Next week I’m heading to Baltimore to attend the AHIMA Annual Convention. It’s a great event that brings together most of the HIM (Health Information Management) professionals in one place. There’s always a good energy and excitement at the convention. If you want to know some of the topics I think they’ll be talking about at the event, check out my look at AHIMA 2016.
Turns out that it’s a great time to be working in HIM. The need for HIM Professionals has only grown. That said, the jobs available to HIM professionals has shifted over time. While HIM was original known as medical records, today it takes on a very different shape. Gone are the days of HIM just being about managing the paper charts, the release of information, and coding.
Today, there are a whole suite of HIM jobs and some of them require some really advanced training. That’s a great thing for HIM since it also means they can demand a higher salary. For example, HIM professionals can do a great job in many healthcare informatics positions. What do you do in healthcare informatics? One major job is to ensure the quality and integrity of your organization’s health data. Sounds a lot like what HIM professionals do, no?
One trend that was a little surprising to me at first was how involved HIM professionals can be in your EHR implementation. However, upon second thought, it makes a lot of sense that HIM would be involved in EHR. One of the main EHR tasks is creating EHR templates that capture accurate data for the legal medical record and for reimbursement. Those are two things that HIM professionals understand deeply.
If you’re an HIM professional that’s looking to enhance your career, be sure to check out the HIM Jobs listed on Healthcare IT Central. Don’t be surprised by the whole plethora of jobs that now want HIM professionals.
