Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Information Technology (General)

Franklin Cummings Tech is the only college in Massachusetts to offer a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Technology. The healthcare industry is experiencing tremendous demand for individuals with the right combination of information technology skills and knowledge of healthcare language and clinical practices.

As an HIT professional, you will develop, implement, and maintain computerized health information systems. With the goal of enhancing the quality of patient care and reducing costs, these systems enable the digitization, storage, and the secure exchange of health information among various clinicians across networks and web services within hospitals and other healthcare settings. You can choose our general Health Information Technology program, or opt to include one of our high-demand HIT concentrations:

Data Analytics Concentration

• Students in our Data Analytics concentration will work with real economic, social, and geographic data to develop a robust understanding of the tools of a data scientist.

Public Health Concentration

• Students in our Public Health concentration are equipped with the analytical skills needed to build and champion public health policies, and also gain an understanding of the history and present reality of public health systems.

What You’ll Learn in Health Information Technology
The AS and BS programs in Health Information Technology include general courses in the humanities, computer systems, clinical systems, public health, and social sciences. Core HIT courses include the following topics:

• Medical terminology
• Electronic health records
• Medical coding and classification
• Healthcare databases
• Healthcare compliance
• Anatomy and physiology

Career Opportunities in Health Information Technology

Graduates of our associate and bachelor’s degree HIT programs are qualified to work at organizations that provide patient care or health insurance, or at companies that create, develop, integrate, or maintain health information systems. Some examples include:

• Hospitals, including VA Hospitals
• Electronic Health Records application developers, implementers, and servicers
• Medical groups and clinics
• Retail clinics
• Health insurance organizations, including HMOs
• Hardware and software vendors
• Medical device companies
• Consulting organizations

Upon graduation from our bachelor’s degree program, students can also elect to transfer to a graduate-degree institution to pursue advanced degrees related to HIT, healthcare management, or informatics.

Health Information Technology
Objectives

• The objective of our Health Information Technology (HIT) associate and bachelor’s degree programs is to prepare graduates to manage the health databases that keep electronic health records up-to-date and secure. HIT grads know the guidelines and practices for these systems and have the ability to operate within industry-wide regulations and standards for healthcare information. HIT focuses on the interaction of healthcare information with storage and retrieval systems. Such systems must be designed, built and maintained to insure the reliability and security of patient records. These managers oversee the technological system and must keep up with current computer and software technology as well as legislative requirements.
• Our program is based on an interdisciplinary curriculum that is aligned with the multiple skillsets hiring organizations are looking for. Students are taught not only technology skills, but also critical thinking skills, communication (oral and written), facilitation, and teamwork skills, as well as a solid knowledge of medical language, regulations, and practices.
• The application of computer technology to healthcare information gives this program an interdisciplinary flavor that will appeal not only to first-time college students, but also to adults with credits or experience in related fields.
• All BFIT students are required to successfully complete a Career Success Seminar, typically in the semester prior to graduation.

Student Outcomes (AS and BS Programs)
Bachelor’s Degree: Upon successful completion of the bachelor’s degree in HIT, the graduate will be able to:

• Design and develop entry-level database application systems.
• Create, edit, and manipulate spreadsheets and charts to solve various problems.
• Install, maintain, upgrade and manage Windows-based operating systems.
• Design and develop websites using contemporary web design software.
• Administer computer, network and web services and security.
• Apply and integrate the basic knowledge attained in networking, computer programming, scripting, web and database technologies to develop healthcare information solutions.
• Apply knowledge of healthcare concepts and terminology to the creation and maintenance of computerized information storage and retrieval systems.
• Apply HIT communication standards, such as the HL7 messaging standard, to improve and maintain the interoperability of health information systems.
• Effectively communicate technical observations, results, issues, and successes, in both speech and writing.
• Explain the importance of HIT concepts such as meaningful use, health information exchange, and clinical decision support.
• Observe administrative, legal, and medical constraints and rules in the implementation and use of HIT systems.
• Provide entry-level computer programming and scripting to maintain and improve HIT systems.
• Recognize the need for and develop the ability to engage in lifelong learning.
• Understand mathematics, including statistics, and apply this knowledge to solve HIT related problems.
• Evaluate different HIT solutions, and as part of a capstone project, recommend the best one(s) that can effectively address identified problems facing the healthcare industry.
• Understand professional, ethical, and social responsibilities.
• Use scientific knowledge, including basic principles of physiology, to guide work in HIT.
• Understand the duties and responsibilities assigned to Health IT specialists in a real-world healthcare setting.

Associate Degree: Upon successful completion of the associate degree in HIT, the graduate will be able to:

• Design and develop entry-level database application systems.
• Create, edit, and manipulate spreadsheets and charts to solve various problems.
• Install, maintain, upgrade, and manage Windows-based operating systems.
• Design and develop websites using contemporary web design software.
• Apply and integrate the basic knowledge attained in networking, computer programming, and web and database technologies to support healthcare information solutions.
• Apply knowledge of healthcare concepts and terminology to assist users of computerized information storage and retrieval systems.
• Effectively communicate technical observations, results, issues, and successes, in both speech and writing.
• Explain the importance of HIT concepts, such as meaningful use, health information exchange, and clinical decision support.
• Observe administrative, legal, and medical constraints and rules in the implementation and use of HIT systems.
• Provide entry-level computer programming and scripting to maintain and improve HIT systems.
• Recognize the need for and develop the ability to engage in lifelong learning.
• Support the administration of computer, network, and web services and security.
• Understand mathematics at the level of college algebra and pre-calculus and apply this knowledge to solve HIT related problems.
• Understand professional, ethical, and social responsibilities.
• Use scientific knowledge, including basic principles of physiology, to guide work in HIT.

Health Information Technology/General (BS) – 128 Credits

• Note: This is a typical course sequence for the 4-year bachelor’s degree option. Students who have completed an associate degree in Technology or Health can apply to transfer into the bachelor’s program, allowing them to earn a bachelor’s degree with just four additional semesters of study. See typical course sequences for transfer students in the Course Catalog.

Semester 1

• CT119 Business Applications
• CT134 Intro to Windows Operating System
• SS110 Intro to US Healthcare
• EN130 College Composition I
• MA120 College Algebra and Trigonometry

Semester 2

• CT221 Enterprise Database Management
• EN140 College Composition II
• HI130 Intro to Health IT
• TS120 Medical Terminology
• MA130 Pre-Calculus

Semester 3

• CT/AV CT/AV Elective
• CT265 Networking I
• HI330 Intro to Healthcare Databases
• HU/SS Social Science Elective
• TS240 Human Anatomy & Physiology

Semester 4

• CT/AV CT/AV Elective
• CT CT267 or AV257
• HI210 Health IS Implementation and Workflow Analysis
• HI310 Medical Coding, Classification and Communication
• TS242 Pathophysiology & Pharmacology

Semester 5

• CT CT122 or CT146
• CT CT212 or CT231
• EN320 Technical Communication
• HU/SS/MA General Education Elective
• SS335 Current Issues in Healthcare

Semester 6

• BS324 Managing Organizations
• CT CT144 or CT249
• CT CT211 or CT213
• CT233 Windows System Administration
• SS330 Legal and Ethical Issues in Health IT

Semester 7

• BS432 Personnel Management
• CT CT231 or CT212
• HI430 Healthcare Compliance
• HU/SS/MA General Education Elective
• MA270/290 Elementary Statistics/Health Statistics
• SK400 Career Success Seminar

Semester 8

• CT/AV CT/AV Elective
• CT365 Network Security
• HI410 Health Information Systems Integration
• HI445 Professional Experience
• HI490 Capstone Project