Unique Interdisciplinary Bachelor’s Degree Program in Health Information Management in United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The UAE government is in the process of moving from manual management systems to electronic medical records and Health Information Management (HIM) systems in the field of health.  All hospitals, clinics, offices of the doctors, pharmacies, and health insurance companies are in the transition period. Such a transition will certainly create huge demand for HIM graduates. In the fulfillment of this need, the Emirates College of Technology (ECT) in Abu Dhabi has developed four years bachelor’s degree program in applied health science, namely bachelor of applied health science in health information management (BAHS-HIM). In this regard, the college has firstly conducted the needs assessment in the UAE health sector to develop an ample program plan based on the American Health Information Association (AHIMA) and (AHIMA) Foundation recommendations. These recommendations will not only assist the refinement but also in the adoption of the global health information management curriculum. We also benchmark our program with available international programs and observed the contents are comparable. The comparability of BAHS-HIM structure, course contents, and level of credit will ascertain the highest standards of academic quality in any health institution. The program curriculum was developed as per the requirements of UAE and this will program will equip the students with the latest technology skills and will prepare them as per the demands of all the stakeholders. This program was initially launched in 2015.

 In conclusion, the program has demonstrated an effective curriculum that meets the standards of CAHIIM accreditation of baccalaureate degree programs in HIM. The course contents are in accordance with the standards of the international requirements for accreditations (AHIMA). The Program meets a true need of the UAE healthcare industry.