Review of Certifications Available for Informatics and Health Information Management Professionals

Certifications offered through AHIMA:

The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) offered through AHIMA oversees all AHIMA certification programs. The commission is comprised of a diverse group of health informatics and information management professionals, who are required to meet certification, work experience and leadership requirements to work on this commission.

Mission Focus of AHIMA Commission on Certification: Through certification, CCHIIM assures the competency of professionals practicing health informatics and information management worldwide.

CCHIIM Values Promote[1]:

•The application of evidence-based best practices for certification

•The validation of workforce competence through professional certification

•The commitment to ongoing professional development, lifelong learning and workforce excellence

•The recognition of CCHIIM-certified professionals' role in maintaining and enhancing quality health information for the safety of the public and the improvement of health care

Certifications Offered by AHIMA/CCHIIM:

• RHIA[2]] Registered Health Information Administrators work as a liaison between providers, payers and patients.
• RHIT[3] Registered Health Information Technicians who work to ensure high quality medical records, utilize tools to gather and analyze patient data to help improve care and/or manage costs and specialize in the use of coding for reimbursement and research.
• CCA[4] Certified Coding Associates have coding competencies that cover the entire spectrum of care delivery.
• CCS[5] Certified Coding Specialists in the hospital and research settings who evaluate patient records to determine codes for diagnoses and procedures using ICD-9 and CPT coding standards.
• CCS-P[6] Certified Coding Specialist , Physician-based are specialists in physician offices and group practices who review patient records to assign appropriate coding for diagnoses and procedures and ensure accurate submission of claims for reimbursement.
• CHDA[7] Certified Health Data Analyst are experts in health data analysis who are able to examine, attain, manage, convert and interpret patient data into accurate, timely information that can be used by varied stakeholders in the care delivery spectrum.
• CHPS[8] Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security are specialists who are responsible for planning, implementing and managing comprehensive privacy and security systems for any healthcare organization.
• CDIP[9] Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioners are professionals specializing in achieving many of the goals of audits, ARRA/HITECH and other quality improvement initiatives.

Certifications offered through the ONC/CCHIT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) & Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)

offer the following certifications: