Assessment of success on the RHIA certification examination: a comparison of baccalaureate program graduates and postbaccalaureate certificate program graduates.

The demand for registered health information administrators continues to outpace the available supply of credentialed graduates. One solution to address this shortfall has been the availability of postbaccalaureate certificate programs. A health information administration department at an academic health sciences center, which has historically offered a traditional bachelor of science degree in health information administration, has offered a postbaccalaureate certificate program in health information administration since 2001. As part of the program's ongoing quality review/performance improvement process, program faculty conducted an analysis to determine whether success on the registered health information administrator (RHIA) certification examination was the same, regardless of the program type or method of course delivery. Results of this analysis demonstrated that the postbaccalaureate certificate program is a viable alternative for producing successful health information administration graduates, increasing program enrollment, and increasing the number of RHIAs in the workforce. Health information administration programs may consider a postbaccalaureate certificate program as a way to increase the number of graduates and in turn increase the health information administration workforce.