President’s Message
Taking Coding to the Next Level
HIM’s Long Coding History Can Help Transform the Industry with ICD-10
By Bonnie S. Cassidy, MPA, RHIA, FAHIMA, FHIMSS
HOW WELL THE healthcare industry implements and executes the strategic and
tactical tasks for the ICD-10 transformation will go a long way in determining the
future state and success of the HIM profession. We must rise to the occasion!
HIM’s long history of managing and implementing different classifications and
nomenclatures will guide us and steer
the industry’s ICD-10 transition.
HIM’s Long History in Coding
HIM involvement with disease classifications and nomenclatures can be traced
back to the early 20th century. The HIM
profession has been the recognized expert and leader in data collection, classification, and reporting since Grace Whiting Myers, founder of the association
known today as AHIMA, served on the
Committee on Uniform Nomenclature,
which developed a disease classification
system based on etiological groupings.
HIM’s history is rich with HIM professionals that helped develop the Standard
Nomenclature of Diseases and Operations, a forerunner of SNOMED CT. Medical record professionals working in US
hospitals in the mid-20th century were
responsible for collecting and reporting
disease and procedure information from
medical records using the Standard Nomenclature of Diseases and Operations.
As we begin the second decade of the
21st century, let us never forget HIM’s
leadership legacy and apply ourselves
to making our predecessors proud of our
commitment and continued dedication
to the advancement of the HIM profession for future generations.
Ready for the Challenge
HIM professionals have an outstand-
ing track record as leaders in employ-
ing classification standards consistently,
and we must maintain that track record
through the upcoming changes that re-
flect and support medicine’s cutting
edge. America needs to be confident
that HIM is ready for this challenge.
Bonnie Cassidy ( bonnie.cassidy@ahima.org) is
vice president of HIM product management at
QuadraMed.
