HIM COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

The courses below are those in the professional phase of the program which will be completed at UMDNJ. The general education courses, listed on the curriculum page may be completed at Kean University.

REQUIRED COURSES IN THE HIM PROGRAM

COURSE (CREDITS)

BINF 3010  Medical Terminology (3)
Word formation, derivations, and meanings of medical terms related to medical specialties, health services, and health related fields with applications in the transcription of medical reports.
Prerequisite:  None

BINF 3110  Legal Aspects of Health Information (3)
A study of the importance of medical records as legal documents.  Includes the legal aspects of hospital and medical staff organization, release of information and legal actions requiring evidence from medical records.
Prerequisite:  None

BINF  3125  Development and Retention of Medical Records (4)
A comprehensive study of the structure and content, technical evaluation and completion, and retention and storage of health records in acute care and non-acute care settings.
Prerequisite:  Acceptance into Health Information Management.

BINF  3301  Classification & Reimbursement Systems (3)

This course provides in depth coverage of reimbursement methodologies used throughout the healthcare industry as well as preparing the student to assess compliance with regulatory guidelines.   Also including is an overview of classification systems such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and the Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) and  clinical terminologies as they apply to these systems

Prerequisite:  Admission to Health Information Management Program. Corequisite:  BINF 3125

BINF  3411  Disease Pathology I (3)
An in-depth study of disease processes which affect the human body with applications to the operation of a medical information system.  Part I of II.
Prerequisite:  BIO  2402 or permission of instructor.

BINF  3412  Disease Pathology II (3)
Continuation of Disease Pathology I with emphasis on diseases of individual organs.  Part II of II.
Prerequisite:  BINF  3411.

IDST 3510 Principles of Scientific Inquiry (3)
Provides an overview of the various methods used in structured scientific inquiry, including descriptive research, case studies, causal-comparative analysis, and true experimental designs. Emphasis is on problem definition via bibliographic inquiry, and the critical interpretation and use of the research literature. Prerequisites: All students should have the requisite technical skills needed for online learning, as defined in Requirements for online Learners in WEBCT.

BINF  3619  Directed Practice I (1)
Supervised learning experiences in health information departments chosen according to the standards of the American Health Information Management Association.  One eight hour day per week for first 8 weeks of semester.
Prerequisite:  BINF 3301, and BINF  3125. Co-requisite: BINF  3110

BINF  3629  HIM Seminar I(1)
Supervised learning experiences in non-hospital health care facilities.  One 8 hour day per week for last 7 weeks of semester.  
Prerequisite: BINF  3619 or permission of instructor.

IDST 4116 Health Care Finance and Budgeting (3)
The course provides students with an overview of health care finance and budgeting for non-finance and accounting majors. It is intended for those individuals with a clinical background who currently or may in the future, have some financial management or budgeting responsibilities. Topics covered include: financial statement interpretation, budget preparation and analysis, financing sources, cash flows and other related topics.
Prerequisite: To enroll in IDST 4116, you must be enrolled as a student in a bachelor’s level degree/certificate program at UMDNJ-SHRP.  All students should have the requisite technical skills needed for online learning, as defined in Requirements for online Learners in WEBCT

IDST 4117 Health Services Management (3)
This course provides an overview of the principles and techniques of supervision and management in a health care setting. It is intended for health care professionals with a clinical background who, at present or in the future, may assume supervisory or managerial duties and responsibilities.
Prerequisite: All students should have the requisite technical skills needed for online learning, as defined in Requirements for online Learners in WEBCT

BINF 4220 Guided Research Project in HIM (3)
This course is an introduction to independent research and involves working on a research project, completing a literature review, selection of appropriate research design and methodologies, and analysis of findings using parametric and non-parametric testing.  Descriptive and inferential statistical formulas are reviewed and students use SAS and/or SPSS software to analyze data for their report.  Topic areas covered in the course include:  research designs and methodologies in multiple disciplines, identification of research problems, development of appropriate research questions and hypotheses, definition and measurement of variables, sampling techniques, data collection techniques, statistical analysis of data collected, and reporting.
Prerequisite: IDST 3510

IDST 4300 Human Resources Management in Health Care (3)
This course provides an overview of human resources management in health care. It is intended for those individuals with a clinical background who currently, or may in the future, have administrative, managerial or supervisory responsibilities. Topics include: job analysis, recruitment/retention, selection/placement, training/development, performance appraisal, compensation, labor relations and other related topics.
Prerequisite:  Entry level training as a health professional or permission of the instructor. In addition, all students should have the requisite technical skills needed for online learning, as defined in Requirements for online Learners in WEBCT

BINF  4210  Health Statistics (3)
A comprehensive study of the principles of statistics applied to health data.  Includes vital and other health statistics. 
Prerequisite:  College Algebra and Math Statistics.

BINF  4310  Performance Improvement in Health Care (3)
This course deals with performance improvement in the health care setting.  Students learn about the history of quality assurance, traditional quality programs and why they failed.  Quality Improvement, its philosophies, techniques and methods, are explored in theory and application relating to a hospital-wide and health information management department quality improvement activities.  Licensing and accreditation agencies and requirements for quality programs are also explored. Writing Emphasis Course. First 10 weeks of semester.
Prerequisites:  This course is open to all students who have been accepted into the HIM Program and who have completed all of their 3000-level courses as well as IDST 4117  Health Services Management.

BINF 4311 Electronic Health Records (3)

In this course, students will learn why Electronic Health Records (EHR) are seen as one of the most effective ways to improve healthcare, what information technology infrastructure is needed to support the EHR, why physician buy-in is essential to achieve success, how to overcome return-on-investment obstacles, the key components of a well-designed EHR, and why clinical decision support offers huge EHR payback. Students will examine how the Electronic Health Record (EHR) will affect clinical outcomes and disease management today and into the future. Students will also get case studies of winning healthcare providers' EHR strategies – tips and tactics that can be used in EHR planning and implementation. In addition, students will learn about the federal government's recent efforts to accelerate EHR adoption and how this adoption will be affected by HIPAA and community security concerns.

BINF 4525 HIM Seminar II (3)
An exploration of effective methods of identifying and solving specific types of problems encountered in the administration of Health Information Management. 3 credit hours: First 10 weeks of the semester.
Prerequisites: This course is open to HIM Program Seniors who are in their final semester of the Program and who have satisfactorily completed all previous course work.

BINF 5005 Health Care Information Systems (3)
The course focuses on the general systems theory applied to health care systems and information technology. Computer-based information system operation and management functions in the context of various professional settings, impact of information technology on health care management are reviewed and discussed. Demonstrations of current health information systems, emphasizing design, system components, data structures and database management are conducted. The costs and potential benefits of current applications; the justification, specification and evaluation of computer systems, and the capacity for future modification and development. Students practice on existing systems in various health care settings.
Prerequisite: This web-based course is open to all medical, dental, public health and health related professions students.

BINF  4619  Management Affiliation (4)
Supervised learning experience with a registered health information administrator and/ or department head at an affiliated health care facility to gain experience in Health Information Management.  Last 5 weeks of semester.
Prerequisite:  This is the capstone course in the HIM Program.  It is open to all HIM students who have completed all other prerequisite course work and are enrolled in or have completed all co-requisite course work..  Students who have outstanding HIM coursework will not be permitted to take Management Affiliation

Elective Courses (must select both courses within the same track)

Medical Coding Track:

BINF  3302  Basic ICD-9-CM Coding (3)

A course designed to increase the depth of knowledge in coding systems with primary practical applications in International Classification of Diseases (ICD.).  The course also includes a brief introduction to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS).  This course is a required course in the Coding Certificate Program and an elective course in the Health Information Management Program.

Prerequisite:  Anatomy & Physiology, BINF  3301, BINF 3010 and BINF 3411.
Corequisite: BINF 3412.

HIM  3303 Basic CPT-4 Coding (3)

A course designed to increase the depth of knowledge in coding systems with primary practical applications in Current Procedural Terminology (CPT-4).  This course is a required course in the Coding Certificate Program and an elective course in the Health Information Management Program.

Prerequisite:  BINF  3302

Medical Informatics Track: (Courses in this track will also apply to a Master's in Health Informatics for students who continue into the graduate program.)

BINF 5000 Essentials of Health Computer Science (3)

This course focuses on the basic concepts of computer systems and the World Wide Web technologies essential for further studies in Biomedical Informatics.  It serves as a bridging course for those students who do not have the necessary background in these essential concepts.

BINF 5100 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3)

This is an introductory course for MS/PhD degree students in biomedical informatics. This course aims to provide an overview and fundamental knowledge of biomedical informatics. In addition to a bird¿s eye view of the actively evolving field of biomedical informatics, some details of bioinformatics applications in clinical setting are also discussed in this course. Topics covered encompass various areas of biomedical and healthcare informatics, including biomedical modeling, clinical decision support, imaging informatics, public health informatics, pharmacogenomics, clinical proteomics, and metabolomics.

Clinical Trial Science Track: (Courses in this track will also apply to a Master's in Clinical Trial Science for students who continue into the graduate program.)

BPHE 5110 Food and Drug Law (3)

This course will review the historical events that have helped shape laws governing the development, manufacturing, and distribution of drugs, food (other than meats), medical devices and biologics.  Current FDA rulings concerning food and drug safety including production, packaging, labeling, transporting and storage regulations will be reviewed.  Specific regulations that will be reviewed in depth include Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, US Public Health Service Act, and Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations.

BPHE 5521 Regulatory Requirements in Clinical Investigations (3)

This course presents foundation knowledge of regulatory requirements
impacting the conduct of clinical investigations, most notably
intervention studies conducted by the pharmaceutical and medical device
industries.  Content focuses primarily on the regulations contained in
Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, FDA notes and guidances,
and the FDA Inspection process.  The course expands into a more global
view including the history and organization of the International
Conferences on Harmonization (ICH), the ICH meetings and documents, and
introduces students to the new European Clinical Trial Directives.
Web-based.