McWilliams DHI program earns first CAHIIM doctoral accreditation

The Doctorate in Health Informatics program at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston is the first doctoral program to earn accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). The DHI program’s accreditation was approved by CAHIIM's board of directors during a June meeting with an effective date of June 25, 2026.

“Achieving CAHIIM accreditation is a defining moment for our DHI program,” said Angela Ross, DNP, RN, MPH, MS, DHI program director and associate professor at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics. “As the first doctoral program to earn this status, we are proud to lead the way in advancing rigorous, innovative, and future-focused education that prepares health informatics leaders to transform healthcare through data, technology, and innovation.”

CAHIIM, which is part of Accreditation Workforce Innovations, has 350 accredited programs in 49 states with over 25,500 students enrolled in said programs. “As the first doctoral program in the nation to achieve the distinction of earning CAHIIM accreditation for its Doctorate in Health Informatics program, UTHealth Houston is setting a premier benchmark for high-caliber graduate education, research, and scholarly leadership,” said Angela Kennedy, PhD, CEO of Accreditation Workforce Innovations. "We commend their leadership, faculty, staff, and alumni for their steadfast commitment to academic excellence and for driving the future of the health informatics discipline forward."

The CAHIIM accreditation process begins with a letter of intent sent to CAHIIM and then an initial application in the CAHIIM accreditation system. After the application is reviewed by the CAHIIM staff, it is either approved or denied. If an application is accepted and the program meets all requirements, the next step is CAHIIM candidacy status. During this period, programs complete a self-assessment to demonstrate compliance with numerous CAHIIM standards. The self-assessment includes various evaluations, including a comprehensive analysis of the learning management system used and a synopsis of the program’s curriculum.

After the self-assessment is reviewed, approved programs schedule a site visit. During this process, representatives from CAHIIM visit the program’s campus to verify that the educational program complies with CAHIIM accreditation standards. The DHI program’s site visit took place in April 2026.

After the site visit, the application for accreditation is then presented to the CAHIIM board of directors for final determination. Should there be any partially met standards during the review process, programs must submit progress reports to keep CAHIIM abreast of the status of standard improvement.

“Our DHI program was created to redefine advanced professional education in informatics,” said Jiajie Zhang, PhD, dean and The Glassell Family Foundation Distinguished Chair in Informatics Excellence at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics. “Achieving CAHIIM accreditation is an important national validation of the program’s quality and rigor, and of our commitment to preparing leaders who will shape the future of health informatics and healthcare.”

This marks the second time a degree program at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics earned CAHIIM accreditation. The applied track of the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics earned initial CAHIIM accreditation in 2019. The program has since maintained all requirements to retain accreditation, which is effective through 2030.

To learn more about CAHIIM accreditation standards or to review a directory of all accredited programs, visit the CAHIIM website.