American Health Information Management Association
Encyclopedia
| The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is a professional organization for the field of medical record Medical record The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction.... management. Traditionally practicing in hospital Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays.... s and to referring paper files and records, the field presently refers to all healthcare systems and types of media. The organization traces its history back to 1928 when the American College of Surgeons American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:... established the Association of Record Librarians of North America (ARLNA) to "elevate the standards of clinical records in hospitals and other medical institutions." The organization has had three name changes in its history, all were justified with an e xplanation that reflected the progression of contemporary medical record use, practices and perceptions. In 1938 the association became the American Association of Medical Record Librarians (AAMRL). In 1970, the association became the American Medical Record Association (AMRA) and in 1991, the title American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) was adopted. Incorporation occurred in 1943 and became effective the next year. AHIMA's stated mission is to be the professional community that improves healthcare by advancing best practice Best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark... s and standards for health information management Health Information Management Health information management is the practice of maintenance and care of health records by traditional and electronic means in hospitals, physician's office clinics, health departments, health insurance companies, and other facilities that provide health care or maintenance of health records... and the trusted source for education Education Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts... , research Research Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method... , and professional credentialing Credentialing Credentialing is the process of establishing the qualifications of licensed professionals, organizational members or organizations, and assessing their background and legitimacy... . As of 2011, the association has more than 61,000 members in four membership classifications. Each member subsequently belongs to a relevant state chapter. The association offers seven credential Credential A credential is an attestation of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so.... s pertaining to four areas of practice; HIM, Coding Coding Coding may refer to:* Channel coding in coding theory* Line coding* Computer programming, the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging / troubleshooting, and maintaining the source code of computer programs... , Data Analysis Data analysis Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making... and Privacy Privacy Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively... . Two credentials require formal education, the others are acquired by a combination of testing and work experience Work experience Work experience is the experience that a person has been working, or worked in a specific field or occupation.- Volunteer work and internships :... . AHIMA requires members obtain regular continuing education to maintain their credentials. The Journal of AHIMA has a circulation of 61,000 and publishes both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed articles. The association's membership is overwhelmingly female. AHIMA describes its foundation as a sister organization and states the foundation has a charitable and educational nature. The foundation's stated mission is to be the pre-eminent foundation recognized for excellence in health information leadership, policy and research for the healthcare industry and the public. The foundation formulates and issues opinions, supports education, conducts research and compiles its contributions into the Body of Knowledge Body of Knowledge Body of Knowledge is a term used to represent the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that make up a professional domain, as defined by the relevant professional association.... (BoK). |
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External links
- AHIMA.org is the American Health Information Management Association's official site
- WHIMA.org is the Wisconsin Health Information Management Association's official site
- TXHIMA.org is the Texas Health Information Management Association's official site
- WSHIMA.org is the Washington State Health Information Management Association's official site
- MNHIMA.org is the Minnesota Health Information Management Association's official site
- WVHIMA.org is the West Virginia Health Information Management Association's official site