Data + Diagnosis: Health Information Pathway
San Jacinto College’s Health Information Technology pathway strengthens your foundation in data management, medical coding, and healthcare systems. Choose from three, tiered credentials—from a Certificate of Technology to a Level 2 Certificate up to the full AAS degree. You’ll learn to organize, analyze, and technically evaluate medical records, then gain real-world experience through a supervised clinical practicum.
Career Opportunities and Income
Visit sanjac.edu for information regarding career opportunities and potential earnings in the Greater Houston region.
Learning & Career Pathway
This learning pathway - a series of related and “stacked” certificates and degrees - includes the following awards. You can start at any point on the path and earn certificates on your way to completing the degree.
- Medical Billing, Certificate of Technology (1 year)
- Medical Coding Specialist, Level 2 Certificate (1 year)
- Health Information Technology, Associate of Applied Science (2 years)
Learning Outcomes and Career Skills
A student completing the last award in the pathway will be able to:
- Verify the documentation in the health record is timely, complete, and accurate.
- Apply policies and procedures surrounding issues related to access and disclosure of protected health information.
- Apply computer concepts and software applications to process patient information according to HIM guidelines.
- Apply leadership and teamwork fundamentals in various healthcare team settings.
- Analyze, interpret, and present data by utilizing graphical tools to identify trends in quality, safety, and effectiveness in healthcare.
- Apply diagnosis and procedure codes according to current ICD-10 and CPT coding guidelines.
- Exhibit professional verbal and written communication skills when interacting with clinical and administrative healthcare team members.
- Apply knowledge of disease processes, treatment, drugs, medical terms, symbols and abbreviations and the structure and function of the human body to accurately code and process health records and analyze health data.
Licensure or Certification
Upon completion of this program, the student is eligible to apply to take the Certified Professional Coder Certification examination, administered by the American Academy of Professional Coders.
External Learning Experiences
This program includes external learning experiences outside of the classroom, e.g., an internship, externship, clinical, practicum, or cooperative learning experience. Those experiences are typically on-site at a business or organization.
All students participating in external learning experiences are required to comply with the immunization requirements and policies of the external learning sites. Some learning sites outside the college have their own vaccination requirements. These rules come from those facilities and are not mandated by the college. Failure to meet those immunization requirements may limit a student’s ability to complete the program and/or may delay the student’s graduation date. San Jacinto College does not process exemptions, and students should address potential vaccination exemptions directly with the external learning site.
Locations
College Admission
San Jacinto College is an open admission institution. All students are welcome to apply and will be admitted to the College. You may begin the process on the College’s “How to Apply” webpage.
Program Admission
In addition to being admitted to the College, students must also be admitted to the Health Information Technology program which has additional requirements and/or steps.
Remove Program Admission and the sentence below it. There are no additional requirements.
Plan of Study
4HITT-MDBC
| First Term | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| HITT 1305 | Medical Terminology I | 3 |
| HITT 1374 | Anatomy and Physiology | 3 |
| ITSC 1309 or BCIS 1305 | Integrated Software Applications I or Business Computer Applications | 3 |
| HITT 1313 | Coding and Insurance | 3 |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Second Term | ||
| HITT 1341 | Coding and Classification Systems | 3 |
| HITT 1342 | Ambulatory Coding | 3 |
| HITT 1311 | Health Information Systems | 3 |
| HITT 1353 | Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information | 3 |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Third Term | ||
| HITT 2145 | Billing Certification Exam Review | 1 |
| HITT 1166 | Practicum – Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician | 1 |
| Credits | 2 | |
| Total Credits | 26 | |
External Field Experience: HITT 1166 Practicum – Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician
Note: Students must pass each HITT course listed in all Health Information Technology AAS degrees and Certificate of Technology plans with a grade of C to be eligible to receive either the degree or any of the certificates.