Due to recent legislation that will require healthcare providers to reformat medical records over the next few years, many campus-based and online colleges are creating degree programs that are intended to give students the skills they will need to work with electronic health information.

For instance, a New York-based school recently announced the launch of an associates degree program in health information technology, the Albany Herald reports.

School officials also unveiled a new virtual lab and classroom, which will enable students to gain hands-on experience with an electronic health record system and 3M coding software. As a result, individuals who enroll in these or similar college programs online may develop the skills to be at the forefront of the growing health information technology (IT) sector.

Furthermore, professionals who hold college degrees in this field are expected to have very good job prospects after they graduate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for medical records and health technicians is expected to increase by 39 percent over the next eight years.