The monthly digital newsletter of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Limited
Volume 8 | Issue 02 | Digital
Cheens Lee
President - HIMAA
Cheens Lee
President - HIMAA
President's Report
Hello Members,
My thoughts are with our members in Queensland and northern NSW who were impacted by the floods earlier this month. Please reach out if there’s any way we can assist. Aside from the extreme weather, Autumn is my favourite season, given the milder temperatures and reduced amounts of pollen in the air that trigger hay fever. I hope you’re all able to step away from your desk and enjoy the outdoors as we continue to work from home, or are transitioning back to the office.
In the past month we’ve been able to bring together our various Branches, Committees and Community of Practices (formerly SIG) to share their priorities for the year that align with HIMAA’s Strategic Plan 2022-2024. It was great to bring our community of dedicated volunteers together to share what each of our groups are doing in advancing the Association and the profession. A benefit of bringing each of the groups together is to allow for cross pollination of ideas and opportunities to collaborate between groups. It’s the first time that it has happened since I’ve been on the Board and I would like to see it be a regular occurrence.
Our next meeting together is in June when we check-in with each group on their progress. We have ambitious goals with our Strategic Plan and want to make the best use of the finite time of our volunteers complemented by the resourcing from Jae and the National Office.
A reminder that the abstract and conference paper submissions are now open and close on Monday 2 May 2022. The theme is Health Information Management: Keeping health information human.
Behind every health statistic – rates of prevalence, incidence, nativity, morbidity, mortality, management (curative, palliative, or preventative) – is a person. The information recorded in our health systems about these people during their time as patients, will be coded, interrogated, analysed, triangulated and reported for myriad purposes, to improve the health outcomes of the individual and the wider society. It is health information management professionals who strive, and are trusted by care providers and patients, to ensure that the information needed for clinical, legal, academic, financial and other reporting purposes, is accurate, complete, reliable, and secure.
Maintaining recognition of patients as people seems so obvious that it needs no explanation. However, the human factor seems increasingly lost in the world of Big Data. In the enthusiasm for accumulation of larger and more complex datasets, the human factor, the people about whom those data were created, is becoming less visible. Health information management professionals continually recognise patients as people, for whom the duty of care incorporates the reliability and protection of their always personal, often sensitive, health information. With the rapid expansion of online access to and delivery of healthcare, the skillset of health information management professionals is even more critical to ensure data quality, patient safety, and protection of health information across the wider health sector: Health Information Management:Keeping health information human.
The 2022 HIMAA National Conference will held at Hilton Adelaide from 26 to 28 October 2022. We invite you to submit a paper for this conference and look forward to seeing you there.
In the meantime, HIMAA webinars have been running on a regular basis, including How to Use Table-Top Privacy Breach Fire Drills to Protect your Practice with Jean Eaton; The Governance of Health Information Management and the Future of Mental Health with Nicole Ah Yick, Janine McDonald and San Le and Australia’s National Health Information System with Vicki Bennett. I hope you managed to catch some of these, and I thank the presenters for sharing their time and knowledge with members and colleagues.
We are always seeking suggestions for presenters and topics so if you have a topic you would like to see presented, or you would like to share your knowledge on a project you have completed recently, please reach out to me.
There are more webinars planned. Some of these are to be confirmed so please keep a look out on our HIMAA page and social media pages (LinkedIn and Facebook) for details.
HIMAA Upcoming Webinars to June 2022
Month
Topic
Presenter
Confirmed
State
Apr
Leading Teams
Cameron Barnes
Yes
Vic
Apr
Health Service Leadership – topic to be confirmed
Sheree Lloyd
Yes
Qld
May
Indigenous Health Data
Ray Mahoney
Yes
Qld
May
AIHW – topic to be confirmed
Mariam Lum On
tbc
NSW
Jun
eHealth & Informatics
Sharon Campbell & Melissa Clowes
tbc
Vic
Jun
Quality Improvement in Mental Health
Simone Bell
Yes
WA
From July 2022 we are planning to roll out a series of webinar education in ICD-10-AM, ACHI and ACS 12th edition. These are likely to be 2 hours in length and will include educational content and workshopping exercises. A copy of the webinar recording and handout/exercises from the sessions will be made available. We will announce details soon.
There will also be information forthcoming about the new membership software implementation and what this means to you as members.
I remain keen to work with you in leading HIMAA to serve the health information management profession. Please feel free to reach out to me to chat.
Our student of the month for March is Merynne Rich from Ferndale in Western Australia. Merynne scored 98% in medical terminology and 96% in clinical coding and is due to complete the 22274VIC Certificate IV in Clinical Classification very soon.
We asked Merynne the following questions.
What led you to enrol in our Certificate IV course?
I have had an incredibly rewarding career as an intensive care nurse but towards the end of 2019 I felt the desire for a new and different challenge in my working life. I had been interested in clinical coding for a while because the nature of the work appealed to me greatly, and I was also keen to stay working within a healthcare environment.
HIMAA came highly recommended as the place to study Certificate IV in Clinical Classification, and I felt that the course would give me the opportunity to acquire valuable skills and embark on the pathway to a new career.
What did you enjoy most about the course?
I found the whole course very enjoyable, and the pace of the course allowed me to study effectively whilst also working full-time. My favourite part of the course was definitely Cluster 3 – Performing Clinical Coding. I derived a lot of satisfaction from developing my skills in coding patient episodes of care and learning how to accurately use the ICD-10-AM and ACHI classification systems.
I felt greatly supported by my education officers throughout the course and they always provided me with helpful and informative feedback on my submitted assignments.
Why did you choose clinical coding as a career pathway?
I feel, as an experienced nurse, that clinical coding is the ideal next step in my career. I have cared for patients with a diverse range of health conditions, and I have developed an extensive knowledge of diseases and procedures, as well as a thorough understanding of the healthcare system.
As part of a clinical coding team, I look forward to working hard and keeping busy, and taking on new educational and professional learning opportunities in a very interesting and worthwhile career.
What's on
Stay up to date with the upcoming events and activities across the board at HIMAA
Roll up, roll up for an evening of entertainment and fun! The VIC Branch is hosting a TRIVIA NIGHT – its first in person event since 2019. Food for the evening will be provided and there are great prizes on offer for the winning teams.
Bring a group of friends together for a table or sign up individually to be assigned to a table. We would love to see you there for the opportunity to catch up with colleagues that you might not have seen for some time.
Click on the button below for more details.
Appropriate Covid safety precautions will be enforced by the venue and hand sanitiser provided at each table.
Member Name: Rahimah Mah Membership Category: Senior AssociateFirst joined HIMAA: 2019 Event: HIMAA VIC Online Social & Games Night! (March 3rd 2022) What did you enjoy most about the evening? Getting
