Every time a patient visits a health care provider, an observation and treatment record is made. The health information technician is the person who often organizes and evaluates these records.

More information Monroe Community College- Health Information Technology Program 1000 E. Henrietta Road Rochester, N.Y. 14623 (716) 292-2375

The information in these records includes medical history, results of check-ups, x-ray and lab test results, diagnoses from health care personnel and treatments. Handling these is no small task.

But, says Sharon Insero, director of the Health Information Technology program at Monroe Community College, the job involves even more than organizing those records. Health information technicians are also counted on to compile data used in quality improvement, risk management and hospital reimbursement.

Technicians collect and organize data on the practices of health care facilities which is used to analyze and improve their quality of care. They also compile and evaluate information used to help control finances and reduce the organization's risk to liability. Depending on their experience and the employer, they may offer suggestions for improvement in these areas as well.

Many health information technicians specialize in areas such as coding or tumor registry. A Certified Coding Specialist is an expert in classifying medical data who assigns a code to each diagnosis and procedure found in a patient's record.

Insero says the coding specialty has grown due to a change in hospital reimbursement programs. Under the diagnosis-related group reimbursement system, hospitals are paid based on which discharge code is applied to a patient's record, meaning the work of the health information technician is an important part of the payment process for hospitals.

"There are a lot of opportunities in this field," says Insero, "but it's just not one of those glamorous jobs you hear about."

Unlike many health care practitioners, who seem to be in college until their first born graduates high school, health information technicians can get an entry-level job with as little as two years of college, through an associate's degree program. Reflecting the diversity of their work, students at MCC are required to take classes ranging from anatomy and physiology to legal aspects and quality improvement.

Job outlook statistics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show this to be one of the 20 fastest growing occupations over the next several years. The American Health Information Management Association indicates the median salary for HI technicians was $31,200 in 1997.