On May 18, 2012, the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education approved Charter Oak State College's first major - an online bachelor's degree completion program in Health Information Management. The program now goes to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) for approval. The College plans to begin offering courses for this new major in late October.
Developed by licensed practitioners and experts in the field, the B.S. in Health Information Management prepares graduates to sit for the RHIA (Registered Health Information Administrator) licensure exam. Students will graduate from this online program equipped with the skills to develop, maintain and enforce organizational policies, procedures and guidelines for the management of health information and health information technology systems, as well as to manage, maintain, update, modify and purge healthcare data in accordance with organizational policies and state-specific Statute of Limitations. The curriculum, which was developed in response to a growing demand in the field, includes ICD-10-CM and CPT-4 coding schemes for reimbursement of healthcare services.
The College made the decision to construct its first full major in the field of health information management after considerable market research. "We chose to make this program our highest priority because we believe that there are, and will continue to be, numerous jobs that will require the combination of healthcare knowledge and technology expertise as the healthcare industry moves its patient data into digital systems that permit customers access to their own information," Charter Oak President Ed Klonoski said. "We believe that this work will revolutionize healthcare and that our graduates will be at the forefront of this important work."
Founded in 1973, Charter Oak State College is Connecticut's only public online college, offering associate and bachelor's degree completion programs in high-demand fields including Health Care Administration, Public Safety Administration, Business Administration, Information Systems and more. Charter Oak students complete degree programs through online courses and alternative approaches to earning credit. Charter Oak is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and governed by Connecticut's Board of Regents for Higher Education.