Have you ever experienced difficulty trying to access AHIMA's various online resources? If so, help is on the way.

AHIMA provides many online membership benefits to our members, including:

• Communities of Practice 
• FORE Library/Body of Knowledge
• Online AHIMA Journal quizzes for CE credit
• Member profile update options and online product purchase

And those are just a few.  

They are all valuable services, but are not helpful to you as a member if technical problems or software incompatibilities prevent you from accessing them.

With that in mind, we are beginning a series of e-mails to inform our members of technical issues we have encountered, and give tips to work around them.  In Part I, we will address browser software incompatibilities.

What Is a Browser?

The browser is the software your computer uses to access the Internet, and the two leading browser software packages in use are Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Netscape Navigator or Communicator.  Both of these are fully compatible with our Web site, but there are many other products available on the market, and unfortunately, not all of these browsers support the software functions necessary to properly access the AHIMA Web site.  Particularly, because we ensure our member’s privacy and security by using the latest and most secure online technology, you will encounter various issues logging in to secure areas of our site if you are not using one of the recommended browsers.

Common browser packages are:

• AOL
• CompuServe,
• NetZero,
• RoadRunner
• Mozilla. 

If you  use these or any browser software other then Internet Explorer (version 6.0 or newer) or Netscape Navigator/Communicator (version 6.1 or newer), you will encounter various problems accessing our online resources properly.  In particular, you may be unable to log into the FORE Library/Body of Knowledge, or to access portions of the Communities of Practice.

Fortunately, the solution is an easy one, as one of the two compatible browsers should already be installed on your computer.  On a Windows/PC system, the Internet Explorer browser is part of the standard package installed on your PC when you purchase the system. With Macs, Netscape Navigator/Communicator should be pre-installed.  If you need to update the browser, the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and Netscape Navigator’s most recent update can be found at http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/.  Both browser programs are free, and the Web sites provide instructions on the procedures for downloading and installing the browsers.  Once you are sure you have the latest version of one of the compatible browsers installed, all you need to do is connect to the Internet as you normally do, and open the appropriate browser program.  

Using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator to access our site, you should encounter no more browser-related problems.

Please note that AHIMA provides extensive assistance through online help pages, linked from each area of the web site.  The main help page can be found at http://ahima.org/help/.  If your questions are not answered there, please feel free to contact our Customer Relations area at (800) 335-5535 or info@ahima.org

AHIMA is the premier association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's 51,000 members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public. Founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning. For information about the Association, go to www.ahima.org.