AHIMA OUTLINES STEPS NECESSARY TO MAKE PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR COMPUTERIZED RECORDS A REALITY

CHICAGO, January 26—In order for President Bush to achieve his goal to computerize health records to avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care, several key components of the healthcare system need to be addressed.

“This is the federal vision and support the healthcare industry needs. Now we have to pull all the pieces together to make it happen,” stated Linda Kloss, RHIA, CAE, executive vice president and CEO of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

In a letter to President Bush, Kloss praised the President’s recognition of this issue in his State of the Union address and outlined the four key actions necessary to make his vision a reality:

1. Advancing Electronic Health Record Standards
A standard EHR will help provide those important benefits of reducing medical error and providing health information at a lower cost. It will also allow for the sharing of healthcare data, which will improve research, public health monitoring, bioterrorism response, payment and reimbursement, and healthcare policy decisions.

2. A Standard Medical Language and Improved Data
A standard EHR requires standardized medical language, terminology, and coding standards. Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering recommendations from Congress and the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) to upgrade the nation’s system for classifying diseases and inpatient medical procedures. AHIMA urged the President to encourage HHS to publish a timely Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and a subsequent final rule for ICD-10 adoption and implementation in the US in order to ensure a fully functioning EHR and the interoperability necessary for the sharing of healthcare data.

3. National Health Information Infrastructure
A national health information infrastructure is needed to provide accurate and timely information to support decision-making at all levels. It must provide access to and exchange of health information that can be used by patients, providers, payers, research entities, public health, oversight, and policy makers. AHIMA urged the President to provide funding and leadership to make certain the public and private sectors of the healthcare industry moved forward together to ensure uniformity, interoperability, and accountability.

4. Jobs and Education
Computerized health records alone are not enough. Skilled, specially trained health information management (HIM) professionals are needed to reap the full benefits of information technologies in healthcare. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and AHIMA’s own research data, demand for skilled HIM professionals will increase significantly over the next 10 years. Some 6,000 jobs will need to be filled each year—a 49% growth in the profession. AHIMA called on the President to reauthorize Title VII of the Public Health Services Act and allocate funds to allied health education and support passage of the Allied Health Reinvestment Act

AHIMA, through its electronic health information management (e-HIM) initiative and collaborative efforts with other industry organizations, is actively addressing these key areas. According to Kloss, AHIMA “has been working hard for several years to facilitate the migration to a full electronic health information environment. Such a massive transformation of the healthcare system is often a slow and frustrating process.” She adds, “We hope now with the President’s support, that things will begin to move much more quickly”

For a copy of AHIMA’s letter to President Bush, visit the association’s Web site at http://ahima.org/dc/pres_letter_chr.asp.

AHIMA is the national association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's 52,000 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.