A RHIT (Registered Health Information Technician) has an associate’s degree in health information management. A RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator) has a bachelor’s degree in health information management. Both degrees must be from CAHIIM (Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education) accredited programs. Certification for both programs is through AHIMA (American Health Information Management Association).The RHIT exam is 150 multiple choice questions and takes approximately three and a half hours to finish.
The RHIA exam has 180 multiple choice questions and takes approximately four hours to finish. Registered Health Information Technician’s primary responsibilities are to make sure patient’s medical records are secure and stored accurately. While some facilities still use paper files, electronic data is growing and RHIT’s spend increasing amounts of time working on computers.Duties for a RHIT vary based on their employer, and what type of setting they are working in.
They may work in medical billing, with doctors and nurses to clarify information, and also assist where needed in other office duties. RHIA is a management type of position that can work in a hospital or clinic setting. They oversee the medical records staff. RHIA’s hire and train RHIT’s.
They also evaluate staff for compliance with department policies and federal regulations.They must be knowledgeable with legislation and compliance policies according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A RHIA must have the skills needed to be in a supervisor position and able to plan the work for the medical records staff. They must be proficient in medical terminology.
They must know the laws and legislation regarding retention, safety, and release of patients’ medical records. They must be able to train staff and make sure that policy information is distributed to the medical records staff.They may also perform the job duties of a medical records technician when needed. The RHIA must hire vendors to perform transcription and copying services for the medical records department. They are also responsible for the safety of both electronic and paper copies of medical records. Duties also include coding, data entry, and preparing disbursement of medical records when requested by authorized third parties.
Reference CCHIIM. (n. d. ).
Candidate Guide. Retrieved from http://www. ahima. org/downloads/pdfs/certification/Candidate_Guide.
