Education Committee – Update to HIMAA Membership

Education is critical for all members of the Health Information Management workforce, both in their qualifying degree or course and later throughout their professional careers. The Education Committee is HIMAA’s expert body on education (except for HIMAA’s own clinical coding courses). Its key foci are to:

Develop and maintain currency of the profession’s core competency and performance standards, and
Foster and support a dynamic and inclusive learning culture across the whole of the HIMAA membership.

This year the Education Committee has reshaped its agenda. Important sub-committees and specialist working groups have disappeared in recent years. The Education Committee is reinstating these. Its primary responsibilities are to:

Keep abreast of trends and developments in the healthcare sector that impact upon the profession or require HIMAA members to acquire updated knowledge and skills
Provide strategic advice to the Board of Directors on (i) all matters concerning education of the Health Information Management workforce and (ii) the higher education landscape
Create and maintain currency of HIMAA’s professional competencies and Health Information Manager (HIM) profession-entry, Intermediate and Advanced Competency Standards
Provide to the Accreditation Council HIMAA’s professional educational standards and to specify, for accreditation survey purposes, minimum compliance and evidentiary requirements that universities must satisfy for accreditation of their Health Information Management degrees
Inform, manage and support HIMAA’s engagement with current and potential higher education providers and other stakeholders in health information-related formal education. This includes advice to prospective degree programs on HIMAA Competency Standards-compliant curricula

Engagement with stakeholders in Clinical Coder, HIM-Coder, and clinical coding competency and workplace performance standards
Professional Development (PD) program, in collaboration with the operational management of the CEO, Jae Redden, including HIMAA PD Program Manager, Dreda Heard

Inform the Professional Credentialing Scheme. This key member benefit acknowledges HIMAA members’ professional currency.

The Education Committee is currently:

Developing and renewing sub-sets of HIM Competency Standards
- The Health Data Analytics Competency Standards Working Group (HDAWG) recently developed an evidence-based subset of HIM profession-entry Health Data Analytics Competency Standards. These are necessary in light of HIMs’ increasing involvement in and contribution to the data analytics space.

The Clinical Documentation Integrity Working Group (CDIWG) will soon be re-established. HIMs have longstanding expertise in this area since the profession’s beginnings and decades before the appearance of the term CDI. HIMAA’s Clinical Coder members also have important involvement in this space. The CDIWG will also address HIMAA’s promotion of HIMs, HIM-Coders and Clinical Coders in this arena.

Undertaking rolling updates of HIM Professional Competency Standards
- These are now being undertaken routinely. This is to ensure that the Standards are current and reflective of changes in the Health Information Management landscape.

Researching and developing Clinical Coder workplace performance standards
- The Clinical Coder Competency/Performance Standards Working Group was recently re-established. Its new purpose is to improve and support (a) clinical coding workplace-based training and practice, and (b) increased quality of clinical coding, via standardised Clinical Coder performance measures for use Australia-wide. Its work is just beginning. The intention is to draw upon and consult with a wide range of additional experts as the work progresses.

Revising and streamlining HIMAA’s Professional Credentialing Scheme (PCS)
- The Professional Credentialing Scheme Working Group (PCSWG) has researched and updated the PCS which importantly provides for HIMAA members’ professional post-nominals. The changes have been approved by the HIMAA Board and are being forwarded to state and territory branches for further consultation. This large piece of work will be implemented incrementally by HIMAA’s CEO and the national office. It will benefit all members.

Refocusing and strengthening the content of HIMAA’s Professional Development Program
- This has commenced via the Education Committee’s (a) collaboration with the CEO and PD Program Manager, and (b) consultation on HIMAA’s popular webinar and planned podcast program. This education-focused advice on PD content and direction will be ramped up when the Professional Development Sub-Committee (PDSC) is established shortly. The Education Committee’s intention is that the PDSC will inform a cohesive, highly relevant PD program over the long-term to benefit all categories of HIMAA members.

Dr Kerin Robinson

Chair-Education Committee

on behalf of all members of the Education Committee and its Sub-Committees and Working Groups

Education Committee – Update to HIMAA Membership

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