By Howard Campbell
When Lystra John moved to South Florida from New York just over 10 years ago, she had cut her teeth in the financial industry. But the recession that hit the United States in 2008 influenced a career change.
Registered Health Information Technician
Nine years ago, John became a Registered Health Information
Technician (RHIT). She is currently the Health Information Management (HIM) director at Florida Medical Center (FMC) in the City of Lauderhill.
An RHIT compiles data on patients and transfers it to administration for coding, or medical records as it was once known. “It’s a very important field. Once a patient goes through their procedure everything comes to the HIM. We put codes in place so the hospital can be reimbursed,” John explained.
Increasingly attractive field
The RHIT field has become increasingly attractive. Last year, the University of Wisconsin reported that, “In the past five years, the number of Registered Health Information Administrators who passed the RHIA exam in Wisconsin nearly tripled.” That trend is even more positive in the neighboring states of Minnesota and Illinois.
John earned her RHIT certificate from Miami Dade College and has worked in the field for nine years, starting with North Shore Medical before going to FMC.
Teaches HIM
She also teaches HIM at Miami Dade College. Like the situation cited in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois, she has noticed an increase in persons becoming RHITs in South Florida.
“Definitely, and the demographics are changing. We see a lot more Caribbean people and Hispanics, a lot more males. I’m glad they’re doing this,” she said.
Trinidadian
Lystra John is from Trin City Orange Grove in east Trinidad. She migrated to Montreal, Canada, 20 years ago, then went to New York where she earned an executive masters’ degree in business administration from Baruch College.
The precarious nature of the financial sector in 2008 influenced her to consider a career change shortly after she relocated to the Sunshine State. “When I relocated here from New York a lot of jobs were being outsourced and the economy was changing, so I decided to change as well,” she stated.
After a decade in the medical industry, John says there are no regrets. She believes being a RHIT has “helped me grow. It’s a fulfilling job knowing you are securing people’s health records.”
She is a member of the American Health Information Management Association which certifies the RHIT.
