The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) offers students a variety of courses ranging from business, hospitality, journalism, software development, IT services, Applied Machine Learning, Product Management, and many more. The courses are designed in such a way that the students are not only taught theoretical knowledge but also how to apply it in a real-world setting. This hands-on learning plays a major role in shaping the career of the students so that they can learn to apply their skills at their best right after they graduate.

One of the best parts about SAIT is that it has a partnership with industry, government, and other organizations that help provide students with the skills they need to succeed in their careers.

SAIT’s faculty is highly experienced and leave no stone unturned to provide support to the students. Right from theoretical knowledge to practicums or final capstone projects, students are trained in such a way that they will eventually become job-ready.

SAIT believes in equity, diversity, and inclusion and helps in providing appropriate conditions for an approachable campus where students feel appreciated, supported, and guided. 

Why Choose SAIT for Health Information Management Diploma?

This diploma is a two-year program and makes the students ready to enter the healthcare industry. The students will also be equipped with the desired skills to collect and interpret patient data for various research purposes.

Students as a part of this course will learn to manage and review patients’ personal health information using computer skills and knowledge of healthcare fundamentals. The main aim of this course is to provide information for the patient’s care, and education purposes. Sound decisions affecting health services can only be taken with the best information available and all of this is taught in this course.

In short, this includes IT systems that collect, store, manage and transmit a patient’s electronic medical record (EMR).

Course Structure

As mentioned earlier, this program is two years in length and is divided into three semesters each year. 

The fall and winter semesters 

Classroom instruction is given by teaching the students industry-specific software

The spring semester – Year one

Includes a six-week unpaid practicum placement at a healthcare facility

The spring semester – Year two 

Includes an eight-week unpaid practicum at a healthcare facility or organization

Delivery: On-Campus, classes will be held on weekdays

Credential: Diploma

Some of the subjects covered in the course are:

• Anatomy and Applied Terminology
• Medical Terminology
• Health Information Management 
• Health Information Law
• Data classification
• Healthcare professionalism
• Data Analysis & Presentation
• Statistics
• Quality Management
• Healthcare Project Management
• MS Access Database Design
• Healthcare Data queries

 What is expected from the students? 

Students who wish to enroll in this course are expected to have good English Language communication skills. They must be well-disciplined, and passionate about learning data analysis and statistics. Good analytical and critical thinking skills are an asset. They must also be able to work in a team environment, and have basic computer skills. If you think you possess all these skills and are passionate about data, then this course is the one for you.

Accreditation

Graduates of this program will be eligible to take the national certification exam with the Canadian College of Health Information Management (CCHIM). Upon successful completion of this exam, students will become certified Health Information Management Professionals.

What are the Admission Requirements? 

The requirements to get yourself enrolled in this course are as follows:

SPECIFIC TO THE PROGRAM

Completion of the following courses or equivalents:

• A minimum of 60% in Math 30-1, Math 30-2, Pure Math 30 or Applied Math 30, and
• A minimum of 60% in English Language Arts 30-1 or English Language Arts 30-2, and
• A minimum of 60% in Biology 30

Apart from this, there are certain English language requirements as well. TOEFL and IELTS both are accepted.

TOEFL with a minimum score of 20 in each section

                                   or

           Academic IELTS with a minimum score of 6.0 in every band

Practicum in the third and sixth semester

Students will be placed in a practicum so that they get hands-on experience and can apply their academic knowledge in a real business setting. This part is crucial for the students as it also bridges the gap between the classroom and the job environment that students will soon enter. This also helps the students in getting ready for the job market and have a competitive edge

Practicum requirements

• Immunization Records
• Police Information Check 

Please note that the students may be required to relocate for the Practicum as the opportunities in Calgary are limited.

Tuition and Fees

At SAIT, the base tuition fee for international students is about $19,401.61CAD for the first year of the study. The second-year fee is $18,561.70. 

Domestic students have a different set of fees which is $6,812CAD for the first year and $6,713.50 for the second year.

Click here to apply for this course.

Career Opportunities after completing this course

After completing this course, students can work as:

• Health record administrator
• Health information technology specialist
• Information Specialist
• Access and disclosure specialist

If you think that data analysis and interpretation in the healthcare industry interests you, and you have basic computer knowledge, then this course is perfect for you.

Click here, to learn more about this course.

Source: Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Health Information Management at SAIT Admission Requirements