Running head: THE FUTURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 1

The Future of Health Information Management

Cassidy DeVore

UC Clermont College
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HIM (Health Information Management) is a profession that handles data analysis, quality

of data, and protection of data and patient information. According to the American Health

Information Management Association (AHIMA), HIM professionals are responsible for

maintaining quality and protection to the following patient information: physical examinations

and history reports, test results, clinical notes, and procedures. In the future, HIM will have new

roles to fulfill. (American Health Information Management Association, 2017).

According to Nanette B. Sayles, EdD, RHIA, CCS, CHDA, CHPS, FAHIMA in her book

titled Health Information Management Technology an Applied Approach, One role of HIM

that is going to be introduced in the future is chief learning officer. This is an emerging role that

is solely dedicated to training HIM employees so that the learning they have done is lined up

with the goal and mission statement of the organization. This role also identifies where extra

power is needed in the future to make the department more successful (Sayles, 2016).

The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography state that other responsibilities of being a

chief learning officer include the following: establishing a learning management system and

maintaining it, identify and implement new types of technology into the department, assign

committees volunteers, develop the department budget, learning section of the organizations

website, and they are responsible for being a team leader in the HIM department. To become a

chief learning officer, a masters degree is required, along with a CAE (Certified Association

Executive). This person must have 10 years of experience in the field, as well as 5 years of

leadership training. This person must be able to work in a fast-paced environment, be a data

driven thinker, good problem solving skills and analytic skills, have good communications skills,

and must meet the appropriate accreditation and certification requirements. There are also

physical requirements that must be met. For example, one must be able to carry out normal office
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activities, and be able to lift at least 25 pounds of weight with little to no assistance. Other

requirements include: traveling to annual conferences, working holidays or during off days

(Society of Diagnostic Sonography, n.d.).

Another role in HIM that will be seen in the future is a Meaningful Use specialist. These

people are responsible for making sure employees in the HIM department understand the

Meaningful Use, and other implementations of the EHR (Electronic Health Record). Electronic

Health Records are defined as patient histories that are electronically stored. The reason EHRs

were implemented is because they kept patient information much safer than a normal paper-

based file. According to the HI Career map from AHIMA, Meaningful Use specialists provide

employees with access to latest technology. Also, these people are responsible for quality care

initiatives.

Duties of the Meaningful Use specialist include: meeting with regional and senior

directors to discuss issues in the department, communicate changes to other employees,

troubleshooting with the EHR, understanding integrations of files, organizational impact, and

tracking trends in the HIM department. These people have a variety of skills that are required to

be successful as a Meaningful Use specialist. Those skills include: understanding healthcare

reform, effective communication skills, leadership skills, good critical thinking skills, and this

person must be able to effectively use an EHR.

The educational requirements of a Meaningful Use specialist are an associates degree or

a bachelors degree. This person must have at least 2 years of experience working with EMR

(Emergency Medical Records), and EHRs in an ambulatory (outpatient) care setting. Also, 3

years of experience with health information technology operations is required in this occupation.

Finally, this person must be up to date on current Meaningful Use initiatives (MUI). The average
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annual salary for a Meaningful Use specialist is $58,000. The alternative job of this occupation

is clinical informatics. Other jobs that relate to the Meaningful Use specialist are an

Implementation Support Specialist and EHR Implementation Specialist (American Health

Information Management Association, 2017).

There is an incredible demand for HIM employees. According to the Bureau of Labor

Statistics, there is a 17% increase in the need for HIM employees in the year 2014-2024. The

BLS also states that 333,000 jobs were given to HIM employees in 2014. This means that people

pursuing a career in health information technology or health information management are likely

to find a job after graduation (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017).

In conclusion, HIM roles will be emerging as the years go by and there will be a huge

demand for people to fill those roles. Without HIM roles, the health information of patients

would not be protected. People would have easy access to information that isnt theirs. More

identity theft and frauds would occur in the hospital setting. A 17% growth in this field may not

sound like much, but it is a huge demand. This profession has the highest job growth out of most

healthcare occupations such as a doctor or surgeon. Health Information Management is shaping

healthcare like never before.

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References:

American Health Information Management Association. (2017). Health information 101.

Retrieved April 2017, from http://www.ahima.org/careers/healthinfo

American Health Information Management Association. (2017). Meaningful use specialist. HI

Careers. Retrieved April 2017, from

http://hicareers.com/CareerMap/FullDescription.aspx?ID=64

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2017). Medical and health services managers. Retrieved April 2017,

from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm

Sayles, N. B., & Gordon, L. L. (2016). Health information management technology: an applied

approach. Chicago, IL: American Health Information Management Association.

Society of Diagnostic Sonography. (n.d.). Examples of duties & responsibilities. Retrieved April

2017, from http://www.sdms.org/docs/default-source/Learning/position-description-

sdms-chief-learning-officer.pdf?sfvrsn=2