HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Student Handbook
2010-2011
Updated December 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Department Information / 3
Accreditation Statement / 3
Mission and Vision Statements of USC Upstate / 4
Mission Statement of the HIM Program / 5
Goals of HIM Program / 5
Performance Requirements / 5
Academic Dishonesty Policy / 6
Confidential Information / 6
Statement of Confidentiality / 7
Professional Practice Experience / 8
Career Center / 8
Counseling Services / 8
Drug Screening/Criminal Background Check / 9
Physical Examinations / 9
Association Memberships / 9
Advisory Committee / 10
HIM Library / 10
USC Upstate Policies / 10
Entry Level Competencies / 11
Synopsis of Curriculum / 14
Course Descriptions / 15
AHIMA Code of Ethics / 18
Handbook Receipt / 21
WELCOME
The University of South Carolina Upstate is pleased to welcome you to the Health Information Management (HIM) Program. We are confident that our program will be an enjoyable educational experience for you.
This handbook shall be your guide to the policies that are unique to the HIM Program as well as other services provided by the university. It is also available online at http://www.uscupstate.edu/informatics.
Specific university policies that are not in this handbook can be found online at http://www.uscupstate.edu/studentaffairs/dean.
DEPARTMENT INFORMATION
Department of Informatics
Ms. Donna Sandor, Administrative Assistant 864-503-5432
Ms. Carol Tesh, HIM Program Director 864-503-5562
Dr. Ron Fulbright, Department Chair 864-503-5683
Faculty
Dr. Richard Routh, Instructor 864-503-5030
Dr. Tyrone Toland, Assistant Professor 864-503-5310
Dr. Angelina Tzacheva, Assistant Professor 864-503-5056
Adjunct Faculty
Information regarding adjunct faculty is available in the HIM Program office or at
http://www.uscupstate.edu/informatics.
College of Arts and Sciences
The academic unit responsible for the Department of Informatics is the College of Arts and Sciences located in the Smith Building.
Ms. Nancy Callicott, Administrative Assistant 864-503-5782
Dr. Dirk Schlingmann, Dean 864-503-5389
ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
The University of South Carolina Upstate is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The Health Information Management Baccalaureate Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE
INSTITUTIONAL MISSION
University of South Carolina (USC) Upstate aims to become one of the Southeast’s leading “metropolitan” universities … a university that acknowledges as its fundamental reason for being its relationship to expanding populations along the I-85 corridor. It aims to be recognized nationally among its peer metropolitan institutions for its excellence in education and commitment to its students, for its involvement in the Upstate, and for the clarity and integrity of its metropolitan mission.
As a senior public institution of the University of South Carolina with a comprehensive residential campus in Spartanburg and commuting and degree completion operations at the University Center of Greenville, the University’s primary responsibilities are to offer baccalaureate education to the citizens of the Upstate of South Carolina and to offer selected master’s degrees in response to regional demand.
USC Upstate strives to prepare its students to participate as responsible citizens in a diverse, global and knowledge-based society, to pursue excellence in their chosen careers and to continue learning throughout life. Curricula and services are designed for the University’s students, four to seven thousand in headcount, who are diverse in background, age, race, ethnicity, educational experience and academic goals. Students are drawn in large proportion from the Upstate where many choose to remain for their careers. A broad range of major curricula are provided in arts and sciences and in professional fields of study required by the regional economy, including business, education, and nursing. Through on-site instruction, distance learning, continuing education and inter-institutional articulation agreements, both traditional students and working professionals are served across the region.
Consistent with the international character of the Upstate, the University promotes global perspectives across its programs. Supporting the regional employment objectives of most of its students, it provides extensive experiential learning opportunities.
The University’s metropolitan mission rests upon a foundation of partnerships with the education, corporate and service organizations of the Upstate. The faculty provides leadership in promoting the Upstate’s economic, social and cultural development. This is achieved through its teaching, professional and public service, basic and applied scholarship and research, and creative endeavors.
VISION STATEMENT
USC Upstate will emerge as “the metropolitan university of South Carolina” and one of the leading metropolitan universities of the Southeast, recognized as a center of superb teaching, experiential learning, regional partnerships, international opportunity, cultural diversity, and dynamic community activity.
HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
MISSION
The Health Information Management (HIM) Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate is part of the Department of Informatics. As a program within the College of Arts and Sciences, we have adopted their mission to provide a high-quality undergraduate program and experiential learning opportunities and we have chosen to duplicate several of their goals.
GOALS
1. To meet or exceed the criteria for an accredited program in Health Information Management.
2. To prepare graduates who will achieve proficiency in the Domains, Subdomains and Tasks for Registered Health Information Administrators.
3. To enable graduates to function successfully in a health information management environment.
4. To provide our community with the workforce they require.
5. To continuously assess our curriculum and challenge us to remain current in all areas of health care systems.
7. To maintain sufficient student enrollment in the HIM program through effective recruitment and retention.
8. To assist the University in developing and strengthening community partnerships throughout the Upstate and South Carolina.
9. To enhance students’ educational experiences through enhanced faculty development.
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
Based on your RHIT credential, we expect you to have a thorough HIM background upon acceptance into this program. We will add to your knowledge and help you to become a health informatics professional. If gaps in your HIM foundation are revealed through pre-testing, we will direct you to the appropriate setting to pick up these skills.
In order to complete the program, be eligible for graduation, and to write the registration examination, each student is required to successfully complete all courses within the Health Information Management Program with a minimum grade of C. Students who fail to achieve a grade of C or better will be allowed to repeat the class one time. Failure to achieve a grade of C or better the second time will result in dismissal from the Health Information Management Program.
In order to progress, a student must meet these requirements. To avoid academic dismissal from the Health Information Management Program an overall cumulative grade point average for all courses must equal or exceed 2.5.
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ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Plagiarism, or literary theft, is illegal and will not be tolerated. You will see much of our course material online and it will be tempting to copy and paste this material as part of your written work. If you do use a direct passage from an online source or printed materials, you must be careful to cite your source correctly.
Your grade on everything in the course is to be based on your own work. Cheating in any form is a violation of the honor code (found at http://www.uscupstate.edu/studentaffairs/dean in the student handbook), and will be reported to the Dean of Students. A first offense will result in a zero for the exercise/test. If the offense is not the first (whether in this class or another) the consequence will likely be more severe, including possible failure for the course. Possible sanctions include:
• expulsion
• indefinite suspension
• definite suspension reprimand
• “X” assigned for the final grade
• “F” assigned for the course
• “0” assigned for the assignment, test or paper
• additional assignments from the professor
• community service
Students who admit responsibility or who are found responsible through the Student Code of Conduct will receive the appropriate grade determined by the professor, which may include an X to signify academic dishonesty.Grades with an X are not subject to grade forgiveness
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
As a student in the HIM Program, you will be exposed to various levels of confidential information. Information accessed during your classes and during your professional practice experience which pertains to patients, physicians and other healthcare-related business is considered confidential, by law.
This confidential information must be protected. It must not be disclosed to any unauthorized individual, including family and friends. To disclose such information is just cause for immediate dismissal from the HIM Program. Please read and sign the Confidentiality Agreement found in the back of this handbook. Signed agreements must be delivered to the HIM Program Director on the pre-arranged due date.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE
STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY
The University of South Carolina Upstate Health Information Management Program agrees to maintain confidentiality of all patient and/or student information and to protect the rights to privacy of the patient and/or student under all possible circumstances.
Disclosure of such information to other health care providers involved in the care or treatment of the patient may be allowed if provided for by written and signed authorization from the patient or guardian, or if otherwise allowed by law.
As a University of South Carolina Upstate Health Information Management student, I understand that I am forbidden from discussing or reviewing a patient’s health information for any personal purpose.
I understand that any violation of any portion of this policy or the state and federal regulations governing the patient’s right to privacy may result in termination from the University of South Carolina Upstate Health Information Management Program.
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STUDENT NAME (please print) STUDENT SIGNATURE
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DATE WITNESS
A signed original must be on file in the Program Director’s Office.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE EXPERIENCE (PPE)
The curriculum requires students to have three credit hours of Management Affiliation for graduation, above and beyond the previous directed practice. The Management Affiliation runs during the final semester of the student’s education. This course will provide the student with the opportunity to combine their education with professional practices found in the HIM workplace.
The student will be involved in site selection by locating an appropriate site and providing the PPE coordinator with contact information. Approved Management Affiliation sites must employ a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) and must reach a signed agreement with USC Upstate.
The student will not be paid for work accomplished in the Management Affiliation but will receive college credits, on-the-job training, and experience in health information management. The student will be responsible for all personal expenses incurred during the Management Affiliation. This includes meals, parking, transportation, prerequisite physical examination and activities. The student will be expected to meet both the financial obligations and time commitments necessary to complete their affiliation in a timely fashion.
The student is not to be used as a replacement for regular staff by the management affiliation site. A student is not allowed to perform their affiliation in a department of the facility where they are employed or have been employed or volunteered within the previous six months in any capacity related to health information management.
CAREER CENTER
The USC Upstate Career Center can assist students in all phases of obtaining employment during their education and after graduation. The Career Center also offers an internship orientation program which provides students with the necessary skills and knowledge for a successful PPE.
Visit www.uscupstate.edu/studentsuccess for complete information about the Career Center’s services. To view information about internships, go to Employer Resources then Internship Development.
COUNSELING SERVICES
USC Upstate also provides counseling services for students “in a caring, supportive setting by competent counselors with masters/doctoral degrees in counseling. Counseling is short-term, solution-based and provides an atmosphere focusing on growth and change. The center's staff maintains professional counselor/client relationships that foster acceptance, encouragement, and growth. Some of the services offered are personal counseling, career counseling andeducational workshops.
Visit www.uscupstate.edu/studentaffairs/counseling for more information.
DRUG SCREENING/CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
An increasing number of clinical sites are requiring a drug screen and/or a criminal background check (CBC). Currently, the drug screen and/or CBC are not required but they are being performed at the request of the Professional Practice site. If a site requires a drug screen or CBC, it must be completed prior to participating in SHIM 498 Professional Practice Experience. The student will assume the cost of these requirements.
Students who believe they have cause to not pass these screenings may have difficulty in finding clinical site placement. Additionally, if the circumstances exist, it is reasonable to expect that finding employment following graduation will be difficult.
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS
Just as with drug screening and criminal background checks, some facilities are requiring students to have a physical examination (at the student’s expense) prior to the start of the professional practice experience. If this is the case, the student will receive further instructions on how to obtain the exam and submit the results.
ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
HIM students are entitled to become student members in the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and their state affiliate (ex. SCHIMA) for a reasonable fee. After graduations, students are encouraged to continue as professional members. Members receive all mailings of the Association including the Journal of AHIMA, access to the interactive section of the web site (Communities of Practice), practice briefs, and discounted prices for conferences, purchases and credentialing examinations.
When becoming a member of AHIMA, the student automatically becomes a member of the state association. Students are not charged dues at the state level. However, they do receive all mailings as well as eligibility to attend the state educational meetings at a discounted rate. Students are encouraged to become involved in these associations in order to take advantage of the networking benefits which are an essential part of career success.
ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR ASSOCIATIONS
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)