PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Health Information Management and Systems (HIMS) provides students with a solid business and information systems background with a broad health care foundation. HIMS focuses on the business aspects of health-related services involving creating, analyzing, managing, and protecting medical information vital to high-quality patient care. Students in their last term in the HIMS program sit for the American Health Information Management Association’s national certification examination to obtain their Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credential.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

GPA of 2.50 or higher

A minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA is required in all coursework taken at any accredited institution.

Prerequisite Courses

Before starting the professional program, all prerequisite courses or equivalents must be completed with a C- or higher. Ohio State course numbers are shown below.

First Year Prerequisites

Biology 1101
English 1110.01
Mathematics (MATH) 1148 or higher
Psychology (PSYCH) 110
One prerequisite elective course from the following list: Applicants must select one course from the following options. When planning, students must know which classes have prerequisites and when the course is available.
English 3304: Business and Professional Writing (course prerequisite is English 1110.01
English 3305: Technical Writing
Public Health: Epidemiology (PUBHEPI) 2410: Epidemiology in Public Health
Microbiology (MICRBIO) 4000.0X: Basic and Practical Microbiology or 4010: Foundations of Microbiology and Human Health

Second Year Prerequisites

Accounting and Management Information (ACCTMIS) 2000 or 2200
Anatomy 2300, 3300, or Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology (EEOB) 2510
Communication (COMM) 2131 or 2110
Economics (ECON) 2001.01
Health Information Management and Systems (HIMS) 5648
Human Physiology (EEOB 2520 or PHYSIO 3200)
Medical Terminology for the Health Professions (HTHRHSC 2500)
Statistics (STAT) 1450

First-year students may apply to the HIMS program, with priority given to those with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and who have completed at least half of the prerequisite courses with a grade of C- or higher by the end of the summer term of their first year. If accepted through this pathway, students will complete the remaining prerequisites in their second year and start the program in their third year.

Application

The HIMS application is available online and must be completed and submitted with all required supplemental documents, if applicable. The Graduate and Professional Admissions Application Guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to start the online application.

While not required, students are encouraged to interview or shadow an HIM professional of their choice before applying. Competitive applicants will be invited for a personal interview, during which their knowledge of the profession and personal career goals will be assessed. The program will individually consider the courses taken and the applicant’s experiences during the admission evaluation. 

Deadline

The HIMS program admits students once per year, with students beginning the program in the Autumn semester. The application deadline for Autumn 2025 is January 31, 2025. The professional program will begin on August 26, 2025.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The minimum credit hours to graduate from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences are 120.  The Health Information Management and Systems program requires 124 credit hours, not including HTHRHSC 1100, to graduate from the program. English 1109; Education Teaching and Learning (EDUTL) 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1010, and Mathematics 1040, 1050, 1073, 1074, 1075 do not count toward the 124 credit minimum requirement for the degree. Other graduation requirements include a minimum of thirty semester hours of credit earned through regular course enrollment at Ohio State, regular course enrollment in the last semester in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HRS), a cumulative Ohio State GPA of at least 2.0 on all coursework complete at Ohio State as well as at least a 2.0 GPA in the major and an application for degree must be submitted online at least one semester prior to the intended graduation term. The graduation application and instructions are found on the HRS Academic Support Services Site.  Students should reference their degree audit to understand the course and credit requirements and to ensure they complete all required degree components, including general education (GE), program prerequisites, and professional curriculum.

The plan demonstrates how students may complete the HIMS program in eight semesters as a freshman. It is assumed that students following this plan who are admitted to the program will begin professional coursework in the autumn semester of year three. There is flexibility in when a student may take courses in years one and two. However, in years three and four, the curriculum is more structured with limited ability to change.  Students may choose to take non-professional courses over summer terms. It is highly recommended that students take all GE courses before starting the professional program. The professional curriculum is completed in sequence, and there is no provision for part-time or evening-only enrollment. Students who intend to transfer credit to Ohio State may view how credit is accepted on Transferology.com.

Ohio State academic programs are designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure and certification and, state licensing board contact information for online programs, and professional licensure & certification disclosures for on-campus programs.

Autumn, Year 1

Biology 1101 Introductory Biology or 1113 Biological Sciences: Energy Transfer and Development (4 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 1100 Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Survey (1 credit)
Mathematics 1148 College Algebra or higher (4-5 credits)
Psychology1100 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
15 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 1

Communication 2131 Business and Professional Speaking or 2110 Principles of Effective Public Speaking (3 credits)
English 1110.01 First-Year English Composition (3 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
Prerequisite Elective Course (3 credits)
15 Credits Total    

Autumn, Year 2

Anatomy 2300, 3300 or Evol, Ecology and Organismal Bio (EEOB) 2510 (4-5 credits)
Economics 2001.01 Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
Statistics 1450.01 or.02 Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (3 credits)
16-17 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 2

Accounting and Management Inform (ACCTMIS) 2000 Foundations of Accounting or Accounting and Management Inform (ACCTMIS) 2200 Introduction to Accounting I (3 credits)
Evol, Ecology and Organismal Bio (EEOB) 2520 or Physiology and Cell Biology 3200 (3-5 credits)
General Education (3 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 2500 Medical Terminology for the Health Professions (3 credits)
Health Info Mgt and Systems (HIMS) 5648 Microcomputer Applications in Health Sciences (2 credits)
14-16 Credits Total

Begin Professional Coursework in Health Information Management and Systems (HIMS)

Autumn, Year 3

HIMS 3520 Fundamentals of Health Information Management (4 credits)
HIMS 3589 HIM Professional Practice Experience I (1 credit)
HIMS 5536 Healthcare Revenue Life Cycle Management (3 credits)
HIMS 5575 Project Management (1 credit)
HIMS 5650 Healthcare Information Systems and Technology (3 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5500 Introduction to Pathophysiology (4 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5510 Pharmacological Aspects of Practice in HRS (2 credits)
18 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 3

HIMS 5535 Clinical Coding Performance and Management (4 credits)
HIMS 5540 Healthcare Data Management and Analysis (3 credits)
HIMS 5545 Fundamentals of Healthcare Law and Ethics in HIMS (3 credits)
HIMS 5654 Health Information Systems Analysis and Design (4 credits)
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HTHRHSC) 5900 Research Interpretation and Application (3 credits)
17 Credits Total

Autumn, Year 4

HIMS 4645 Management and Professional Development for Health Information Services (4 credits)
HIMS 5620 Healthcare Reimbursement Systems (3 credits)
HIMS 5635 Quality Mgt and Performance Improvement in Health Care (3 credits)
HIMS 5655 Healthcare Database Administration (3 credits)
13 Credits Total 

Spring, Year 4

HIMS 4685 Certification Review Course (2 credits)
HIMS 4689 HIM Professional Practice Experience II (6 credits)
HIMS 5537 Healthcare Data Trending and Analytics (3 credits)
HIMS 5656 Health Care Business Intelligence (2 credits)
HIMS 5660 Healthcare Financial Management (2 credits)
15 Credits Total

Questions?

Contact the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at 614-292-1706 or HRSStudentServices@osumc.edu
Degree requirements and course offerings are subject to changes.
Last updated on: July 1, 2024