Update for the HIMAA membership
The Education Committee is HIMAA’s authoritative body on the profession’s educational standards, including those that guide HIMAA Members’ professional development. The work is shared amongst the Education Committee, its Professional Development Sub-Committee and key working groups. The members of all of these committees are keen to keep all HIMAA Members informed as work progresses. We also invite your input and involvement.
This month, we are focusing on the important work of two of the committees associated with the Education Committee:
- The Clinical Coder Working Group (CCWG) – which is inviting registration for a very important national coding workforce survey; and
- The Clinical Documentation Integrity Working Group (CDIWG) – which has recently commenced work.
Clinical Coder Working Group (CCWG)
The Clinical Coder Working Group (CCWG) is inviting all members of the clinical coding workforce to register for a very important survey.
We strongly encourage you to participate. If you wish to do so, please register by providing your name, state of residency and email address to: ccwg@latrobe.edu.au by COB Thursday April 20th 2023.
Registrants will be sent the link to the survey in late April. The survey, which has Ethics approval, will ask for your feedback on the Draft Clinical Coder Performance Standard developed by the CCWG. This much needed standard will replace the current version produced by HIMAA almost three decades ago in 1996!
If you are in any role in the coding workforce, please register, and also encourage your coding colleagues, staff and friends to register.
- When you see the invitation to register in your social media feeds, please help to distribute it so that it can reach all Coders in Australia.
- Please check out the informative article by Jennie Shepheard (Convenor – CCWG) in this issue of HIMAA Matters.
For information, the CCWG’s membership comprises 20 experienced Clinical Coders, HIM-Coders, and Coding Educators, Managers, Auditors and Academics from all states and territories. They represent the public and private health, government and university sectors:
Jennie Shepheard – Convenor, CCWG. Health Information Management and Clinical Coding Consultant,
Shepheard Health Management Consultants.
Patsy Catterson, Coding Educator, Health Information Services, Grampians Health, Vic.
Simone Francis, Clinical Support Specialist, 3M Australia.
Stephanie Gjorgioski, Lecturer – Health Classification, La Trobe University.
Isabel Hayes, Coding Auditor/Educator, Health Data and Classification Service, NT Health.
Brooke Holroyd, Team Leader – Classification, Western Australia Department of Health, WA.
Nicola Hunt, Statewide Clinical Coding Manager, Department of Health, Tasmania.
Cassandra Jordan, Health Information Manager, Clinical Information Services, Calvary Health Care Kogarah, NSW.
Bridget Kelly, Health Information Officer, Health Information Governance Unit, SA Health.
Catherine Muratore, Clinical Coding Manager, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW.
Jodee Njeru, Clinical Coder, Canberra Health Services, ACT.
Emily Price, Regional Clinical Coding Auditor and Educator (NSW), Ramsay Health.
Lisette Ramsden, Manager, Clinical Coding, Health Information Services, Darling Downs Health, Qld.
Sally Richardson, Clinical Coding Auditing Consultant; Lecturer-Health Classification, La Trobe University.
Chris Robey, Clinical Coding Auditor-Educator, Central Adelaide Local Health District, SA.
Dr Kerin Robinson, Chair, HIMAA Education Committee; AssocProf (Adj), La Trobe University.
Belinda Torney, National Coding Operations Manager, St John of God Health Care.
Melissa Turnell, District Clinical Coding Manager, Central Coast Local Health District, NSW.
Lyn Williams, Director-Education Services, Health Information Management Association of Australia.
Kathleen Wilton, Manager-Clinical Team, 3M Australia.
Clinical Documentation Integrity (Competency Standards) Working Group (CDIWG)
The work of the Clinical Documentation Integrity Working Group (CDIWG) is underway. This important Working Group commenced work in early 2023 and has now held three meetings.
The first task of the CDIWG is to identify CDI-related standards within the current suite of Health Information Manager (HIM) Profession entry-level Competency Standards, undertake a gap analysis and recommend amendments, if necessary.
The Working Group will then proceed to the larger task of developing a broad set of CDI Competency Standards applicable those in the wider HIMAA membership, including graduate Health Information Managers [HIMs] and a range of other members with clinical and other academic backgrounds who are working, or are interested in working, in the specialised CDI space. These standards will ultimately be linked to HIMAA-recommended CPD and training options for aspiring or experienced CDI specialists who are HIMAA Members.
The membership of the CDIWG is:
Kathleen Wilton, Manager-Clinical Team, 3M Australia.
Sophie Tobias, Health Information Manager and Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist, Barwon Health.
Michael Kertes, National Director, Clinical Documentation Improvement Australia.
Kerri-Ann Adair, Manager – Coding Services, Bendigo Health.
Claire Poulter, Project Manager/Health Information Manager, Kilmore Health; External Clinical Coding Auditor; Lecturer-Health Classification, La Trobe University.
Cassandra Rupnik, Health Information Consultant; Health Classification Lecturer, Western Sydney University.
Dr Kerin Robinson (interim Convenor); Chair, HIMAA Education Committee.
Dr Kerin Robinson, Chair, Education Committee.
On behalf of all members of the Education Committee, the PDSC, and the Working Groups.