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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Cashing in with IT Healthcare Certifications

 

Looking to get in on the opportunities around healthcare IT? You're not alone. Many IT solution providers and IT professionals are looking to gain expertise in this hot and growing area as physician offices and hospitals migrate to electronic medical records or electronic healthcare records (EMR or EHR). Certifications related to areas of knowledge specific to healthcare are still new, and most credentials being recommended to IT professionals serving healthcare clients are aren’t industry specific. Although there is a strong push towards electronic medical records, especially in light of agendas set by the Obama administration, there are only a few credentials tailored to the healthcare IT community. More are on the way. Here are a few of the certifications and training programs currently available.

  1. Certified Professional in Electronic Health Records (CPEHR)
    Health IT Certification provides training and certification in three different health IT areas. This certification provides courses and certification in EHR, which tests professionals’ skills and knowledge in planning and managing EHR.
  2. Certified Professional in Health Information Exchange (CPHIE)
    As health-related data moves fully into the digital world, collaboration between medical professionals is becoming more frequent and important. Health IT Certification’s CPHIE is focused on using IT to share clinical information among authorized providers that are responsible for a patient’s care.
  3. Certified Professional in Health Information Technology (CPHIT)
    The last of Health IT Certification’s credentials covers the broad spectrum of IT related to the healthcare field. The knowledge required to pass the exam includes knowing how to plan, select and implement EHR and other IT applications for healthcare purposes.
  4. CompTIA Healthcare IT for Electronic Health Records
    CompTIA’s Healthcare IT for Electronic Health Records certification is currently in development. When completed (it goes through its next review round from March 14-18), it will focus on the planning and implementation of EHR systems. The certification should be available sometime this year.
  5. HIPAA Certification
    Training Camp provides training and certification in CPEHR, CPHIE and CPHIT, as well as a five-day course (exam included) for HIPAA Certification. Although not a pure IT certification, the credential prepares for professionals for the complexities of HIPAA, including privacy and security requirements of IT systems.
  6. Health Information Systems Certificate
    Computer Systems Institute—Chicago provides a general Health Information Systems Certificate along with its roster of traditional IT courses and certifications.
  7. Associate of Applied Science—Health Information Technology
    Although not actually a certification, Computer Systems Institute—Chicago also offers an Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology.

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