A Skills Evolution

July 13, 2017, Spring City, Penn. – The HIM profession is in transition. An aging population with more complex medical needs coupled with the health care system’s evolution to quality-based, data-driven care and reimbursement models is driving the change. In addition to a growing demand for HIM professionals, emerging care models and the shifting regulatory landscape are calling for a vastly different set of skills and education than were needed less than a decade ago.

“As we move more and more from paper to technology, not only are there many jobs available in this space, but employers tell us that the competition for qualified HIM professionals is growing exponentially, creating even greater demand,” says Jaysa Boyer-Tushaus, national director of corporate alliance for Ultimate Medical Academy.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 15% growth rate in HIM employment by 2024, which is more than double the average growth rate for all occupations. That’s approximately 29,000 new positions expected to be created within a decade.

But high demand isn’t resulting in an HIM shortage—not yet, anyway. The biggest challenge confronting the profession isn’t filling openings but rather closing a talent gap created by shifting roles, responsibilities, and expectations in a data-centric field.

“The gap [relates] more to whether the individuals coming out of [academic] programs are prepared for the job in the sense that they are ready to handle what’s going on in the industry now,” says Elizabeth Delahoussaye, RHIA, CHPS, senior vice president of compliance and privacy with Ciox Health. “A lot of the [HIM] industry is data driven. … For us to be more relevant in our industry of HIM services, we have to be concerned about data.”

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