Applying for Accreditation
(Checklist for New Health Information Program Development)
Conduct a feasibility study and estimate start-up costs
Include a realistic needs assessment
-Beyond the Bureau of Labor statistics
-Evaluate competition in the community or the market
-Find out if jobs are available locally or in the market served
-What types of jobs? How many? Will these be jobs for graduates at the academic level and skill sets proposed?
-What types of clinical practice sites are available? How many? Are they willing to take your students?
-Are there sufficient, potentially qualified students?
-Can you attract qualified faculty?
-Conduct focus groups of potential employers
Build relationships with healthcare entities for potential jobs, faculty, practice experiences, program resources
Create the Program
-For HIM programs engage the local, state and national professional associations in your planning:
http://www.ahima.org/about/csa.aspx
-For Health Informatics programs engage local and national informatics and health technology professionals in your planning:
www.amia.org
www.himss.org
-Form an Advisory Committee/Board - composition should be external, representative of various types of employers; an Advisory Committee/Board is fundamental to the construction of the curriculum, identify resources including potential faculty and guest lecturers, practice sites, research opportunities, funding sources, and provides guidance and support to help the program craft its focus
-Hire a program director qualified according to the respective Standards for the type of program and degree level
-At the graduate level, identify leadership and direction of program
-The program direct must have ownership of the curriculum content and management of the program
-HIM is a unique discipline - it is not a medical/coder biller program; it is not medical assisting; it is a body of knowledge that transitions across healthcare delivery and expands with higher education through graduate levels
-Health Informatics graduate programs span a wide range of foundational preparation and may focus on applied health informatics and/or research leading to doctoral studies
-Use the accreditation Standards and curriculum map for the appropriate program and academic level
Curriculum content
-The domains (HIM) or facets (HI) are a guide to overall direction of the program -Avoid course titles that are too specific or narrowly focused
-Avoid course titles that are too generic
-Find a happy medium to allow some flexibility in curriculum improvements in these transitioning professions
-Where a curriculum map contains specific outcome competencies, these are a guide as to the knowledge and skills the graduate is expected to demonstrate as stated by the profession
-Where a curriculum map contains specific knowledge clusters to be taught at a pre-determined taxonomic level, these serve as a guide to the topics required in the curriculum and the depth of content delivered, supported by a variety of learning activities that lead to student achievement of the required outcome competencies
-Where a curriculum map contains specific facets and curriculum components (HI master's degree), all components are required to be taught at an introductory level; a program will demonstrate a strength in one or more facets for which the curriculum components are expected to be taught at greater depth with a variety of learning activities demonstrating graduate competence within that facet
Sharing courses cross-discipline
-If the expectation is to use some existing courses from another discipline, ensure that the required competencies, knowledge clusters and/or curriculum components are fully understood by the faculty and adequately addressed within the shared course
-Ensure that some course projects and activities focus on health information or health informatics such that students can apply what they are learning to their specific professional discipline
-Inform students which competencies or curriculum components are being addressed by a shared course
-Cross-discipline projects or team projects are good such that students learn to work in a team environment with a variety of professions
Resources
-A qualified program director is fundamental
-Faculty/student ratio should always be considered for an adequate number of faculty to support the program
* Full time faculty
* Part time and/or adjunct faculty
-Faculty development is required for ID! faculty to maintain professional relevance in the course(s) they teach
-Many new faculty coming from practice will need guidance with pedagogy and student evaluation methods to be effective
-Financial support for program stability and growth
-Access to a computer lab and/or virtual lab applications
-All students will need access to technology applications reflecting the increasingly electronic healthcare industry
Campus-based or online courses
-Students must receive the same high quality education regardless of delivery method
-Faculty training and support on use and maintenance of online learning management systems
-Mentoring and other student support services are required
This is your initial investment and planning BEFORE seeking application to CAHIIM - READY TO APPLY?
Review the CAHIIM policies, standards, and Accreditation Manual on the web site
* If you have adequately prepared and built your program
* All program approvals have been completed as appropriate (such as campus, administrative, state board of education, institutional accreditation)
* If you have a program director hired * If the curriculum is fully designed
* If students are enrolled
* YOU ARE READY TO APPLY
The program director enters the e-Accreditation module on the CAHIIM homepage; review the System HELP Manual first under "Systems Resources", follow the online instructions and login