A registered health information technician is also known as an RHIT. The role of an RHIT is to manage and analyze health care data and generate statistics. This work is used to evaluate the quality of various health care programs, check compliance with standards, and evaluate costs.
In order to become an RHIT, you must complete all the requirements as outlined by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). This association is the governing body for health information management professionals. They are dedicated to the certification and ongoing education of the member of this field.
Registered health information technicians are responsible for ensuring the quality of medical records and analyzing patient data. There are specialties available within this field, such as coding diagnoses and procedures in patient records. This information can be used for reimbursement, cost management, and research.
Employment opportunities are available in nursing homes, hospitals, home health care companies, and public health agencies for heath information technicians. As the requirement for patient data analysis grows, RHITs can also find opportunities in pharmaceutical companies, health product suppliers, and law firms. Insurance companies are one of the fast growing employers of health information technicians, as their need for data analysis grows.
To apply to the RHIT program, the candidate must have successfully completed an associate's degree in health information management from a recognized community college or career school. Once your education has been verified, you can begin to study for the RHIT examination. This exam tests a wide range of skills and techniques used in this role.
The exam is three and one half hours in length and has 150 multiple-choice questions. Each question has four options and the candidate needs to select the correct one. There are 20 pretest questions buried inside the 130 scored questions. The final mark is based on the responses to the 130 scored questions, but there is no way to distinguish the pretest from the actual test questions.
The exam itself is computerized, with a specific number of questions in each of six skill set categories. The result is a pass or fail mark, with a detailed breakdown of the questions attempted and the respective marks provided in the detailed results. A mark of 79 out of 130 is required to pass the exam.
Upon successful completion, you will be granted permission to the use of the RHIT designation on your resume and business cards. Health information technicians with an RHIT designation and several years experience are excellent candidates for management positions in the health information industry. This is a rapidly growing area of employment and provides a wealth of employment and advancement opportunities.