virtual lab components) who
would also coordinate non-credit/continuing education
short-term training requests and assist with job placement of
graduates
(AP) Step 1 –Hire a Professional Practice Experience (PPE)
coordinator for 60 hours each Fall 2011 and Spring 2012
semesters. Step 2- formalize a half-time position beginning
fall 2012 including summer hours
Time Frame
Step 1
Request for
FY 12
Step 2
Request for
FY 13
(C) Reduction of program manager’s non-teaching
responsibilities
(R) Have program manager trained as a certified ICD-10
instructor.
July 2011
(AP) Attend training in conjunction with Summer 11 AOE
symposium in San Antonio and pass test to become a
certified ICD-10 trainer?
(C) Program manager will obtain certification before fall
2011.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Person(s)
Responsible
Qualified person will be hired for 120 hours for Program
academic year 2011-12 to coordinate all PPE
Manager;
activities including virtual lab components and Dean of CTE
follow-up with site supervisors after student
Programs
has been placed in a PPE; Qualified person will
be hired equivalent to a half-time staff position
– 12 months effective Fall 2012 for PPE
Coordination, job placement and facilitating
short-term CE training in time for ICD-10 and
increased volume of EHR implementation
training
Expected Outcome
Program Manager will have more time to
devote to academic and career advising,
program effectiveness, curriculum
development and community relations for
program awareness
Program manager will be a Certified ICD-10
instructor which will be required to continue
teaching coding in accredited degree programs.
Program manager will be able to teach a
graduate of the coding certificate program who
has a CCS how to teach ICD-10 to existing
coders on a non-credit basis.
Page 37
Program
Manager
Resources
Needed
FY 12:
$3,600
(performance
dollars from
grant)
FY 13:
$30,000
(possible
performance
dollars from
grants)
$ 2,110
(performance
dollars from
grant)
Recommendations (R), Action Plans (AP), and Criterion for
Evaluation (C)
(R) Hire a full time instructor for the HIM program which
includes the existing Coder/Biller Certificate & New
Healthcare Informatics Certificate.
Person(s)
Responsible
Rager/
Ziesemer/
HR
Resources
Needed
$36,000.00
(Salary only)
Program expansion to include development
and delivery of non-credit training that can be
at least partially articulated with the HIM
degree program
Manager
Workforce
Education;
Dean of CTE
programs;
Program
Manager;
College
Grant
Coordinator
Grant funded
including any
faculty and
staff support
to implement
Revised curriculum based on external forces
Program
Manager
No direct cost
impact but
would benefit
from increased
clerical
support and, if
adjunct faculty
assists with
changes, a
stipend for
their time
Time Frame
Expected Outcome
Fall 2013
A qualified, full-time instructor will be hired
for Fall 2013. Accommodate a projected
growth in enrollment by offering courses more
frequently and in more locations.
Beginning
Spring 2011
Changes
effective Fall
2012 so start
Spring 2011
(AP) Upon approval, advertise position, form the
search committee and proceed with interviews.
(C) Reduction in program manager’s overload
(R) Pursue grant opportunities for short-term training of
both existing HIM workers who need help preparing for
Electronic Health Records (EHR) and for ICD-10 coding
and to develop an entry-level EHR and coding workforce
with non-credit training that articulates with the HIM degree
(AP) LSCC is already looking at options to include (Health
Information Technology (HIT) by collaborating with two
other community colleges on Federal Grant Funding and
with CFHA to prepare for planned expansion of facilities
(C) Grants funded, implemented and evaluated for meeting
objectives
(R) Continue working with Statewide Curriculum
Frameworks Committee and track proposed changes to the
CAHIIM standards and curriculum to ensure those passing
are implemented timely
(AP) Make appropriate changes to curriculum based on
decisions made by both FDOE and CAHIIM
(C) Curriculum changes approved through all channels and
implemented
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 38
Recommendations (R), Action Plans (AP), and Criterion for
Evaluation (C)
(R) Take degree program to at least 50% online
(AP) Submit a specific detailed plan to the Teaching and
Learning Committee to provide all of the steps needed to
move the program in this direction including State and
SACS requirements and budget information.
Time Frame
Expected Outcome
Present plan to
T&L during
the November
2011 meeting.
At least 50 percent of the courses in the
program, including general education will be
available as online courses by Fall 2013. It is
expected that this will increase enrollment in
the program by making it more accessible to
students, especially those in-service students
wanting to get a degree for promotion
purposes. The accessibility of local instructors
would keep those students from seeking an online program elsewhere.
TBD
Assist in accurately establishing if needs are
met in specified range of support services
IE
Resources
Needed
TBD but need
to add 25%
Distance
Learning
Technician for
HIM Support
and also to
provide
stipend to
adjunct faculty
to take Bbd
training
TBD
TBD
Clearer data analysis of program course impact
on true program majors versus other students
taking these courses
IE
TBD
F2011
Establish students early recognition of program
progression and planning
Program
Manager and
Student
Affairs
Management
No cost
impact
(C) Details of plan - does plan provide sufficient
information and research for the college to move forward in
this regard?
(R) Institution provides tool for evaluating and coordinating
support services to the program to formalize and standardize
effectiveness rather than relying on the program manager’s
anecdotal analysis and informal conversations with staff from
other departments
Person(s)
Responsible
Larson/
Rager/
Ziesemer
(AP)Institutional Effectiveness is incorporating more
formal methods of analysis into future plans
(C)Approval of strategic and annual IE plans by
Administration
(R)Institution provides stronger data instrument for
establishing student movement with course trends assigned to
multiple programs
(AP)Institutional Effectiveness is incorporating more
formal methods of analysis into future plans
(C)Approval of strategic and annual IE plans by
Administration
(R)Joint meeting with Student Services to discussion about
declaring a degree or certificate major early in a student’s
academic pursuit
(AP)The recently hired AVP of Student Affairs has
already begun formally initiating this process with all
Deans, Department Chairs and Program Managers
(C)Ongoing assessment of progress
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
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Recommendations (R), Action Plans (AP), and Criterion for
Evaluation (C)
(R) Assist students who have financial concerns regarding
cost of national certification exams
Time Frame
Expected Outcome
Fall 2011
Provide students contact with benefactors who
may be able to provide monetary assistance
(AP)increase awareness by potential benefactors of the
cost and importance of national certification
(C)Students who otherwise couldn’t afford to sit for a
national exam will be able to do so.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
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Person(s)
Responsible
LSCC
Foundation
and Advisory
Committee
for HIM
Resources
Needed
No direct cost
impact
IX.
FOLLOW-UP
April 2012, the dean of CTE programs will report on the status and effectiveness of the action plan and any new developments with the
HIM program as the result of this comprehensive review and any subsequent influences to the program’s future direction.
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
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X.
APPENDICES
A.
Pass Rate Information for Courses not requiring analysis due to acceptable pass rates
Course Name (HIM 1433) - Concepts of Disease (3 credits)
Academic
Passed
Total
Year
A, B, or C D, F, or I Withdrew Enrolled
2005/06
0
0
0
0
2006/07
20
2
1
23
2007/08
19
0
1
20
2008/09
20
1
2
23
2009/10
20
7
4
31
Total
79
10
8
97
%
Passed
-87.0
95.0
87.0
64.5
81.4
%
Withdrew
-4.3
5.0
8.7
12.9
8.2
%
Passed
-95.5
73.9
86.4
96.8
88.8
%
Withdrew
-4.5
0.0
9.1
3.2
4.1
Course Name (HIM 1512)-Medical Office Management
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
0
21
17
19
30
87
D, F, or I
0
0
6
1
0
7
Withdrew
0
1
0
2
1
4
Total
Enrolled
0
22
23
22
31
98
Course Name (HIM 1800C) – Professional Practice Experience I
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
9
5
7
7
6
34
D, F, or I
0
0
1
0
0
1
Withdrew
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
Enrolled
9
5
8
7
6
35
%
Passed
100.0
100.0
87.5
100.0
100.0
97.1
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Total
Enrolled
0
6
13
3
6
28
%
Passed
-83.3
100.0
66.7
83.3
89.3
%
Withdrew
-0.0
0.0
33.3
16.7
7.1
Course Name (HIM 2214) – Healthcare Statistics
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
0
5
13
2
5
25
D, F, or I
0
1
0
0
0
1
Withdrew
0
0
0
1
1
2
Course Name (HIM 2222C) – Basic ICD-9-CM Coding
42
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
0
12
12
11
10
45
D, F, or I
0
1
0
1
0
2
Withdrew
0
0
0
1
1
2
Total
Enrolled
0
13
12
13
11
49
%
Passed
-92.3
100.0
84.6
90.9
91.8
%
Withdrew
-0.0
0.0
7.7
9.1
4.1
Course Name (HIM 2234C) – Advanced ICD-9-CM Coding/Reimbursement
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
13
12
10
11
8
54
D, F, or I
0
0
0
0
0
0
Withdrew
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
Enrolled
13
12
10
11
8
54
%
Passed
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
%
Passed
100.0
100.0
88.9
100.0
100.0
98.3
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
11.1
0.0
0.0
1.7
Total
Enrolled
4
8
8
4
3
27
%
Passed
75.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
96.3
%
Withdrew
25.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.7
Total
Enrolled
11
9
9
9
9
%
Passed
100.0
55.6
100.0
100.0
77.8
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Course Name (HIM 2253) – CPT Coding and Reimbursement
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
12
15
8
11
13
59
D, F, or I
0
0
0
0
0
0
Withdrew
0
0
1
0
0
1
Total
Enrolled
12
15
9
11
13
60
Course Name (HIM 2510) – HIM Compliance and Performance
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
3
8
8
4
3
26
D, F, or I
0
0
0
0
0
0
Withdrew
1
0
0
0
0
1
Course Name (HIM 2810) – PPE II (Coding)
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Passed
A, B, or C
11
5
9
9
7
D, F, or I
0
4
0
0
2
Withdrew
0
0
0
0
0
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
Page 43
Total
41
6
0
47
87.2
0.0
Course Name (HIM 2820)
Academic
Passed
Total
%
Year
A, B, or C D, F, or I Withdrew Enrolled
Passed
2005/06
5
1
0
6
83.3
2006/07
4
2
0
6
66.7
2007/08
5
0
0
5
100.0
2008/09
6
0
0
6
100.0
2009/10
1
0
0
1
100.0
Total
21
3
0
24
87.5
*there are two missing grades – one each summer 2008 and summer 2010.
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Course Name (HIM 2930) – HIM Tech Review (1 credit)
Academic
Year
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
Total
Passed
A, B, or C
7
4
9
3
3
26
D, F, or I
0
0
0
0
0
0
Withdrew
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
Enrolled
7
4
9
3
3
26
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
%
Passed
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
%
Withdrew
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Page 44
B.
HIM Faculty (full and part-time) Table of Alternate Credentialing
1
Name
2
Courses Taught
Bakuzonis, Karen (P)
HIM1012 Medicolegal
Asp/Records (N)
Crews, Rita (P)
HSC1531 Med Term I
(N)
3
Relevant Academic Degrees
and Course Credits Earned
4
Other
Qualifications/Supporting
Information
PhD/High Educ Admin-Univ of
RHIA-Registered Health
Florida
Information AdministratorMS/Health Admin Exec-Virginia certificate on file
Commonwealth Univ
gsh: 42 HAE (Health Admin
Exec)
Karen Bakuzonis is a part-time faculty member teaching HIM 1012 Medicolegal Aspects of Records, a non-transferable
course, in the Health Information Management Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program. Associate in Applied
Science degrees are career education programs consisting of college level courses of a specialized nature that prepare
students to directly enter the workforce instead of transferring to a university.
LSCC’s Health Information Management AAS degree program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for
Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). CAHIIM is the accrediting agency affiliated with
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). The minimum credentialing requirements to teach
health information management courses, as identified in the Health Information Management Discipline Chart of the
LSCC Faculty Credentials Manual, are the Associate’s degree in Health Information Management plus certifications in
related fields, such as Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Registered Health Information Technician
(RHIT), Certified Coder Specialist (CCS), or a Registered Nurse (RN).
Calhoun, Wanda (P)
HSC1531 Med Term I
AAS/Health Info Mgmt-LakeRHIT-Registered Health
(N)
Sumter Community College
Information TechnicianHSC1532 Med Term II
certificate on file
Work experience: 21 years
(N)
exp in HIM. Current
position-Mgr, Health Info
Mgmt dept, South Lake
Hospital, Clermont. Letter
of reference on file.
Wanda Calhoun, part-time Health Information Management faculty member, teaches HSC 1531 Medical Terminology I
and HSC 1532 Medical Terminology II. Both are non-transferable courses in the Health Information Management
Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree program.
Ms. Calhoun has the Associate in Applied Science degree in Health Information Management at Lake-Sumter Community
College and her Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) certification from the American Health Information
Management Association (AHIMA). She is currently the Manager of Health Information at South Lake Hospital and has
had over 21 years of work experience in the health information management field. Ms. Calhoun also serves on the
Educational Program Advisory Committee for the Health Information Management degree program.
MHSA/Master-Health Servc
Admin-St Joseph’s College
gsh: 42 HSA (Health Servc
Admin)
BS/Phys Asst-Creighton Univ
Physician Assistant
certificate on file
Ms. Rita Crews, part-time faculty member, teaches HSC 1531 Medical Terminology I, a non-transferable course in the
Health Information Management AAS degree program. Ms. Crews earned a Master of Health Services Administration
from St. Joseph’s College with 42 graduate semester hours in Health Services Administration. In addition, she is certified
as a Physician’s Assistant and maintains this certification with the National Commission on Certification of Physician’s
Assistants.
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1
Name
Haugabrooks,
Minerva (F)
2
Courses Taught
HSC1000 Int/Health
Care (N)
3
Relevant Academic Degrees
and Course Credits Earned
MS/Health Sci-UCF
gsh: 12 HSC (Health Sci), 12
HSA (Health Sci Admin), 12
PHC (Public Health Care)
4
Other
Qualifications/Supporting
Information
Licensed Nursing Home
Administrator—licensed to
practice in state of Florida –
license on file.
RD-Registered Dietitian
LD-Licensed Dietitian
Licensure on file
Minerva Haugabrooks is a full-time faculty member who teaches HSC 1000 Introduction to Healthcare, a nontransferable course in the Health Information Management AAS degree program. Ms. Haugabrooks has a Master of
Science degree in Health Sciences from the University of Central Florida. Her graduate semester hours include the
following:
12 graduate semester hours HSC (Health Sciences);
12 graduate semester hours HSA (Health Sciences Administration);
12 graduate semester hours PHC (Public Health Care)
Ms. Haugabrooks is enrolled in a PhD program in Public Health with Walden University and has 66 graduate semester
hours towards her degree. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition to her academic credentials, Ms. Haugabrooks is a licensed Nursing
Home Administrator and a licensed, registered dietitian.
Howard, Diane (P)
MA/Tech/Voca Educ-Univ of
RHIA-Registered Health
Central FL
Information Administrator
BS/Hlth Records Admin-Allied
Certificate on file
Health-Temple Univ
Diane Howard teaches part-time in the Health Information Management program. Ms. Howard teaches HIM 1003
Foundations of Health Information Management, a non-transferable course in the AAS Health Information Management
degree program.
Ms. Howard has a Master of Arts degree in Teaching/Vocational Education from the University of Central Florida and a
Bachelor of Science degree in Health Records Administration/Allied Health from Temple University. In addition, Ms.
Howard maintains her certification as a Registered Health Information Administrator.
Zerbe, Marge (P)
HIM1433 Concepts of
BPA/BSPA-Educ-St Joseph’s
RN License
Disease (N)
College
HSC1531 Med Term I
(N)
HSC1532 Med Term II
(N)
Marge Zerbe teaches the following non-transferable courses in the Health Information Management AAS degree
program: HIM 1433 Concepts of Disease, HSC 1531 Medical Terminology I, and HSC 1532 Medical Terminology II.
Ms. Zerbe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing Education from St. Joseph’s College, which was a specialized
program for RNs who wanted to go into allied health education. Ms. Zerbe is a Registered Nurse.
1
HIM1003 Found/Health
Info Mgmt (N)
2
3
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Name
Ziesemer, Brandy (F)
Courses Taught
HIM1800C Prof Prac
Exp I (N)
HIM2112 Elect Hlth
Rec&Info (N)
HIM2214 Healthcare
Stats (N)
HIM2222C Basic ICD9
CM Coding (N)
HIM2234C Adv ICD9 CM
Cod/Re (N)
HIM2253C CPT-4
Coding/Re (N)
HIM2440 Pharm/Lab
Analy (N)
HIM2510 HIM
Compl/Perf Iss (N)
HIM2810 Prof Prac Exp
II (N)
HIM2820 Prof Prac Exp
III (N)
HIM2930 Hlth Info Tech
Rev (N)
Relevant Academic Degrees
and Course Credits Earned
BA & MA/English-Calif St Univ
Advanced Grad Cert in Medical
Informatics Teaching &
Integration from the Univ of W
Florida
18 gsh: 6 HSC, 6 HSA, 6 PHC
Other
Qualifications/Supporting
Information
RHIA-Registered Health
Information Administrator &
CCS-Certified Coding
Specialist
Work experience:
6 ½ years experience in
medical coding; supervised
and audited coding
functions for claims &
adjustments at Blue Shield
of CA -Letter from Blue
Shield of CA on file
Earned Non-credit distance
learning Certificate from
American Health
Information management
Assoc (AHIMA)-equivalent
of AS in Medical Record
Tech (1997-98) AHIMA
documentation on file.
Co-author of CPT coding
text; reviewer of ICD-9M
text; Contributing author to
medical informatics text
Co-presenter AHIMA
Distance Education
Webinar on Procedural
Coding
Reviewer of Electronic
Health Records text and
medical terminology text
Brandy Ziesemer is a full-time faculty member who also serves as the Program Manager of the Health Information
Management (HIM) degree program. Ms. Ziesemer’s graduate credit hours in Health Informatics, coupled with her
industry certifications and work experience in field, make her well qualified to teach and to provide oversight for this highly
specialized program.
In addition to her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English from California State University, Ms. Ziesemer
earned an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Medical Informatics Teaching and Integration from the University of West
Florida. This 18-credit hour advanced graduate certificate in Medical Informatics is considered part of any accredited HIM
program; therefore, those disciplines in the 18-credit graduate certificate are all directly relevant to HIM – Bioinformatics
(BSC), Health Sciences (HSC), Health Services Administration (HSA), and Public Health Administration (PHA). HIM is
interdisciplinary and HIM professionals must understand the roles of all healthcare practitioners & services in order to
facilitate quality care & patient safety through communications of health information.
Ms. Ziesemer’s qualifications also include certifications as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) and a
Certified Coding Specialist (CCS). She also earned a non-credit distance learning certificate from the American Health
Information Management Association (AHIMA), which is the equivalent of an AS degree in Medical Records Technician.
Ms. Ziesemer has over 6 years of work experience in medical coding; she supervised and audited coding functions for
claims and adjustments at Blue Shield of California. Additional qualifications include: co-authoring a CPT coding text;
contributing author to a medical informatics text; reviewer of an ICD-9M text, Electronic Health Records text, and medical
terminology text; co-presenter for the AHIMA Distance Education Webinar on Procedural Coding. She has also
successfully developed and implemented several grant projects on Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
Health Information Management Program Review 2010-11
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Appendix C: Program Enrollment Fall and Spring Semesters
Program
AAS – Health Information Technology
Cert – Coder/Biller
Total
Program
AAS – Health Information Technology
Cert – Medical Information Coder/Biller
Total
Health Information Management
Program Enrollment
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
Fall
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
29
26
24
30
44
5
10
15
7
15
34
36
39
37
59
Health Information Management
Program Enrollment
Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
32
28
27
25
59
8
11
13
11
18
40
39
40
36
77
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Appendix D: Letter from Employer of a Graduate
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Appendix E: Annual Program Review to CAHIIM (2009-10: Submitted Spring 2011)
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