Northeast Iowa Community College observes "Health Information Professionals Week"

HIT instructor Michele Grant assists students in lab at NICC

NICC faculty, students and graduates  are observing "Health Information Professionals Week" this week.

NICC HIT program assistant program director Michele Grant says quality data is the foundation of healthcare. "Health Information Professionals know how to look for quality data and then translate it to numerical form, which will improve healthcare, costs and research." Health information technologists also make an impact on healthcare cost efficiency and the economic well-being of healthcare providers, according to Grant.

"Health information technologists are one of the key components in helping with the restructuring process of providing healthcare," she explained. "It's hoped that HIT professionals will lead healthcare to a more cost-efficient system than the current one. They can educate the healthcare team on clinical documentation improvement, which will enhance quality and control cost to patients."