HIMAA ONLINE

The monthly digital newsletter of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Limited
Volume 9 | Issue 07 | Digital
Catherine Garvey
Catherine Garvey

President - HIMAA

Catherine Garvey
Catherine Garvey

President - HIMAA

President's Message

Spring has sprung! All the sporting finals are surging to their championship cups, the temperature and stretch of daylight promises us the summer we’ve all be waiting for.  And, it is almost the end of September, so our anticipation for the upcoming IFHIMA/ HIMAA combined congress is beginning to shift up a gear or two.  Our recent Conference Committee meeting was firing on all cylinders as our final preparations begin to coalesce around our inspiring conference with our IFHIMA colleagues.  I can’t sing praises enough for all our Conference Committee members; their knowledge and passion is palpable.  We are so looking forward to the presentations, posters, sponsors booths, meeting old friends and making new ones and coming together in this shared HIM haven (and heaven!) for just a few days to recharge our post-winter blues.  I’m looking forward to the rejuvenating energy which I always leave with, resulting from the meeting of like minds, spirits and HIM dance moves.  I look forward to welcoming you all to Brisbane.

Our September Board meeting was, as always, engaging, informative and progressive. Our Agenda covered a wide range of topics, review of key strategic documents, policies and procedures, with reflection on our current state and forecasting for our upcoming year, 2024.  Our Financial Audit for 2023 has also just been finalised and we are working through the final stages of endorsement; overall, we’ve had a very successful financial year.  A complete refresh of our risk register has crystallised our focus on current and emerging risks as a Board and as an Association, AI and Cybersecurity being amongst these.  This latter is an area of growing interest for all Boards and organisations, so it will be part of our many future conversations, discussions and planning, going forward.

If you missed our Board Webinar during August HIM week, check out our Committee Structure and RoadMap of work for the Board and the CEO, by logging into the Members Portal of the HIMAA webpage and navigating to HIMAA Member Documents.

If you are unable to attend our Congress, this year, and you are not formally studying at present one way of sustaining your professional development would be refer to our Professional Credentialling Scheme (PCS) section of the Members Portal.  Sallyanne, Jenny and Pat have recently refreshed and relaunched this tool to provide members with an easy way to keep track of their PCS, where HIMAA website registrations automatically upload associated PCD points to your total.  There are so many ways to engage on your life-long learning journey.  Update your credentials and surprise yourself with how much you do and know and how engaged you are in your profession. Be proud of your post-nominals!

Who will be our next Chief Executive Officer?  At this stage, we do not have the answer. What I can say is we’ve had a large interest expressed in this key HIMAA position.  Our recruitment process continues apace, and the Board will certainly keep everyone informed with updates.  In addition, another recruitment campaign was recently launched on 15th September for the replacement of another long-standing, not-so-easy-to-replace member of HIMAA, Lyn Williams, our Director, Education Services.  If this is the career direction you have in mind, I recommend you to our Website and the Work Web for all the details. You’ll have to be quick, as this one closes on 1st October 2023. These are golden career opportunities and the Board remains committed to getting the best candidate for the ongoing success of our organisation and the benefits this will bring to our team and members.

Wherever you work and whatever your responsibilities, keep the joy in your HIM profession! It’s a fantastic profession to be part of.

Catherine Garvey

President

catherineg@himaa.org.au

Table of Contents
From the CEO's desk
From the CEO's desk

Sallyanne Wissmann | CEO (Interim), HIMAA

From the CEO's desk

From the CEO's desk

Sallyanne Wissmann | CEO (Interim), HIMAA

After 16 years with HIMAA, Lyn Williams, Director Education Services will be retiring at the end of the year.  Lyn has been instrumental in leading and growing HIMAA’s clinical coding focussed education services.  Today HIMAA is a successful Registered Training Organisation with over 700 national and international students enrolled in 9 different courses.  Lyn has had a hand in training many Clinical Coders and influencing the standard of coding education now recognised as Nationally Recognised Training at Diploma level. We will be paying further tribute to Lyn in the coming months. Our current attention is finding a suitable replacement for this important role within HIMAA.  The HIMAA Director Education Services position has been advertised, with further details in this newsletter.  If you have experience in coding education and are interested in this role, we’d love to hear from you. Applications close on Sunday 1st October.  

HIMAA is pleased to have re-launched an easier, on-line Professional Credentialing Scheme for our members.  This is a great opportunity for full, senior associate, life, and fellow members to demonstrate and be recognised for their professional currency.  Further details are below in the newsletter.  If you take up the opportunity to be credentialed by the end of October, you will be included in the recognition of our PCS members at the November AGM this year.

With the combined 20th IFHIMA Congress and 40th HIMAA Conference just over 4 weeks away, there is a lot of activity occurring to ensure this is going to be a great event.  This year it’s HIMAA’s privilege to host the International Federation of Health Information Management Association (IFHIMA) Congress – an event that occurs somewhere around the globe every 3-4 years.  IFHIMA represents and advances the global health information management profession, with its members being HIM associations around the world as well as individuals.  The Congress is an opportunity for thought leadership and experiences in health information management from many countries to be shared.  To have this event hosted in Australia, means that we have the opportunity to participate in an international conference in health information management.  That alone should be an attractive reason to attend this year’s Congress.

But wait there’s more reasons to attend! With four concurrent streams of presentations and workshops covering ICD-11, coding and classification; digital health; global workforce; accreditation/certification; research, education and training; information governance, privacy and security; CDI and data integrity; quality and patient safety; artificial intelligence; IFHIMA news from the Pacific Islands; and not to be missed clinical updates, it’s going to be difficult to choose what to attend!  There will be plenty of opportunity for networking and socialising with a welcome reception on day one and the Gala dinner on day two where we get the chance to show our international colleagues how to do the Nutbush in style!

It’s not too late to register!  Come for the whole Congress, a day or just the clinical update half day sessions.  Brisbane is beautiful this time of year, with the riverside Southbank Parklands near the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The current registration prices are until 5th October, while late registrations will be accepted until the event.  Join 500 colleagues, friends, and industry partners at this not to be missed event!

We have a free, popular webinar coming up on the 12th October on the My Health Record which will be contextualised for health information management professionals.  Take an hour to get up to speed on the My Health Record. REGISTER HERE.

A new feature, Professional Practice Update, has been added to HIMAA Matters this month, with the goal to bring to your attention emerging and evolving areas of professional practice to keep your knowledge and skills as a health information management professional current.

I invite you to contact me on ceo@himaa.org.au if I can be of any assistance or if you have ideas to contribute.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Brisbane on the 30th October!

Member News

Latest news and updates submitted by members. Any member updates, please submit to membership@himaa.org.au.

HIMAA Membership Enhancement Strategy

During HIM Week we introduced the 2023-2024 Membership Enhancement Strategy, a framework designed around ‘Membership Enhancement’ of the HIMAA community. This program aims to improve satisfaction, value and engagement for our members.

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Professional Credentialing

HIMAA’s New Professional Credentialing Scheme went online on 11 September. Find out what’s new and how to get started below. If you have any feedback, we would appreciate hearing from you.

Read More »

Education News

What's on

Stay up to date with the upcoming events and activities across the board at HIMAA

Editorial Board

HIM-Interchange Update

Two new electronic first articles are now available for members. The first article describes the journey of Erin Holmes as she became a HIM in the UK. The second, a co-authored article on privacy in recording clinical consultations. Read more for the latest HIM-Interchange updates.

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Latest News

Let us Know!

If you are aware of relevant health information management related news that is happening at a local, state, government, agency or international level, let us know so we can share it in upcoming HIMAA Matters.

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