E-HIM® Best Practices

AHIMA’s Best Practice Guidance, often published in practice briefs in the Journal of AHIMA provides practical guidance on traditional health information management (HIM) principles and evolving e-HIM® functions. Through research and professional volunteer efforts, this best practice guidance is offered to AHIMA members and the healthcare industry as resources for achieving our vision of quality healthcare through quality information. All practice briefs and best practice guidance documentation receive expert review/input.

Each year AHIMA forms several workgroups of practicing professionals who develop practice briefs, tool kits, and other best practice guidance. The following is a sample of e-HIM® topics recently addressed by AHIMA workgroups:

• Electronic Signature, Attestation, and Authorship (Updated)
• Copy Functionality in the electronic health record (EHR)
• Amendments, corrections, and deletions in the EHR
• Managing the Integrity of Patient Identity in Health Information Exchange
• Clinical Documentation Improvement Toolkit
• Redisclosure of Patient Health Information

The resources produced by these workgroups are in the AHIMA Body of Knowledge (BoK).

These resources also contribute to best practices in the AHIMA Compendium. The AHIMA compendium is a collection of best practices on HIM and e-HIM® published by the AHIMA. The statements are excerpted from AHIMA’s extensive practice guidance, which is widely disseminated in practice briefs, articles, and toolkits available in the BoK.

Volunteer Workgroups

In most instances, AHIMA enlists volunteer subject matter experts, in a collaborative effort with AHIMA professional practice team support and technical review, to develop best practices through expert consensus.

When AHIMA convenes a volunteer workgroup, an attempt is made to achieve a balanced group to represent all relevant perspectives, as appropriate to the subject. Qualified volunteers may be directly solicited or sought through a call to participation announced through e-Alerts and postings in the Communities of Practice (CoPs). Additional subject matter experts may be specifically solicited to accomplish a well-rounded view and ensure any recommendations or advice provided is consistent with current HIM practice and substantiated by credible sources.

External validation and transparency is critical in the early stages of a volunteer workgroup when best practices are being identified. Input is openly sought throughout this stage via the AHIMA CoP, professional networks of workgroup volunteers, and interviews. Workgroup deliverables are reviewed and validated by:

• Professional practice staff
• Related practice council volunteers
• Technical review from outside experts as warranted

AHIMA invites experts to volunteer for Work Groups or task forces.