completed in one year or less, and all of the master’s degree programs can be completed in two years or less. Addition- ally, ONC expects all of the programs to be sustained once they’ve been estab- lished with grant funding support. Program graduates will be prepared to work in public health, HIM, or EHR implementation for physicians’ offices. Members of the health care professions are among the targeted populations for recruitment to the program. Potential employers for program graduates may include HIT vendors, the government, public health agencies, re- gional extension centers, hospitals, and physicians’ offices. Graduates who work with hospitals or in physicians’ offices can help implement EHR systems and assist in achieving meaningful use. Susan Fenton, PhD, RHIA, assistant
professor and project director for PURE- HIT at Texas State, says the HIT pro- grams are ideal for students who need a flexible class schedule. For example, Texas State offers the graduate certifi- cate classes in HIM once a week in the evenings in San Marcos and broadcasts the classes to the Baylor Health Care System in Bryan Tower in Dallas, The University of Texas at Tyler Health Sci- ence Center, and Texas State University School of Nursing in Round Rock. As part of the training for the gradu- ate certificate, students choose elective courses, which include clinical data anal- ysis, data mining, database management, and IT systems project management. Texas State also offers a privacy and
security certificate, which can be com- pleted entirely online. “The privacy and security certificate would be perfect for someone from a clinical background who becomes re- sponsible for HIT in a medical practice. The certificate will give them a solid foundation in HIT and EHRs, with a focus on privacy and security of health information,” Dr. Fenton said. Both the HIM certificate and the pri- vacy and security certificate can be com- pleted in one year. Students take two classes in the fall and spring semesters and one class for the summer semester. Dr. Fenton says federal grants cover a majority of tuition and fees at each in-
stitution for Texas residents. For specific information on financial assistance and enrollment requirements, visit the web- site of the institution. (See “Apply On- line!” below.)
Grant funding ends in summer 2013. Each institution will be responsible for sustaining the programs. Student finan- cial aid will be available. To take advantage of the tuition as- sistance available through the federal grant now, Dr. Fenton urges prospective students to apply soon.
Apply online!
Texas State University-San Marcos PURE-HIT Program
http://pure-hit.health.txstate.edu/Pure-Hit-Application.html
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Master of Science in Applied Health Informatics
www.uthouston.edu/sbmi/academics/master-applied.htm
University of Texas at Austin HIT Program
www.biosci.utexas.edu/healthit/apply.asp
Midland College HITECH Workforce Program
www.midland.edu/hitt/documents/HITECHApplicationForm_002 .pdf
Dallas County Community College District HIT Program
www.dcccd.edu From the home page, click on Continuing Education, and then se- lect Courses & Programs from the menu. Click on Continuing Educa- tion Programs to access information on Health Science Continuing Education programs and the HIT program application.
Houston Community College HITECH Health IT Program
http://coleman.hccs.edu/coleman/a-career-in-health-sciences Click on the Health Information Technology link, followed by the HITECH Health IT Program link to access the application.
July 2011 TEXAS MEDICINE 57
Hands-on training in HIT Leanne Field, PhD, distinguished senior lecturer and director of the HIT pro- grams at UT Austin, says students re- ceive tuition assistance of up to $10,000 and career development services to help find a job. The three HIT programs are:
• Health information management and exchange specialist certificate: a na- tionally recognized program designed for post-baccalaureate students at UT Austin and other universities;
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