AHIMA Releases Practice Standards for Key Areas of Electronic Health Record

10/20/2003

From: Theresa Reynolds of the American Health Information Management Association, 312-233-1159; e-mail: theresa.reynolds@ahima.org; Web site: http://www.ahima.org

CHICAGO, Oct. 20 -- To advance the healthcare industry's work towards an electronic health record (EHR), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) today released practice standards for six key areas that play an integral role in the industry's transition from a paper to electronic health record. These practice standards were distributed to members and attendees at the AHIMA's 75th National Convention and Exhibit in Minneapolis and will also be made available to the association's full membership. Standards were developed for the following issues, each discussed in a practice brief available on a special electronic health information management (e-HIM) CD-ROM:

1. The Complete Medical Record in a Hybrid Electronic Health Record Environment

2. Implementing Electronic Signatures

3. E-mail as a Provider-Patient Electronic Communication Medium and Its Impact on the Electronic Health Record

4. Electronic Document Management as a Component of the Electronic Health Record

5. Core Data Sets for the Physician Practice Electronic Health Record

6. Speech Recognition in the Electronic Health Record

In addition to the practice briefs, the work also includes:

-- Criteria for Best Practice in each of the subject areas

-- Creation of tasks and skill list that relate to the subject area

-- Self-assessment criteria to assist members in identifying skills and skill levels in each of the subject areas

The standards represent the next step in advancing AHIMA's e-HIM initiative (http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bo k1_020477.pdf) and will provide valuable resources and guidance to the healthcare industry and position HIM professionals to play a key role in the advancement of the electronic health record. Full release of the information will be made available to the healthcare industry by the end of the year.

The e-HIM work groups are supported in part by grants to AHIMA's Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) from Dictaphone Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Meta Health Technologies, Inc., and Precyse Solutions. The production of the e-HIM Six Pack CD and publication of the e-HIM report is supported by a grant from Siemens Medical Solutions.

AHIMA is the national association of health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA's 46,000 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 http://www.ahima.org.

FORE is the charitable affiliate of AHIMA. FORE provides financial and intellectual resources to sustain and recognize continuous innovation and advances in HIM for the betterment of the profession, healthcare, and the public. For more information, visit http://www.ahima.org/fore.