Health information management is of vital importance in the world of modern health care. Those who work in the field have to deal with complicated legal issues, the constantly changing world of research development, and everyone’s favorite maelstrom – medical billing.

To many, that may not sound like a stimulating profession, but Michael McPherson, a second-year student at KU Medical Center, would strongly disagree. He is passionate about making technology work so medical information is more easily accessible to patients.

With 15 years of background in software development, McPherson wanted to go into the health care field but wasn’t too keen on the idea of spending the next 10 years of his life in medical school, so he began to explore the opportunities at the KU School of Allied Health.

“Allied health” refers to a diverse collection of health science fields, including rehabilitation therapies, laboratory science, health information management, dietetics and many other specialities. Allied health professionals comprise more than 60 percent of the entire U.S. health care work force.

Health information management (HIM), for example, allows students to combine interests in health care, business, and information technology. HIM professionals provide information for patient care, administrative planning, professional education and research.

Graduates of the program don’t always work in hospitals or other health care facilities. They often work for insurance agents, pharmaceutical companies, or any type of organization that is involved in the exchange of health care information.

Although the HIM profession is not that well-known outside the health care industry, extensive efforts to promote HIM as a career may not be necessary. Health information management is listed as one of the top 10 fastest-growing careers in the country. In fact, job opportunities abound, with more than 47,000 new HIM professionals needed every year.

“In the old days, our profession was called a medical record librarian, and there wasn’t much exposure there,” said Karl Koob, MMIS, RHIA, chair of KUMC’s health information management department. “As a profession, we’ve been quiet, and we are just starting to beat our own drum.”

Koob said most of the students have jobs by the time they graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and nearly all of them have jobs within three months after graduation.

The HIM department is one of the smallest on the KUMC campus – it’s a two-year program that accepts about 20 people each year. Classes within the department are small and focus on team-building because that is the kind of atmosphere HIM professionals work in every day.

“In our department, we give students a real-life understanding of what they will have to do as professionals,” said Koob. “When they are looking for internship opportunities, we encourage them to go to a major hospital or organization outside of greater Kansas City, because we would like them to get an idea of how things work everywhere.”

“The health information management department at KU is preparing us well for any setting where the discipline is used,” Michael McPherson said. “It’s such a great time to be getting into this field.” +