AN EDUCATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE AHIMA CORE MODEL
By Bonnie S. Cassidy, MPA, RHIA, FAHIMA, FHIMSS; Valerie J.M. Watzlaf, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA; Ellen Shakespeare Karl, MBA, RHIA; Rebecca B. Reynolds, EdD,
RHIA; Leah Grebner, MS, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA; Xiaoming Zeng, MD, PhD; Vanda Crossley, MS, RHIA; Cindy Zak, MS, RHIA, PMP; Cindy Glewwe, MEd, RHIA;
Leslie Gordon, MS, RHIA; Samir Chatterjee; Christine Staropoli, MS, RHIA, CCS, PhD; Patt Peterson, MA, RHIA; and William J. Rudman, PhD, RHIA
HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT (HIM) is the practice of collecting, assessing the completeness of, maintaining,
and sharing (as authorized) patient information through paper-based and electronic means. It is practiced in provider, payer,
research, and governmental settings, as well as in health information exchanges and other settings that provide healthcare
or maintenance of health records. As healthcare evolves and
becomes more dependent on technology, the role of the HIM
professional must evolve.
With the widespread adoption of electronic health records
and other technology-based information sources and the use
of the electronically available data for healthcare management
measurement purposes, research functions, and governmental initiatives, health informatics and health information technology are being increasingly utilized in HIM practices in the
healthcare industry.
As a profession, HIM must become savvy in its use of technol-
ogy and data analytic tools in order to better serve patients, inform policy leaders, and move into the twenty-first century and
beyond. To meet the needs of various healthcare organizations
in their use of emerging technologies HIM professionals need
to be involved at an executive level where decisions are made
regarding the design, implementation, and use of technology
from a systems approach.
From an operational perspective this would suggest involvement in the adoption and implementation of systemwide technology; the use of data to improve patient care and reduce cost;
and a role as leaders who define future policies and procedures
as they relate to the privacy and security of the organization.
To meet this new demand AHIMA must re-engineer academic
curricula and programs in a proactive manner to both anticipate and define the evolving roles of the HIM professional. The
fluid, iterative model allows the profession to both respond to
and help define the evolving healthcare market. It is impor-
