Health Information Systems/Medical Records/Nursing

[chaiteaRN]

Is anyone aware of how a nursing degree (BSN) can be used in the area of Health Information Systems (previously known as Medical Records)? I imagine that knowledge of disease and medical terminology would be very useful. I am looking into more technical (away from direct patient care or management) options in Nursing and wondered if anyone had experience in this field? Any thoughts would be appreciated......

[elkpark]

As far as I'm aware, no overlap whatsoever. They are two entirely different disciplines. I worked as a surveyor for my state and CMS for several years, and all the regulatory agencies require that HIS/MR staff have degrees and certifications in HIS/MR.

Turn the question around and think about it -- would a medical records professional get hired into a nursing position because s/he knows some of the stuff that nurses know??

Of course, you always have the option of returning to school and getting HIS/MR credentials if that's the area in which you really want to work.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

If this is an area of interest for you, you probably need to go with an Informatics focus instead of HIM. They're 'kissing cousins' career-wise. Informatics will focus primarily on electronic record systems; how to configure them, how to improve them, how to extract & analyze data, etc. For more information about programs, etc... https://www.amia.org/

You could go for an MSN with an informatics major or an Informatics certificate program designed especially for nurses. They build on the clincal experience & knowledge you already have. Your BSN will be a real asset in this field. Many of the leading EHR vendors are constantly looking for Nurse-informaticists. This is a very hot career field now due to Federal initiatives. The race is on for organizations to meet very specific criteria for EHR implementation in order to get mucho $ in a couple of years.

Good Luck!