Responses

Christina Discussion:

Hi everyone,

My name is Christina Bharath. I currently live in Long Island, New York. I am an administrative coordinator for the Cardiology department at New York Presbyterian Hospital. I enrolled in this course because I am very passionate about healthcare and would like to further my studies in healthcare management. My goal is to be able to manage a department from an administrative aspect. I hope to gain knowledge from this course and apply it to my career. Aside from work, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, and eating new foods.

Healthcare information has transformed tremendously throughout history, from paper charts to electronic medical records. It became clear that providers could better treat patients with complete and accurate medical history by documenting charts. Medical records became critical to the patient experience's safety and quality. According to NCBI, Health Information Management originated in 1928 and developed as a standardized course of study for medical record librarians. It started with a focus on standardizing and managing paper-based records within hospitals today. In 1961 The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society HIMSS was adopted (NCBI). This improved hospital management systems through organized research, education, and professional practice programs.

The changing landscape set the path to strengthen the contributions of HIM professionals and educators, which has transformed health care. The change within health care systems has identified specific trends in shaping their roles and functions for the future. Recent revisions suggest a need for skills and knowledge beyond EHR development, procurement, implementation, and maintenance. 

The introduction of technology created new job roles and functions for HI and HIM professions. New technology included Broad-scale semantic and functional interoperability supporting direct data capture, digital ecosystem, and learning health system approaches with implications for the growth and next generation of e-records, Meaningful use, accountable care, activity-based funding models, interpreting data, mobile, and other personal health or home devices and applications with increasingly diverse implications for data quality, safety, and standardization. (NCBI)

 Reference

Gibson, C. J., Dixon, B. E., & Abrams, K. (2015, March 18). Convergent evolution of Health Information Management and Health Informatics: A perspective on the future of Information Professionals in Health Care. Applied clinical informatics. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4377568/

D. (2022, August 15). Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. HIMSS. https://www.himss.org/

Athalee Discussion:

Hello Class,

My name is Athalee Mason, I am from Brooklyn, New York, and a mother of three. I have completed a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. I most recently volunteered for agencies such as New York City Department of Sanitation, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the Jewish Senior Center League. What I enjoy doing in my free time includes listening to music, watching tv, poetry, art, and I even like to cook. My future goals in this career in Public Health include to begin working as a Pharmacist Technician while completing my Masters graduate degree in Public Health, to eventually work for the NYS Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, or the United States Environmental Protection Agency. What I hope to gain in Health Informatics is more insight on medical billing; healthcare and economics; and on the delivery of healthcare.  

Where has healthcare information management been historically? 

Healthcare management dates back to ancient times where the first known medical records were from ancient Mesopotamia. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) There are over 30,000 cuneiform tablets from the ancient Sumerians about medicine and medical practices. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) Egyptian scribes were the front runners for modern day transcription in 4000, B.C. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) HIM or Health Information Management includes protecting and managing a patient’s health information since Grace Whiting Myer’s work focused on the integrity and centrality of the patient record. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) In 1928, the Association of Records Librarian of North America (ARLNA) was established, then in 1938 with a name change to the American Association of Medical Records Librarians (AAMRL), then in 1970 established as the American Medical Record Association (AMRA) and then in 1991 the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) 

How has the introduction of technology dramatically changed the landscape? 

AHIMA or the American Health Information Management Association includes acquiring, analyzing, and protecting digital and traditional medical information. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) Health information management is business, science, and information technology. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) Health information data now includes department administration; cancer registry; coding and abstracting; image processing; incomplete record processing; medical transcription; record circulation; and release of information processing. (Bowie, 2019) 

How has the introduction of technology increased the need for and importance of proper management? 

The introduction of technology has increased the great need for quality healthcare data for continuity of care where patient care includes the importance of proper management where healthcare professionals are responsible for the integrity and protection of patient’s health information. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) The introduction of technology has also increased the need for enhancing the need for healthcare professionals to be highly trained to understand the workflow within healthcare organizations. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021) The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or the electronic health record (EHR) adoption has placed health information professionals in charge of the daily operations of understanding the need for accurate and complete patient records. (Hunt, Ndanga, Sherifi, and Srinivasan, 2021)  

References  

Bowie, Mary Jo (2019) Essentials of Health Information Management: Principles & Practices 4th Edition (online book) Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, Inc. Retrieved from: https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=5856032353502008933102477168&eISBN=9781337553711&id=1536563668&nbId=3026090&snapshotId=3026090&dockAppUid=16& 

Hunt, Thomas (TJ) PhD, RHIA, CHDA, FAHIMA, Ndanga, Memory, PhD, RHIA, Sherifi, Dasantila, PhD, MBA, RHIA, and Srinivasan, Shankar, PhD (2021 October 1) The Symbiotic Relationship Between Health Information Management And Health Informatics: Opportunities For Growth And Collaboration Online Research Journal Perspectives In Health Information Management vol. 18(4) Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8649705/