HIMAA ONLINE

The monthly digital newsletter of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Limited
Volume 7 | Issue 08 | Digital
Cheens Lee
Cheens Lee

President - HIMAA

Cheens Lee
Cheens Lee

President - HIMAA

President's Report

Hello Members

 

As a professional Association we rely on the volunteer efforts of our members to contribute to the activities of our branches, committees and special interest groups. Every year we have the opportunity to recognise individuals during our Annual General Meeting who have made significant contributions to the Association.  

 

 

HIMAA Branch and National Awards are open and due at 5pm AEST Tuesday 31 August 2021. All the information is HERE 

 

Board Nominations 

As a Board member you are a director of HIMAA. As any director of an organisation, you are bound by legal duties to act in the best interests of that organisation, i.e. fiduciary duty. According to Australian Institute of Company Directors the Board is responsible for the overall governance, management and strategic direction of the organisation and for delivering accountable corporate performance in accordance with the organisation’s goals and objectives.

 

Volunteering for the HIMAA Board is a substantial commitment. Board positions are not paid, however have the responsibility of directing HIMAA, an organisation with annual revenue of over $2 million, to ensure it remains sustainable. We need directors who have a strategic, dynamic and growth mindset, and the capacity to commit the necessary time to the role in leading and working with the CEO. By joining the Board you will get to develop skills outside your day job and the satisfaction that you are helping your Association and profession.

 

If you are interested in becoming a Board member please drop me a line and I will be more than happy to discuss in detail what being a Board member involves. Keep an eye out in the coming days for Director nominations which will be due at 5pm AEST Tuesday 28 September 2021. 

 

Branch Convenors 

As part of good governance, Expressions of Interest for Branch Convenors are being sought for HIMAA branches in the ACT, NSW, SA, Tasmania, Victoria and WA ahead of the upcoming AGM.

 

The duration of office for a Branch Convenor is two years, and selection is by Expressions of Interest. Appointments will be determined by the HIMAA Board based on criteria defined in the ToR, which can be found HERE. A proforma for those interested in nominating themselves, or another Branch member, as Convenor for their local branch is available HERE.

 

Please submit the completed EOI form to the HIMAA CEO, Jae Redden at executiveoffice@himaa.org.au by 5pm AEST Tuesday 31 August 2021. 

 

Life Membership 

Each year HIMAA has the option of awarding one Life Membership to a Full Member, Senior Associate or Associate Member who, in the opinion of the Board, has rendered distinguished service to the Health Information Management profession. Nominations should detail (1) Service to HIMAA, (2) Professional History and (3) Peer testimonials from fellow HIMAA members.

Nominations should be emailed to the HIMAA CEO, Jae Redden at executiveoffice@himaa.org.au by 5pm AEST Tuesday 31 August 2021. 

 

I would encourage you all to consider these nominations.  

 

Onwards and upwards! 

  

Cheens Lee 

President 

cheensl@himaa.org.au 

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

Jae Redden | CEO, HIMAA

From the CEO's desk

From the CEO's desk

Jae Redden | CEO, HIMAA

Sydney is entering its 9th week of lockdown with an announcement that it will be extended until the end of September. Other States have been experiencing lockdowns as well. I must say it is a challenging time to keep your spirits up, not to mention the uncertainty surrounding the 2021 HIMAA National Conference. 

 

The Conference was scheduled to be held at the Pullman Melbourne on 25-27 October 2021. Then the venue changed to the Crown due to the Pullman’s status as a quarantine hotel. The Conference and Events Committee planned to provide a hybrid conference; however, as we came together to discuss details of virtual delivery, we were faced with extended lockdowns in NSW and Victoria, with other States behaving erratically by announcing new rules. More importantly there were concerns from our members about their ability to travel. 

 

Last week the Committee made the difficult decision to pivot to a full virtual Conference. With two months to go we needed this time to plan our new program, pricing and activities. The registered attendees will be  offered a credit or a refund.  Details will be announced via our website, by eAlerts and on social media. Please be patient as we work through this change. What I do know is that we will have a high calibre program with exceptional papers and guest speakers. Please check out the program here 

 

I am disappointed that we will not see each other in person. I believe the online cooking session was well received during last year’s virtual Conference. If you can suggest any similar activities we can run online please feel free to get in touch. We want to ensure this is an opportunity for you to connect and enjoy the company of your peers. The 2022 National Conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide.  I can assure there will be one fabulous party there! 

 

In the meantime, I would like to thank the members of the Conference and Events Committee for their hard work in putting together this great program. The members of the Committee are: Cheens Lee (President), Catherine Garvey (Senior Vice President), Grant Duffill (Chair, Finance & Risk Committee), Joan Henderson (Scientific Chair, Academic), Kathleen Rogers (Scientific Chair, Industry), Brook Macpherson (Senior HIM representative, HIM Stream), Cara Read (Senior HIM Representative, Coding Stream), Dwayne Richards (VIC Branch Convenor, Guest) who all generously volunteer their time to develop this event for HIMAA – and are awesome. 

 

I am also excited to share some of the planning that is underway for our Professional Development program. We are gearing up to deliver two per month. There will be topics under CDI, HIM, Clinical Updates and Clinical Coding. To ensure our members are prioritised we will offer free programs where possible, or at a discounted price. The Policy Skills webinar will be held tomorrow, 27 August 2021, at no fee to members.

 

We are also launching podcasts starting in September, with one being released every month. These will also be free to members. Please consider being involved and share your knowledge with your peers. We have a schedule for webinars and podcasts until the end of the year, but there’s always room for more! Contact Dreda Heard on prodev@himaa.org.au to discuss topic ideas, or if you are interested in presenting.  

 

Heather Grain

I am looking forward to the webinar on Electronic Health Records with Heather Grain on 15 September 2021. Heather is of the opinion that EHRs, like their paper-based and digitally-based forebears, need structure.  She believes that the discoveries from the UK and Europe show that where that structure is built upon a consistent understanding of the data in the record, the record itself gains power. Register here and we will see you there. 

 

In this edition of HIMAA Matters I’d like to draw your attention to the 2021 Branch Awards nominations, Expressions of Interest to be a member of the Education Committee and Professional Development Sub-Committee, and a networking event from the HIMAA Queensland and Victoria branches on 10 September 2021.

 

I remain keen to work with you in leading HIMAA to serve the health information profession. Please feel free to reach out to me to chat. 

 

Jae Redden

Chief Executive Officer

ceo@himaa.org.au 

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