RN Specialty in Informatics?

[awellsrn]

I am an RN looking into getting a certificate in Health Informatics. I have been researching different areas and wondering if anyone has experience in this field would recommend a path to take? There seems to be so many different areas in this field and it is somewhat confusing!!

What do certifications cover and what is the best path to take in CCDS, RHIA, RHIT, CID?????

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Good morning! I moved your post to the nursing informatics forum to encourage maximum responses.

I think the first question: what do you want to do with your certificate or informatics education? What are your goals?

[awellsrn]

I had been looking online for jobs to do from home and I have clinic experience in ICD coding, but without a certification. Most places require one or more of the certifications I listed above. I wasn't sure if a certification in CID would cover most health informatics or if the other certifications under one umbrella or were totally separate and needed their own certification?

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

RHIT and RHIA have specific education requirements; I was just discussing this with a coworker who holds the RHIA credential.

Registered Health Information Technologist (RHIT) requires an Associates degree in HIT/HIM to sit for the exam. For the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), you have to have a Bachelors in HIM and the program must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). RHIA applicants can also have a Masters in HIM from a program approved by CAHIIM.

So are you looking to do coding from home?

[awellsrn]

Yes. Ok that makes sense! So I think I was reading that to do informatics or CID you can be an RN and get a certification?

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

I'm not sure what CID is - do you mean CIC? You can browse some of the certifications here: Medical Coding Certification - AAPC

[awellsrn]

Sorry! I mean CCDS or CDI - clinical documentation improvement