The International Federation of Health Information Management

Associations
A Global Health Information Management Initiative

Andrea K Burke - 2196869

The Beginning of the Worldwide Pursuit of Health Record

Practices
To Boldly Go Where No Health Record Practice Has Gone Before (Roddenberry)
1968 - Collaboration of AMRO Association of Medical Records and AHIMA
American Health Information Management Association creates IFMRO
International Federation of Medical Records Organizations (Nicholson) .

1976 - IFMRO became IFHRO International Federation of Health Records

Organizations.
2013 IFHRO becomes IFHIMA - International Federation of Health Information
Management Associations (Clark 690).

IFHIMA Mission and Purpose

The main mission of these groups of professionals was to develop
education and health record practices to be used around the
world. (Clark 690)
The purposes are:
(a) promote the development and practice of health information
management (HIM) in all countries
(b) advance the development and use of international HIM
standards
(c) provide for the exchange of information on HIM
education requirements
and training programs
(d) provide opportunities for education and communication
between persons
working in the field of HIM in all countries
(e) promote the appropriate and effective use of technology
and the
electronic health record (Clark 690).

Welcome IMIA

Global Affiliations
IMIA, founded in 1989 in Geneva Switzerland,
acts as a liaison for WHO and IFHIMA in
associate countries.
Promotes both entities in the worldwide pursuit
of accurate information for patient care and
health research.
Their main goal is to assist IFHIMA to moving
theory into
practice by linking academic and research
informaticians
with providers, consultants, vendors, and
vendor-based
researchers.
They also support IFHIMA with leading the
international medical community into the 21st
century
(Welcome to IMIA).

IFHIMA Assisted by AHIMA for Education Initiative

Institutions to provide more individualized training for the
adult learner.
AHIMA virtual lab gives students educational and real world
experience in electronic health records.
Projects added to training in order to promote skills in the
creation of databases and the evaluation of discharge files
for billing purposes.
Graduate and undergraduate programs to have flexible
internships and externships to boost marketability and
capitalize on the students inherent talents.
Training in several areas to give the learner more job
flexibility and opportunities for career advancement (Nunn).
IFHIMA and AHIMA advance knowledge by implementing a
joint book donation to meet the challenges of Electronic
Health Record implementation in Ghana, Saudi Arabia, and
Tanzania

Data Governance: No More

Garbage

International forumsIn
delve into new coding data and the transformation from
paper to electronic medical records.
Effective outline given by guest speaker regarding the purging of documents
and streamlining data for transfer.

Advance the goal of making organizational data accurate, timely, relevant and highquality (information integrity).
Reduce duplication and associated costs, eliminating potential errors (information use)
increases confidence in data.
streamlines release of information:confidentiality and protection, records and
information life cycle.

(Bowen)

 CHIMA works with IFHIMA to gather data from various countries and works on the
improvement of data quality in these areas.
They demonstrate experience and skills and are utilized as a consulting resource and
exhibit expertise in the following areas:

Overall Records Management (Paper/Hybrid/EHR)

Data Quality and
related initiatives
Decision Support /Data Analysis
EHR Electronic
Health Records
Coding and Data Capture (CIHI/MoH)
Case Mix
Activity Based Funding
Privacy, Confidentiality,
Security
Documentation Improvement Strategies
HIM standards
Health Law
(Global News IFHIMA Newsletter)

The Future of Health Information

Management
IFHIMA has taken on the huge initiative of global unity
in health care documentation.
Education and training pave the way for new
developments and a more streamlined process.
The major focus is the future of health care
documentation and quality health care worldwide.

Works Cited
Clark, Jean S. "Section V Management." Health Information: Management of a Strategic Resource .
3rd ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 2007. 690-691. Print.
Bowen, Rita. "HIM Professionals Make a World of Difference at IFHIMA." ADVANCE for Health
Information Professionals.
29 May 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Global News - IFHIMA Newsletter." Web. 22 Nov. 2015
Nicholson, Lorraine. "Education of Health Record/Health Information Management Professionals in
the United Kingdom." Education of Health Record/Health Information Management
Professionals in the United Kingdom. 1 Oct. 2004. Web. 20 Nov. 2015
"Welcome to IMIA" International Medical Informatics Association. Health on the Net, 18 Jan. 2013.