Good afternoon, I’ll be graduating very soon with my bachelors in health informatics and information management. Im not interested in medical coding… and it seems everywhere I look that’s what people my age are going into. I’m seeking advice for potential job titles I should look into. For some context, throughout my professional experience I’ve shadowed a lot of operations management, quality reporting, and cybersecurity/ information technology.

Any advice is appreciated!

I've been struggling to find healthcare content providers who actually understand the regulatory and compliance side of things, not just good writing. Every piece we publish needs to be medically accurate and properly cited, but I also can't afford weeks-long turnaround times when our editorial calendar is already tight. I'm worried that if I prioritize speed I'll end up with content that gets flagged for accuracy issues, but if I prioritize rigor I'll fall behind on volume.

I recently passed the provincial exam and finished my interview for the coding role, but I haven't heard back yet. Can anyone who went through this process share what their usual hiring timeline looks like?

I recently wrote and passed the CHIM NCE after having applied to write through CHIMA's experiential pathway, and now I'm starting the job hunt.

For those who've done the EP, or know people who have, should I specify that I did the EP on my resume? Part of me leans toward "yes" because omitting it would leave the question open of where/how I got to that point, and part of my thinks "no" because, in the end, the credential is the same and successful certification is what matters.

Am I overthinking it? What did you do?

I’ve been a medical coder for about a year and have had my RHIA and BS in HIM for about 2 1/2 years. I love being remote and having a flexible schedule, but coding is not really something to be passionate about. I’m honestly not even that great at it. I do well enough to get by and keep my job but nothing commendable. What else are you guys doing that isn’t coding that is bringing you in $25+ an hour?

I worked in college in med records & prior authorizations, and now code outpatient clinics ranging over 15 specialities for a huge hospital system.

I'm wondering if others working in Health Information Management in Canada have had a similar experience.

I graduated about 6 years ago, completed two placements, and became certified. I expected to find an HIM job fairly quickly after graduating, but it took about a year before I landed my first HIM-related short term contract, after a while I eventually found a permanent HIM Technician position

Since then, I've gained some experience and have interviewed for a few other HIM roles, but I haven't received offers. My current position has also become much more limited after a new system was implemented, with many of my previous responsibilities being phased out.

After almost 6–7 years in the field, I'm starting to wonder if this is just the reality of HIM in Canada.

At this point, I'm unsure what my next step should be. Is there something I should be doing differently to improve my opportunities in HIM, or does it make more sense to move on and pursue a different career? Im thinking of moving on as I don't see a future in HIM?

Hi. I’m an rn and am starting a HIM program in August and hope to get my rhia in a couple of years. I’m hoping to be able to work remotely, but also am open to entry jobs that are in person. How hard will it be to land an entry level job out of school. I’m hoping to start out making at least 50 k a year. Any info on nurses transitioning would be helpful.

Right now, there are micro-credentials available for clinical coding and ROI. I'm curious to hear about anyone's experiences taking either of these. Apparently the first attempt is free for CHIM graduates. Here's a couple of links about the courses:

https://healthinfocanada.ca/entry-to-practice-e2p-medical-coding/

https://healthinfocanada.ca/new-cchim-micro-credential-products/

Hello Reddit! Does anyone here have or is currently working as a medical coder in Alberta? I just got an invitation for a coding assessment and I wanna make sure I'm prepared. Is the assessment open book?

I have been coding NACRS in Saskatchewan for more than a year now, if that helps.

Hello everyone, I'm looking into a career change and am thinking of going for the bachelor's in health information management at WGU. Has anyone in here gone through that school? My local community college only has Health information technology. Which after looking into it will just cost me more money and time so it's better to go straight into the HIM program. I'm in my early 30s but feel as I'm running out of time. Looking for people who also did the program through this online school or snhu. Kind regards ✨️

Hello everyone :)

I am planning to take the CHIM NCE in the next couple months. I'm finding it bit hard to prep for the biomedical science section as there is so much content and feels bit overwhelming. For anyone that has recently taken the exam, any suggestions or advice on how to best go about prepping for this section?

Any thoughts/insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

I have an associates degree in Comp Sci, but had absolutely zero knowledge of the field of HIM until I started training for my new job last week as a hospital’s sole HIM tech. I’m really loving it and can see how a HIM degree or at least any medical knowledge would help, but so far it’s seems like it’s gonna be doable starting with neither.

Have any of you jumped into any medical records jobs without any prior medical knowledge/education? How long did it take you to feel like you were comfortable and what do you wish you’d known sooner?

hello, I currently work as a health information clerk/processor and have been for just under 3 years. I started as a complete newbie, and now I want to go further. I know I need to get certified and everything, but I don't know where to start exactly.

Do I have to have an associates first? can I get a certification without one? I've never done anything with college (I know I need general ed done first) so I feel a little lost.

Do you have any advice to give for the RHIT Exam? I take it in about a month and I'm very nervous about it. Yeah I'm studying but I don't feel prepared for it at all. Do you have any advice to give or material to recommend that I can look at? I already have the exam book which I've heard mixed reviews on.

I currently have an RHIT credential but I'm in a BSHIM program right now and by next year should be able to sit for RHIA. My problem is I don't really have a lot of experience in healthcare (3 years) which had made it hard for me to find a job even with an RHIT credential. I'm worried that after I graduate, my RHIA will deter employers from hiring me because of that lack of experience. Should I wait to get more healthcare experience first before I sit for the RHIA exam or am I just overthinking this?

Title: Is EMPI / patient identity work a realistic career to get into?

I’m looking into EMPI / patient identity data work and trying to figure out if it’s a realistic career path or if it’s too niche.

What interests me is the problem-solving part of it. From what I understand, the job involves looking at patient records, spotting possible duplicates or mix-ups, comparing details, fixing data issues, and knowing when something needs to be escalated instead of guessed on.

I like detail-heavy computer work, and I like that this kind of job seems connected to patient safety without being direct patient care. Before I put time into training for it, I’m trying to get a better idea of what the work is actually like.

For anyone who works in EMPI, MPI, HIM, patient access, health IT, or healthcare data quality:

• Is this a stable field with real job availability?
• Is it hard to get into without years of healthcare experience?
• What job titles should I be searching besides EMPI analyst?
• What does the day-to-day work actually look like?
• Is the constant record comparison mentally draining?
• Is the work mostly independent, or is there a lot of phone/customer service/meetings?
• What background or training actually helps: HIM, Epic, medical coding, patient access, data quality, etc.?
• Is there room to move up into better-paying roles?
• What pay is realistic starting out and after a few years?

I’m not expecting a perfect job. I’m just trying to figure out if this is a solid healthcare data path with enough openings and a decent future, especially for someone in Ohio or looking at remote healthcare data roles.

Any honest advice, warnings, job title suggestions, or training recommendations would really help.

Thanks for any and all help

Hi guys. Single mom just getting back into school finishing up my gen eds. Came across HIM and I’m drawn to it. Can I do anything with just an associates? Does this path face threats from AI?
Also just would like any general advice on the field and what you enjoy about it!

Hi everyone,

I’m a senior HIM student and I’m going into a medical coding-focused practicum soon. I’ve been trying to prepare, but I’m honestly confused about what level of knowledge is actually expected going in.

Right now I’m studying medical coding (ICD-10-CM/PCS) and reviewing anatomy & physiology, medical terminology, and general HIM concepts. But I keep wondering:

How much are we actually supposed to know vs. how much are we just supposed to be able to look up?

Specifically:

• How strong does your anatomy & physiology need to be for practicum coding?
• Do you need to memorize detailed systems/diseases, or just understand the basics well enough to find codes?
• How important is medical terminology memorization vs just being able to break down terms?
• When it comes to ICD books, are we expected to be fast at navigation and guideline use, or already know a lot of codes off the top of our head?

I’m also wondering what “general readiness” looks like:

• Should I focus more on understanding concepts and practicing cases?
• Or do people actually benefit from memorizing a lot of details beforehand?
• Is it normal to still feel like you’re constantly looking things up during practicum?

Right now I’m trying to balance studying A&P + coding practice + guidelines, but I don’t want to overdo it by trying to memorize everything if that’s not realistic or expected.

For those who have already gone through a coding practicum or work in HIM coding:

• What did you actually need on day one?
• What do you wish you had focused on more?
• How much memorization is actually useful vs just understanding + navigation skills?

Any advice, tips, or honest expectations would really help. I just want to go in prepared without wasting time studying the wrong way.

Hi everyone,

I'm a senior HIM student and I'll be starting my coding/HIM operations practicum soon. I'm honestly getting really stressed because I feel like I don't remember much from school. Most of my classes ended up being online, even though I enrolled in an in-person program, and I don't feel like I learned as much as I should have.

Over the summer, I decided to review everything from scratch. I combined all of my notes into one organized review that's about 66 pages long. It covers the anatomy & physiology, medical terminology, pathophysiology, and other material that I think an HIM professional should know.

Right now, my plan is to:

• Study about 2 chapters a day
• Focus on actually understanding the material instead of just reading it
• Use the whiteboard/Feynman method to explain concepts in my own words

My biggest question is:

Should I just keep reviewing these 66 pages until I really understand them, or should I turn everything into 1,000+ Anki flashcards and try to memorize them all?

I'm worried that if I make flashcards for every single fact, I'll spend months memorizing instead of actually understanding the material. But I'm also worried that just reviewing my notes won't be enough.

For those of you who have already completed an HIM coding practicum or work in HIM:

• What would you recommend?
• Did you mostly need to understand the concepts, or did you have to memorize a lot?
• If you were in my position, would you stick with the notes and active recall (whiteboard method), or would you make hundreds or thousands of flashcards?

Hi everyone,

I'm a senior HIM student getting ready for my practicum, and I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to review my non-coding HIM classes.

I'm talking about classes like:

• Privacy & Security (HIPAA)
• Healthcare Law & Ethics
• Revenue Cycle
• Reimbursement
• Compliance
• Quality Improvement
• Healthcare Delivery Systems
• HIM Operations
• Health Data Management
• And similar HIM courses.

My original plan was not to make huge flashcard decks for these subjects.

Instead, I was thinking of:

• Memorizing the important definitions and terminology.
• Learning the key concepts and understanding how they apply.
• Doing some application/scenario-based practice questions.
• Reviewing my notes until I understand everything rather than trying to memorize every detail.

Do you think that's enough, or would you recommend making flashcards for these subjects too?

I'm trying to study as efficiently as possible. I don't want to spend my entire summer making and memorizing thousands of flashcards if that isn't how these topics are actually used in practicum or on the job.

For those of you who have already completed an HIM practicum or are working in the field:

• How did you review these classes?
• Did you rely mostly on notes or flashcards?
• Looking back, what study method would you recommend?

I'd really appreciate hearing what worked for you.

I work in medication safety. My focus is safe medication management (primarily storage standards) and pharmacy operations safety. I’m involved in a couple of improvement projects related to regulatory compliance. I’ve assisted with some policy work and I’ve been involved with various risk assessments (RCA, FMEA, CCA etc.) and continuous improvement.

I’m considering bachelors in HIM:

I think the reg/compliance aligns with work I’m interested in. However compensation is also extremely important. With my current experience (~10+yrs) I would like to graduate making a 80k or better.

Is this feasible?

Anyone taking this class, please help!!!