Health Information Management major
Health Information Management: courses, careers, and where to study
Health information management is the study of how medical records are governed, coded, secured, and kept accurate across their full lifecycle in health care organizations.
Health Information Management prepares students to plan, design, and manage the systems, processes, and facilities used to collect, store, secure, retrieve, analyze, and transmit medical records and other health information used by clinical professionals and health care organizations. The major centers on the medical record itself: its accuracy, completeness, privacy, and integrity from the moment information is created through the day it is archived or destroyed. Students learn the classification and coding systems that translate diagnoses and procedures into standardized data, the rules that govern release of information and patient confidentiality, and the workflows that keep records trustworthy across departments. This focus sets the field apart from health informatics, which emphasizes the data science and analytics drawn from clinical information, and from healthcare administration, which concentrates on running facilities and overseeing operations and finance. Here the work is record governance, compliance, and data quality rather than analysis or facility leadership.
Programs are offered at the associate and bachelor's levels, and for the closely related occupation of health information technologists and medical registrars, an associate's degree is the typical entry-level education. Coursework pairs classroom study of medical terminology, anatomy, coding, and health law with applied components such as a coding practicum and a supervised professional practice experience in a hospital, clinic, or health information department. Some programs hold programmatic accreditation, and certain roles connect to credentialing examinations, so prospective students should verify a program's accreditation and the credential eligibility for the path they intend to follow. Graduates work in hospitals, physician practices, long-term care and behavioral health settings, insurance and managed-care organizations, public health agencies, registries, and consulting firms, where they protect the accuracy and confidentiality of health information and keep it available to authorized clinicians and organizations.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of health information technologists and medical registrars, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $67,310 and projects employment to grow about 14.7% from 2024 to 2034; an associate's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Health Information Management maps to CIP 51.0706, Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator, within the HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS family. The official definition:
A program that prepares individuals to plan, design, and manage systems, processes, and facilities used to collect, store, secure, retrieve, analyze, and transmit medical records and other health information used by clinical professionals and health care organizations. Includes instruction in the principles and basic content of the biomedical and clinical sciences, information technology and applications, data and database management, clinical research methodologies, health information resources and systems, office management, legal requirements, and professional standards.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Health Information Management is awarded as
Of the 2,747 Health Information Management credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate22%614
- Associate8%227
- Bachelor's46%1,273
- Graduate23%633
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Medical record lifecycle, governance, and data integrity practices
- Diagnostic and procedural classification and coding systems
- Health data privacy, confidentiality, and release-of-information rules
- Health law, regulatory compliance, and accreditation standards
- Medical terminology, anatomy, and pathophysiology for record work
- Electronic health record content, structure, and documentation standards
- Coding practicum and reimbursement methodology fundamentals
- Data quality management, registries, and health statistics
- Supervised professional practice experience in a health information setting
Typical careers
- Health Information Technician
- Medical Records Coordinator
- Medical Coder
- Release of Information Specialist
- Clinical Documentation Specialist
- Medical Registrar
Typical salary range: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 health information technologists and medical registrars median $67,310).Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Health Information Management, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $117,960 | 62,100 | +23.2% | Bachelor's degree |
| Medical Records Specialists | $50,250 | 14,200 | +7.1% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars | $67,310 | 3,200 | +14.7% | Associate's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 3 of these 3 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Health Information Management does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Health Information Management major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Health Information Management program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Health Information Management department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Health Information Management program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Health Information Management credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Western Governors UniversityUT · 313
- Purdue University GlobalIN · 288
- Ivy Tech Community CollegeIN · 257
- University of Illinois ChicagoIL · 111
- University of Central FloridaFL · 79
- University of Washington-Seattle CampusWA · 60
- Capella UniversityMN · 59
- Institute of TechnologyCA · 58
- CUNY Graduate School and University CenterNY · 55
- Georgia Northwestern Technical CollegeGA · 55
- Southwest University at El PasoTX · 55
- Weber State UniversityUT · 55
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Health Information Management credentials were awarded
8 states have a distinct enough set of Health Information Management colleges to be worth its own page.
Search Health Information Management schools by state
- Health Information Management in California
- Health Information Management in Florida
- Health Information Management in Georgia
- Health Information Management in Illinois
- Health Information Management in Maryland
- Health Information Management in Massachusetts
- Health Information Management in New York
- Health Information Management in North Carolina
- Health Information Management in Pennsylvania
- Health Information Management in Texas
Related majors
Health Informatics
Health informatics is the study of capturing, storing, and analyzing clinical data so care teams can make better-informed decisions at the point of care.
Healthcare Administration
Healthcare Administration prepares graduates to manage the business side of hospitals, clinics, and health systems, combining health-policy knowledge with management, finance, and operations.
Health Sciences
Health Sciences is a broad pre-professional major for students preparing for medical, dental, PA, PT, or pharmacy school, combining biology, chemistry, and patient-care exposure.
Public Health
Public Health studies how to prevent disease and protect population health, suiting students who want to improve community well-being through data, policy, and programs rather than treating patients.
Information Systems
Information Systems bridges business and technology, teaching students to design, analyze, and manage the systems organizations run on, suiting those drawn to both computing and how companies operate.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Health Information Management degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Healthcare careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Health Information Management degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Health Information Management path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.