Manuscripts should be submitted via e-mail to perspectives@ahima.org.

Authors should consider the following suggestions regarding style and format when submitting manuscripts:

AHIMA follows the Chicago Manual of Style. Please see details in the section on Reference Style:

Current Concepts in Health Information Management—These manuscripts describe important issues in HIM, public health, and HIT research in a scholarly, well-referenced and systematic manner. These articles are not original research but focus on topics of interest in HIM. Examples of these manuscripts would be literature reviews or meta-analyses. Recommended length should not exceed 2,000 words (not including tables, figures or references).

Sounding Board—These manuscripts are opinion essays and reviewed scholarly works that may address any important topic in HIM and HIT. In general, these manuscripts are not directly linked to a specific article but may express opinions on current practice, research, education, or health policy related to HIM. Recommended length is 1,000 words or less.

A Piece of My Mind—These manuscripts are opinion essays which reflect current “hot” or controversial topics and/or personal experiences in HIM and HIT. When appropriate, personal vignettes are suggested for illustration purposes. Recommended length is 500 words or less.

Case Studies/Quality Improvement—These manuscripts are pragmatic examples of how organizations address quality improvement issues and problems. Manuscripts should address strategies, challenges, barriers, and, particularly, solutions in the implementation of HIT quality improvement interventions. These manuscripts originate from real-world experiences with the goal of being generalizable to other health care organizations. Recommended length is 2,500 to 3,000 words (not including tables, figures or references).

Manuscripts reporting descriptive, correlational, causal comparative, quasi-experimental, and experimental research:

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction - A clear and concise summary of the purpose and problem.
   2. Background – Literature review and theoretical framework. Background should result in demonstrated need for the study and its objectives.
   3. Research question or hypothesis.
   4. Methods - Subsections might include design, selection of sites and subjects, procedures, intervention, measurements, and analytical techniques.
   5. Results.
   6. Discussion - Subsections might address significance and interpretation in context of the literature, limitations, and future work.
   7. Conclusion - Short statement of findings and implications for further research and HIM practice.
   8. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Structures of manuscripts reporting historical research should be logical and reflect major categories.
4. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Brief introduction
   2. Research question
   3. Frame of reference
   4. Brief review of the literature
   5. Methodology
   6. Findings
   7. Conclusion
   8. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

Systematic review: A review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. Statistical methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to analyze and summarize the results of the included studies.

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique that synthesizes the results of many studies. Meta-analysis uses explicit criteria for inclusion and pools the effect sizes across studies to synthesize results.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction - Short statement that presents the purpose and scope of the review.
   2. Background – Reasons/need for the review and context of topic. Subsections might address the significance of the topic to health information management, relationship of the topic to other topics, and prior efforts to synthesize information about the topic.
   3. Process for selecting material for inclusion in the review.
   4. Body of the review
   5. Discussion - Subsections might address implications of the review, limitations, directions for future work.
   6. Conclusion - Short statement of findings and implications.
   7. References – comprehensive.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Structure of the paper depends upon its method, such as quantitative or qualitative research, case study, or evaluation study.
4. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

Measure of impact might include number of users (actual as well as the number of possible); whether the users continue to use the system over time; implementation effort; data quality; application utility or acceptability; cost/benefit; etc. to effective use of an application in an environment.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction – Short statement that presents the purpose of the manuscript.
   2. Background or Case Description – Subsections might include the problem, the environment, past relevant literature.
   3. Methods – Subsections might include description of research method, procedures of sample selection (if relevant), means of evaluation, such as design objectives.
   4. Observations or Findings including system description (if relevant) and degree to which solution met evaluation criteria.
   5. Discussion – Subsections including significance, limitations, and recommendations for future work.
   6. Conclusion – Short statement of findings and implications.
   7. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

Model formulations propose a model, frame work, technique, or innovation. The manuscript should clarify and validate the proposal through an example.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction - A short statement that presents the purpose of the manuscript.
   2. Background – Reason and context for proposed approach. Subsections might address the significance of the problem being addressed, other approaches to the problem, previous effort on the approach being reported.
   3. Formulation process.
   4. Model description.
   5. Validation through example.
   6. Discussion - Subsections might address significance, limitations, future work.
   7. Conclusion - Short summary of the model and implications.
   8. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction – Short statement that presents the purpose of the manuscript.
   2. Background or Case Description – Subsections might include the problem, the environment, past relevant literature.
   3. Methods – Subsections might include description of research method, procedures of sample selection (if relevant), means of evaluation, such as objectives.
   4. Observations or Findings including system description (if relevant) and degree to which solution met evaluation criteria.
   5. Discussion – Subsections including significance, limitations, and recommendations for future work.
   6. Conclusion – Short statement of findings and implications.
   7. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Outline:
   1. Introduction.
   2. Literature review – The review of the literature should make explicit how the current work builds on the past.
   3. Discussion – Subsections could include in-depth analysis of existing theory, development of extensions or alternative theory based on the existing theory, comparative analyses of different related theories, development of the discipline, and progression of the theoretical framework.
   4. Summary including implications for research and practice.
   5. References – comprehensive including current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

1. Abstract: 150 words or less and up to ten key words.
2. Length: Manuscripts should be no longer than 3,000 words. Exceptions may be made for manuscripts of unusual quality.
3. Structures of manuscripts offering commentaries should be logical and reflect major factors in the debate, issue, trend, etc.
4. References - current, seminal works, research-based and/or peer-reviewed works.

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word attachments to perspectives@ahima.org. Contact information for all authors should be included in the body of the e-mail message, not as part of the manuscript. Contact information for all authors should include name, credentials, position, address, organization, and e-mail address. The telephone number of the lead author should also be included. There is no need to duplicate this information on the title page. The manuscript should not include any identifiable information about authors, as it will be forwarded to reviewers as part of a double-blind review process.

Please note that your abstract, manuscript text, and notes should all be submitted in the same Word document. Please place each figure or table on a separate page at the end of the document in portrait orientation only. If the figure has been previously published, either in part or in total, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce or adapt the material. Submit a caption for each figure, including explanatory statements, notes, or keys, and source or permission lines.

Please use Times New Roman font, point size 12 points, black, single spaced, in one column.

Footnotes and references should be typed at the end of the article and indicated with corresponding numbers in the appropriate places in the text.

We kindly ask that authors only submit one manuscript at a time.

AHIMA follows the Chicago Manual of Style. Please follow the following formats for footnotes and references:

Additional data on costs versus benefits for 1962 are presented in the Health Insurance Institute's Sourcebook of Health Insurance Data. New York: Health Insurance Institute, 1963, pp. 36, 46.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. The Modern Researcher. 4th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985, p. 52.

Breiman, Robert F., et al. "Emergence of Drug-resistant Pneumococcal Infections in the United States." Journal of the American Medical Association 271, no. 3 (1994): 1831.

National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics. "Information for Health: A Strategy for Building the National Health Information Infrastructure." Washington, DC, November 15, 2001. Available online at www.ncvhs.hhs.gov/nhiilayo.pdf.

Barzun, Jacques, and Henry F. Graff. The Modern Researcher. 4th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985.

Brandt, Mary D. "Health Informatics Standards: A User's Guide." Journal of AHIMA 71, no. 4 (2000): 39-43.

PHIM does not accept simultaneous submissions. Manuscripts submitted for consideration to PHIM should not have been published (in full or in part) either in print or online and should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Authors of accepted manuscripts will be asked to sign a copyright transfer agreement which must be returned prior to manuscript publication. The work becomes the property of AHIMA and may not be published elsewhere without permission. Opinions and views expressed by authors in all manuscripts should not be construed to represent the opinions and views of AHIMA. Papers are edited to conform to AHIMA style as well as to improve the effectiveness of communication between the author and PHIM readers.

Authors will receive a proof copy for approval. Authors are required to disclose any commercial or other associations that might pose a conflict of interest or the appearance of conflict of interest. Financial support for work reported or a grant under which a study was made should be noted just prior to the Acknowledgments. Acknowledgments or appreciation to individuals for assistance with the manuscript or with the material reported should be included as a note to appear at the end of the manuscript prior to the References.

If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.

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