Question

THE HEALTH INFORMATION management (HIM) profession is nothing if not resilient. With every change in the process of health data collection, maintenance, and use, HIM professionals have adapted to industry transitions to ensure health information quality for effective decision-making.

The most recent changes—triggered by the rapid implementation and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems and associated technologies—is yet another transition that requires the HIM profession to adapt. ms most recent change is unique because of its pace. Major changes related to health information have historically been adopted somewhat gradually. But EHR adoption, initially spurred by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) "meaningful use" EHR Incentive Program and continuing with the CMS Quality Payment Program, fundamentally and rapidly transformed the work of health information professionals. Moreover, advances in technology related to electronic health information, such as computer-assisted coding (CAC), which uses natural language processing (NLP), will continue to have a major impact on HIM roles.

HIM is at a critical moment in itshistory and requires new strategies to ensure the continued relevance of the profession. HIM professionals must have the body of knowledge and practice to ensure the completeness, availability, accuracy, and integrity of health information to facilitate real-time healthcare delivery and critical health-related decision-making for multiple purposes across diverse organizations, settings, and disciplines.

The American Health Information Management Association's (AHIMA's) HIM Reimagined (HIMR) initiative is designed to ad-

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vance the HIM profession and professional. HIMR offers immediate and long-term implementation strategies to ensure the profession is equipped academically and professionally to advance individuals and HIM to greater levels of relevance, while keeping pace with changes in the HIM industry and the broader health care ecosystem. Details about the history of HIMR, members of AHIMA's HIMR committee, and deliverables are available on the HIMR website at www.ahima.org/about/him-reimagined.

HIMR Market Research Study Gages Industry's Needs Since the healthcare industry is necessitating an increased level of specialization and related skills that require education, one specific recommendation of HIMR is to develop more specialized HIM credentials. As part of the HIMR committee's work, AHIMA initiated a market research study to determine specific job skills, competencies, and specialties that align with healthcare organizations' future needs. This work was done with a purpose of aligning industry needs and potential academic-based credentials. The market research was conducted to complement other AHIMA efforts, such as the 2015 AHIMAWorkforce Study, and the aim was to assess the perceptions ofHIM professionals, clinicians, employers, and other related areas.

Between May and June 2017, Vault Consulting (the research vendor selected for this project) sent a survey to 274 senior-level professionals within clinical (e.g., hospitals and clinics) and non-clinical (e.g., vendors and consulting firms) organizations. AHIMA membership was not required for participation. The respondents who participated in the survey were included ifthey met du•ee criteria:

I. Held a senior-level title, such as chief information officer or chief technology officer

2. Reported being "extremely" or "very" familiar with the specific job skills or competencies required of the indi vidual in their.organization who is primarily responsible New HIM Reimagined Market Research

however, they place relatively less importance on coding itself, and more on data analysis, data mining, informatics, and specialized clinical knowledge. Additionally, non-clinical respondents place relatively greater importance on consumer-centric care and reimbursement. Both groups place significant value on for managing electronically collected patient information

3. Reported being highly involved in hiring decisions for senior-level HIM staff Overall, a majority of respondents from both clinical and non-clinical organizations reported that today's HIM professionals are extremely or very well prepared for future organizational needs. However, 41 percent of clinical respondents and 18 percent of non-clinical respondents reported that their current HIM workforce is somewhat or not very well prepared for future needs. Ofnote is that IT vendors and research companies 'were most likely to report their current workforce is prepared for the future. Among clinical segment participants, 55 percent are extremely/very concerned about soft skills, and 45 percent are similarly concerned about hard skills. Some examples of soft skills desired in the HIM industry include teamwork, problem solving, work ethic, creativity, and verbal and written communication. Examples of hard skills include science, statistics, technology, and health science education. Among the nonclinical segment, the level of concern is greater. Approximately 64 percent of respondents are concerned about soft skills, while 75 percent reported concern about hard skills. In short, non-clinical respondents have a greater level of concern regarding hard skills among their HIM workforce than clinical respondents.The study also examined perception of changes related to the diagnostic and procedural coding function within organizations during the next five to 10 years. Fifty percent of clinical respondents reported over 70 percent of the coding function will be computerized. Moreover, 72 percent of clinical respondents reported over half of all the coding function would be computerized within the next five to 10 years.

Respondents were also asked to identify the skills and competencies most relevant for future HIM employee requirements.

In summary, there are three primary findings from this study. First, healthcare executives have validated the HIMR recommendation for specialization and educational advancement within the HIM workforce. With a clear understanding of health information roles and responsibilities, job functions, and experience in hiring HIM professionals, the study's respondents noted a shift in skills necessary for working with health information within their organizations. The area of focus for respondents from clinical and non-clinical organizations was the need for professionals with these skills to adopt, use, advance, and adapt to technologies at a rapid pace.

A. Write a paragraph (6-7 sentences) with your opinion on the article. What did
you think/learn about the article? Share your thoughts.
Some ideas to consider, depending on the type of article you choose:
- Do you agree / disagree with what is being said?
- Did you learn something new?
- Does the article leave you wanting to research other similar topics?

Answer 1

A, opinion on the article:

It is about HIM professional and it's management system,how it's providing quality service..HIM profession adopted EHR system and its technologies..EHR system with CMS had a meaningful use EHR incentives program and it's work..HIM impact on new strategies and practice to adopt completeness in health care delivery..AHIMA and HIMR impact on HIM changes and it is broader the ecosystem, it's market research study determine the organization future needs and it's purpose..AHIMA participation criteria and it's it' function with in organization.. organization needs from clinical and non-clinical settings need skills for advancement and technology growth..

I agree with the article what is being said.. because in recent year technology improvement made the organization more advanced with data collection, Patient care, quality service etc..

I have learned something new about HIMR( health information management Reimagined) and it's long-term implementation strategy, and how it's changes the HIM industry..I have gone through the website and I have learned about HIMR history, commitee and delivery..

Yes I would like to have research on similar topics on AHIMA participation and it's criteria..