Ginny Gnadt
Senior Public Relations Specialist
(414) 297-6770, gnadtv@matc.edu
MATC to Train Health Information Technology Workers to Implement New Federal Law;
Pre-Admission Applications Being Accepted Now
MILWAUKEE (Aug. 17, 2010) – Milwaukee Area Technical College is one of 84 colleges in the United States chosen to train workers to help healthcare facilities and medical practices meet the requirements of the newly passed Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). Newly trained workers will implement and support the creation or conversion of medical records to standardized electronic health records. This will ensure easy information exchange across healthcare providers and public health authorities, while keeping records available and properly protected.
MATC will train 300 students in four designated health information technology roles over the next 18 months. In addition to implementing the new record-keeping system, they will redesign the workflow of records within healthcare settings to ensure improved quality and efficiency.
Students with appropriate prerequisite education or experience will be able to complete the training within six months or less. Groups of students will be selected to begin the training over the next 12 months, with the first group to start by Sept. 30, 2010.
Estimates based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education, and independent studies indicate a national shortfall over the next five years of approximately 51,000 qualified health information technology workers required to meet the needs of hospitals and physicians as they move to adopt electronic healthcare systems. Dr. Richard Ammon, MATC associate dean of health occupations and manager of the project, said: “MATC’s strong programs will support the expanded and growing demand for health information technology in the community.”
MATC is now accepting pre-admission applications. The first group of students will be selected within the next six weeks. Interested individuals should pre-apply utilizing this link to the HIT Program Pre-Admission Form: http://bit.ly/d8S7Oi.
For hospitals, clinics, physician’s offices, or other medical facilities interested in group training options or for more information, please contact Laurie Kohel, HIT project coordinator at kohell@matc.edu.
HIT Program Pre-Admission form
HIT Training Program FAQ (.doc format)
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