I was the first patient on the first day my doctor’s office transferred paper files to electronic records.
Front desk and office lead Therese Svare clicked her computer mouse to show I had arrived, was checked in and waiting for my blood draw. Phlebotomist Amanda Downare at her station in New West Physicians’ Evergreen internal medicine office could see that on her computer screen, too.
“I’ll have everything right here on a patient,” without having to find and go through a chart, Svare said. “The physicians will see that, too. Now I’ll be able to print out lab results and hand them to patients when they come in.”
She and her office colleagues will scan faxed test data into computer files; then physicians will be alerted by computer. “It’s going to make us a more efficient office for our patients,” Svare said.
*Heal economy with jobs, savings*
Those advantages and more explain why an estimated $20 billion was included in the U.S. economic stimulus plan ’¢â “ adopted in Denver ’¢â “ to accelerate the nation’s upgrade to electronic health records. Simply, the changeover is seen as a way to cut health care costs and to grow an estimated 200,000 new jobs nationwide. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill reduces health expenses for the federal government by more than $12 billion.
“It’s a good career for people who want to work in health care, but don’t want to be at a patient’s bedside,” said Sheila Carlon, Ph.D., director of the university’s Health Services Administration & Management program.
Lawmakers approved the expenditure for HIM technology expected to reduce medical errors, facilitate the exchange of information, increase access to prevention, reduce chronic diseases, and enhance health care quality. Every Denver hospital is in some stage of implementing and using health information management. “Everybody is doing it and needs as many HIM people as they can get,” Carlon said. “We haven’t had any HIM people that couldn’t find a job when they leave.”
*Hired before graduation*
Many of her students are working on the transition here, even before they graduate. They have been hired to train medical employees to use the new technology software, as, well as to install it.
“It’s a good field for IT people to change into,” Carlon said. “They already know the technical side, but will need to understand how health care works, how it is used and its terminology.”
Some techies enrolled at Regis have told her they feel they are making a difference in health care. “They have said they didn’t get any satisfaction by increasing a customer’s TV channels by 10.” But, by applying their skills to health care, “They feel like they’re helping the greater good . . . with a patient at the end of everything they do.”
Most of her students have at least a community college degree and are at Regis to add technical and medical courses. Some students have worked in health care, but did not complete a degree, or are tired of patient care and want to put their medical knowledge to work in HIM, she said.
Entry-level wages are in the upper $40,000s to $60,000s. Those with IT backgrounds earn more. Doctors and nurses can use the records to manage chronic illnesses, such as cancer, asthma and heart disease. Long-term, improved record-keeping is expected to show patterns, and to provide data for research and “predictive” medicine. This uses genetics, lab results and family history to predict a patient’s potential for illness, such as diabetes.
The digital data can link hospitals, pharmacists, laboratories, insurance companies, long-term care facilities, government agencies, medical test facilities, physicians and patients. Records for New West Physicians’ patients, for example, can be continuously updated with health history, doctors’ and nurses’ notes, prescribed medications and renewal dates, lab tests and results, treatment recommendations and upcoming test dates.
*Project 18% job growth*
The makeover’s need for HIM employees has put medical records and health information technicians on a list of Top 15 Hottest Health Care Careers, based on Labor Statistics projections, 2006-2016, with a nearly 18 percent growth rate. These employees will train medical staff, as well as run the computer systems. More specialists will be needed at computer hardware and software firms. Other specialists will work to incorporate patient privacy and record security.
More workers will be hired by Internet companies, such as Google, which has teamed with IBM software to stream patients’ data from their medical devices into their health records. HIM-related employees will work at insurance companies, government departments of health, research firms, consulting companies and computer vendors.
Colorado residents can prepare for HIM careers at Regis University (certificate, BS, MS and Ph.D.) and DeVry University (associate, BS). Graduates must pass a national certification exam.
_Linda Gaber is a copywriter and coordinator of Jobs Weekly for the Denver Newspaper Agency._