Like other critical organizational assets—people, capital, inventory, etc.—information is a strategic asset that requires high level oversight in order to be able to effectively use it for organizational decision-making, performance improvement, cost management, and risk mitigation. Complementary to the traditional approach and practices of health information management (HIM), which is bottom up, information governance ensures that information is trustworthy and actionable through alignment with organizational strategy and engagement of senior leaders and important stakeholders across the enterprise. In an increasingly connected world, this extends outside the proverbial four walls of an organization to make sure that information is available in the right place and the right time to support health and healthcare.

AHIMA is committed to advancing information governance in the healthcare industry to ensure the quality and integrity of all types of information necessary to safe, high quality, cost effective care and the improvement of the health of individuals and populations. Both information governance and information management are necessary to meet the existing and new requirements of an increasingly complex healthcare ecosystem. 

There are many reasons IG is necessary across the healthcare industry. For instance:

• The proliferation of health information technology such as electronic health records, clinical information systems, mobile health, and cloud computing are new sources of an abundance of data and information that have outstripped the capabilities of traditional information management alone to effectively manage and derive value from it. The broader focus that IG brings can help to better manage information according to its value.


• Accurate, timely information is essential for safe, high quality healthcare. The complexity of technology and the associated process and workflow changes associated with it can result in unintended consequences. While IG recognizes the importance of technology, it realigns the focus from being solely on technology to the people and policies generate and manage data and information for safe, high quality care.


• Changes in healthcare delivery and payment systems require new types and sources of information, both internal and external. Ensuring the integrity and trustworthiness of information regardless of its source is critical for the sustainability and profitability of healthcare organizations. IG provides an approach for ensuring information can be trusted for all its many uses.


• Patient engagement—increasingly HCOs are providing greater access for patients seeking their own information to better manage their health and healthcare costs. IG addresses the need for transparency, accuracy, and integrity of information shared with patients. This is absolutely essential for patients to have confidence in their providers and fully participate as members of their healthcare team. 


• Healthcare is a highly regulated industry that must collect and effectively manage information that demonstrates compliance with myriad laws and standards.


• Privacy/security—health information is the most sensitive of all types of individually identifiable information. Its protection from breach, loss, or corruption through governance is critical in order to maintain individual and public trust.

Ensure Your Competitive Edge with Information Governance

Healthcare organizations face a myriad of challenges today but with the implementation of strong information governance framework organizations can overcome these challenges by helping to implement good information practices across the organization and throughout the information lifecycle. Press play on this interactive video to find out more.

The following materials and resources from AHIMA are tools that provide guidance for developing an IG framework that healthcare organizations can utilize as they either start or refine their own IG programs.

• AHIMA’s Information Governance Adoption Model (IGAM™)
• IG Road Map Infographic
• The Link between Data Governance and Information Governance
• Professional Readiness and Opportunity
• IG for Healthcare Benchmarking White Paper
• Information Governance Principles for Healthcare (IGPHC)™
• IG Infographic – What is IG?

To access AHIMA’s IG resources, click here. Remember to check back often for new resources.

IGAdvisors® provides consulting services to help organizations understand and improve trustworthiness of its information. Services are comprehensive, customizable, and will assist organizations in creating an effective IG implementation. With the help of IGAdvisors® organizations will be able to develop an enterprise wide information governance(IG) strategy, develop an organizational IG framework, provide oversight for business integration, help manage risk, security, privacy, protection, and compliance, and so much more!

Consulting services include:

• IG Implementation Services
  Onsite services are provided to understand current state of IG and assist in the development of a path to achieving a mature state of IG. These services are customizable.


• Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy
  Assisting an organization in moving to a higher level of maturity by performing a detailed current state analysis and providing customized and practical steps for achieving the organization's IG goals.


• Deficiency Remediation
  A focused service that allows the organization to work through a specific project based on the organization's needs such as inventory of policies and procedures, creation of a data dictionary, patient identity enhancement, organization wide privacy and security, or startup of an IG program.


• Customized Onsite / Virtual Training
  Private training services are available for groups of any size. Training will be customized and fit the needs of each organization.


• External Auditing of Information Governance Programs
  Organizations should leverage an audit partner as an expert resource to take the IG program to the next level. These services include provision of best practices for effective governance across many industries.
  
  
• IGAM Level 5 Validation
  Organizations using AHIMA’s IG HealthRate™ and want to broadcast the level of trust in data and information they have achieved can do so through objective, external validation of their IGAM Level 5 Maturity. Onsite validation by IG Advisors® includes an audit of evidence of compliance with required maturity markers by IG organizational competency.

For more information visit IGAdvisors.com or email IGAdvisors@ahima.org.