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HIMAA
MATTERS
The monthly newsletter of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Limited
SEP 2020
VOLUME 6, ED 10
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GENERAL ENQUIRIES +61 2 9887 5001
himaa@himaa.org.au MEMBERSHIP SERVICES +61 2 9887 5002
membership@himaa.org.au MARKETING & EVENTS +61 2 9887 5821
events@himaa.org.au ACCOUNTS +61 2 9887 5007 +61 2 9887 5003
accounts@himaa.org.au EDUCATION SERVICES +61 2 9887 5898
education@himaa.org.au I.T. SERVICES
+61 2 8877 5378 +61 2 8877 5014
support@himaa.org.au
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ABN: 54 008 451 910
ISSUE
President's Report
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From the office of the CEO
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Call for Director Nominations to the Board
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HIMAA National Virtual Conference 2020
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HIMAA National PD Webinar #7
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Member Profile
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Membership Call Out to Families of HIMAA
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HIMSA Webinar
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WA Branch PD Event
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Data Analytics
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HIMAA Privacy & Secuirty SIG
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HIMAA International HIM Special Interest Group (SIG)
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Latest from HIM-J
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Hot Job of the Week
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Work-Web
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RTO ID: 91660
Locked Bag 2045, North Ryde, NSW 1670
PRESIDENTS
REPORT
Hello Members,
Board Nominations Nominations for the HIMAA Board are open. As a Board member you are a director of HIMAA. As any director of an organisation, you are bound by legal duties to act in the best interest of that organisation i.e. fiduciary duty. According to Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) “the Board is responsible for the overall governance, management and strategic direction of the organisation and for delivering accountable corporate performance in accordance with the organisation’s goals and objectives.” Volunteering for the HIMAA Board is a substantial commitment. Board positions are not paid however have the responsibility of directing HIMAA, an organisation with annual revenues of over $2.5million, to ensure its sustainable. At a time when the association and profession faces substantial challenges such as low HIM graduate numbers, declining revenues, modernisation and role substitution, we need directors who have a strategic, dynamic and growth mindset and capacity to commit the necessary time to the role in leading us through these challenges. Mark, in his CEO report, states that five hours a week is a good benchmark for directors to begin with. I concur, with senior officers having a bigger commitment. By joining the Board you will develop skills outside of your day job and the satisfaction that you are helping your association and profession. If you are interested in becoming a Board member, please drop me a line and I will be more than happy to discuss in further detail what being a Board member involves. Director nominations are due by 5pm AEDT, Thursday 8 October, 2020.
Permanent Chief Executive Officer Recruitment One of the most important job of the Board is to appoint the Chief Executive Officer of the organisation. An analogy used in corporate governance is that the Board acts as the “brains” and the executive management team is described as the “arms and legs” of the organisation, as they provide the “doing” of the organisation and implement the decisions of the Board and its delegates. The Board is currently recruiting for a permanent Chief Executive Officer who in conjunction with the Board will lead, navigate and grow HIMAA through this challenging time. Details of the role can be found https://himaa.org.au/job/ ceo/ Applications close 5pm AEST, Monday 21 September, 2020. Onwards and upwards! Cheens Lee President cheensl@himaa.org.au
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FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
Chief Executive Officer Hello everyone.
IFHIMA
Welcome to spring and I hope that the new season brings you a sense of renewal.
Looking for international reach opportunity? Why not consider the current expression of interest to join the Internal Federation of Health Information Management Associations (IFHIMA) Social Media Workgroup. Current members include USA, Barbados, Nigeria, and Ghana.
With the AGM fast approaching, the call for nominations for the Board of Directors has gone out. I hear from many members who ask is it for them? Do I have what it takes? My advice is that there are two types of members who may consider applying: 1. Are you actively participating in a HIMAA Committee? If you have sat on a committee in the last year and have a drive to forge through the challenges of a global pandemic, put your hat in the ring right now. Don’t hold back, get involved and be part of the innovative organisation you want to see HIMAA become. 2. Non-committee members. If you are interested in joining a committee of HIMAA, keep an eye out for the Opportunities page where we will host volunteer positions on committees, task forces and other ways to engage in the peak professional body for HIMs and CCs. Experience on the committees is the best way to prepare yourself for engaging in the profession and a pathway to becoming a future member of the board. Key messages: » Don’t underestimate yourself in applying for a position on a committee or the Board. It’s a learning experience for people at all levels. » Being a Board member does require a commitment to give of your time. A good measure would be approximately 5 hours per week to ensure you can make some real impact. » Being a Board member offers fantastic opportunities for you to assist your professional association. Great personal and professional growth. You will be inducted to the Board to ensure you have the necessary tools to undertake the role.
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You can also review the IFHIMA LinkedIn page at - https:// www.linkedin.com/company/ifhima/ If you or anyone you know is interested, please let Sally McIntosh know via the HIMAA Facebook page.
2020 Virtual Conference By now, the registration fee and preliminary program details will have been released. This is the first virtual conference that HIMAA has hosted and it’s exciting that we can all have access to some amazing content this year with no expenses on travel and accommodation. The price has been reduced and we are offering discounted member rates - including group discounts and one day rates. The program has been extensively worked on by Joan Henderson our Scientific Committee Industry Co-chair and Kathleen Rogers our Scientific Committee Academic Co-chair with the support of the hard-working Conference Committee members. We will also be promoting the 2020 virtual conference to HIM colleagues across the globe, aiming for a truly international flavour. Do yourself, your colleagues and your organisation a favour and take the opportunity to register and attend and make this event one to remember! Mark Upton Acting CEO
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ELECTION TO THE HIMAA BOARD At the Annual General Meeting of the Health Information Management Association (HIMAA) of Australia on November 6th 2020, three positions will become vacant for the role of Director and member of the HIMAA Board and nominations are hereby invited. Members are eligible for nomination to the Board in the following HIMAA Membership Categories: » » » »
Full Member Senior Associate Life Member Fellow Member
All nominations must be received by the Company Secretary, Mr Mark Upton, by 5pm AEDT, Thursday October 8th 2020. For more information please go to the links below:
HIMAA DIRECTOR NOMINATION FORM FIT AND PROPER PERSON DECLARATION FORM
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REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN Preliminary Program, Conference Fees and Registration Portals are now available here GO TO CONFERENCE WEBSITE
HIMAA NATIONAL PD WEBINARS 2020 Webinar #7: Managing Privacy Breaches 25 September 12 pm – 1 pm AEST Chair: Sharon Campbell, Privacy and Security SIG Convenor Speaker: Lemm Ex Principal Privacy Officer Office of the Privacy Commission Registrations will be open on Friday 18 September on HIMAA website.
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MEMBER PROFILE Pratheena Augustine SEPTEMBER 2020 Q1. You are a group coordinator- Quality Assurance Aircoder for synapse medical services in Chennai, India. Could you please break this down and explain to our members. • What is the description of your title, what do you do day to day in this position? • How long have you been working for this company? • Your resume says you live in India, what are you issues you are facing with the present COVID-19 pandemic?
family (my husband is unable to return to India from Singapore due to travel restrictions). However, thanks to modern technology which has been very supportive in bridging the gap and bringing us all closer to each other through video calling and many other options. Q2. I see from your resume you trained under Anna Coote from Australia, a HIMAA member with our association since 1981. Please give your experience and what value this may have added to your learning in this field?
I am currently working with Synapse Medical Services as a Group coordinator – Quality Assurance. I joined Synapse in May 2018 as a Clinical Coder and the last couple of years have been an enriching journey, giving me an opportunity to be trained and work on many Specialties and enhance my expertise in clinical coding. With an immense focus on technology and enhanced customer experience, Synapse launched “Aircoder", a software solution to achieve efficiency and consistency in coding. I have been privileged to be given the opportunity to be a part of the project, which is an invaluable experience in itself.
Anna Coote was my coding manager for a brief period at Synapse Medical Services. Working with her was an impactful journey. My first interaction with her was a discussion about ‘ Austin bunionectimy' and the learning from that interaction was to go beyond the comfort zone to explain a concept until it clears the blurry thoughts – we learnt concepts on how to choose ACHI codes, look for the approach use – bilateral/unilateral, any internal fixations done etc. In our last interaction we discussed the changes to the 11th edition and she made us feel better by addressing our apprehension and saying that ACS0002 will make it easy to choose additional diagnoses codes. She is a living example of two things which inspire me- “never feel ashamed to accept your mistakes instead use them as a fuel to move ahead" and that “Age is just a number, learning never stops".
COVID19 emerged as a major disruption to personal and work life this year. Like the rest of the world, India has been affected with the same Challenges. However an opportunity to continue to work from home has been a life saver. Synapse have quickly and efficiently implemented work from home to ensure that we meet the client expectations of business continuing without compromising on quality and security while ensuring the personal safety of me and all my colleagues. On the personal front, the lockdown implemented due to COVID19 means I am staying away from my immediate
Q3. Describe 1 aspect of your position that makes a difference in the health industry? I am doing clinical coding using standardized ICD10AM and ACHI classification system and ensuring the quality demands of our client are met and the coded
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HIMAA MATTERS | SEPTEMBER 2020
data is submitted on time, in a consistent manner, which is an important facet to the health industry. I am working as a group coordinator for Quality Assurance on a very exciting project – Aircoder, which is ensuring automation efficiency in the Clinical Coding aspect of the health industry and can be easily applied to a large scale. This is how I am contributing to the health industry with the help of my organisation “Synapse Medical Services”. Q4. Tell us what benefits you enjoy being part of HIMAA membership? Do you receive good service from the membership department at HIMAA? For me, being a member of HIMAA is equivalent to the joy of getting into any big university like, Harvard. As a progressing clinical coder, I love spending time to read HIM-I and HIMAA matters. I am happy to share a bit of my learnings from HIM-I. Reference 1: volume 8 number 3 2018 Topic: clinical coding education: The clinical coders view on ongoing clinical coder education and professional development. Learning: I understand about the importance of exploring and updating the clinical knowledge through daily informal education. Reference 2: volume 9 number 2 2019 Topic: Supporting clinical coders understanding the Challenges, under table 8 auditing subdomain key findings point number 9 Learning: I realized the importance of conducting pre and post auditing education allows comparison and measurement which definitely yields quality coding. The webinars conducted by HIMAA play a huge role in quenching my thirst for knowledge. For someone who is living offshore (India) the webinars are very effective
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in ongoing learning for me. Most importantly HIMAA provides information (links to register, key benefits of attending) on other webinars and courses related to health information. The recent one I attended was the short courses about digital health from the University of Tasmania. I am very happy with the fantastic and timely services provided by the membership department. My special thanks to Lorisa Bhasale (Membership and events officer). Please explain or describe something to our members that may interest them about your career? As a counseling psychologist the knowledge I gained from clinical coding helped me to interact effectively with patients and families when I was a trainee and did my field work at major hospital in south of India, and continues to help me in discussion with people who approach me for counseling regarding their medical conditions. Clinical Coding encourages me to pursue new medical terminologies and abbreviations which is a never ending process and an opportunity to enhance my learning. Everyday is a new learning and it is fascinating to explore the various chapters (21 in total) about different specialties- the diseases, procedures and how the diagnoses are confirmed using various medical methods and technologies. If anybody is passionate about the healthcare industry the Clinical Coding career could be the key to fuel your passion and groom yourself in an exceptional way. Like every career, it needs practice, patience, perseverance and determination in the field of clinical coding to progress your career. You start as trained coder, moving on to become an experienced senior clinical coder after you have learnt and worked on multiple specialties. The next step is to become a Coding Trainer/ Auditor.
HIMAA MATTERS | SEPTEMBER 2020
Membership Call Out to Families of HIMAA Calling all families in HIMAA. If you have a family member, are HIMAA Members and work as HIMs or Clinical Coders in this industry. Membership wants to hear from you! October’s issue of HIMAA Matters will feature “Membership Families of HIMAA”. We know we have a couple of mother/daughter, husband/wife, cousin teams. We would like you to email Lorisa at membership@ himaa.org.au who will email the information required for submitting your article/photos. Let all get together and create a memorable issue for our Members.
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Use the buttons below to register:
REGISTER NOW!
WA HIMAA THE
Member & Student Registrations Non-Member Registrations
PRESENTS THE
ANNUAL BREAKFAST
4th November 2020 Steves, Nedlands
This event has been brought to you by the WA Health Information Management Association of Australia. WAHIMAA welcomes you to join your fellow HIMs, Coders and associates for a Breakfast Seminar to experience a guest speaker Dee Roche, MBA Fellow, who will be discussing change leadership, resilience through change for leaders, managers and team members. As the health landscape continues to go through rapid changes within informatics and ICT affecting HIM and Coding, this is a great opportunity to receive insight, recommendations and guidelines to add to your change management and leadership toolkit and the chance to ask questions to the event speakers on the day!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORING THE HIM AND CLINICAL CODING PROFESSIONS! 10
GUEST SPEAKER, DEE ROCHE, MBA FELLOW MBA Teaching Fellow Dee Roche is a coordinator and lecturer at the UWA Business School, specialising in leadership, strategic change and transformation. Since 2009, Dee has coordinated the MBA Organisational Change and Transformation unit. She is a passionate change-maker who puts theory into practice by marrying together lived experience and academic understanding of change and transformation. Dee’s UWA journey began in 2003 and over the last 17 years, she has worked in a variety of roles including the UWA Executive Education as a Senior Management Consultant in the areas of leadership, strategic change and transformation. Before commencing her role in academia, Dee started her career as a registered general and paediatric nurse educator. Her experiences of travel and education opportunities in England, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia and Australia kickstarted her transition from nurse to UWA. A life-long learner, Dee describes her career as a continuous work in progress, neither finishing one position nor starting another. Her cumulative experiences provide her with a rich source of portability and transferability into the diverse fields of health, education, social impact and facilitation. Her personal philosophy is to provide ‘service at its best’. She is also actively involved in student support and mentorship programs at UWA. To read more about Dee, please follow the below link; https://www.uwa.edu.au/profile/dee-roche
EVENT DETAILS
Wednesday, 4th of November 2020
7:15 am – 9:30 am
Steves - 171 Broadway, Nedlands WA 6009
Includes any Steve's Breakfast Main, Coffee, Fresh Juice and Sweet Pastries
HOW TO REGISTER Use the buttons below to register:
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Member & Student Registrations FOR YOUR PLACE AT THIS EXCITING EVENT Non-Member Registrations
Cost: $40 HIMAA members $45 non-members Please be advised that WA Health supports professional development. Please consult your employer for support with the registration fee. Event fees are tax deductible. All proceeds will go towards supporting WA HIMAA, with resources for future events such as professional development and the HIM profession through administrative support such as, organising a bid to host an international conference in WA, developing a business case to apply for the HIM profession to be listed in the specified callings, raising the profession’s profile and other positive initiatives that provide value for HIM’s, clinical coders and associates. Partly funding and enhancing future WA HIMAA events. For more information on this and future events, contact: Bas Alnassar - Bas.Alnassar@health.wa.gov.au
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DATA ANALYTICS HIM’s be like interested!
As Health Information Managers we are used to being surrounded by information all day every day: literally bombarding us and, mostly in the olden days, even falling on us. Codes, data sets, reports, dashboards, patient master indexes, medical records, staff and payroll data and the list goes on. We are also used to hearing well-worn clichés such as “do more with less”. COVID-19 has shone a bright light on the need for up to date data that is correct and able to tell a story easily to a variety of customers from TV viewers to bureaucrats to epidemiologists. How do we improve our services, produce more output with less, inform executives, departments and third parties of what is important to them in a way that is understandable and fulfil a myriad of other requirements that will be standard operating now and into the future? Data analytics is the answer to that question, and many other questions that will be at the forefront of our profession for years to come. As the volume, variety, and velocity of data continue to reach unprecedented levels, healthcare professionals and their organisations must be able to uncover hidden patterns or correlations that can be used to make better decisions. What Is Data Analytics? Data analytics is the science of analysing raw data in order to make conclusions about that information. Many of the techniques and processes of data analytics have been automated into mechanical processes and algorithms that work over raw data for human consumption. Data analytics techniques can reveal trends and metrics that would otherwise be lost in the mass of information. This information can then be used to optimise processes to increase the overall efficiency of a business or system. It’s really all about changing “data” to “information”.
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Cameron Barnes with Eloni Vunakece at the 2019 HIMAA Conference
Data analytics is important because it helps health services optimise their performances. Implementing it into the business model means Hospitals can help reduce costs by identifying more efficient ways of conducting their business, amongst other uses. Health Services can also use data analytics to improve business decisions and analyse patient trends and satisfaction, which can lead to new and better services and reduce patient risk. So, my tip to you? Get on board the Data train now, it’s going fast and may be harder to get on board later! References: accessed 7th September 2020 https://www.ahima.org/education-events/education-bytopic/data-analytics/ https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/data-analytics. asp Cameron Barnes Director Health Information Services and Information Governance Cabrini Health Click on the button below to access EOI for Data Analytics Competency Workgroup - Education Committee EOI FOR DATA ANALYTICS
HIMAA PRIVACY & SECURITY SIG The Privacy & Security SIG has now formed and held two meetings full of planning, ideas and discussion about contemporaneous issues facing health information managers (HIMs) in the pandemic world which has triggered an unprecedented acceleration of change in the way we live and work, requiring us all to adapt. The SIG is particularly interested in record security, whether physical or digital, the vulnerabilities that can arise in both modalities of record keeping and what resources can be provided to members of the Association to help them in their day to duties to keep the information of the users of our health services safe, secure and confidential. In July of this year security and privacy of health information was put front of mind for the Western Australian community when a 15 year old child accessed the names and details of Covid-19 patients by intercepting pager transmissions, going on to publish these details online. For custodians of confidential health information, this highlights the need for HIMs to continually assess the suitability of the systems used in their organisations to manage, store and communicate this type of commodity.
One manner in which HIMs may be called upon to do this is through the use of a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). PIAs are a useful tool to ensure compliance with Information Privacy Principles, but go far beyond this, enabling a method of reviewing the impact of your organisations program of work on an individual’s information privacy and ways that you might seek to reduce, minimise and mitigate risk of compromising this. For more information about PIAs you can access resources provided by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner here. This SIG is working towards a whitepaper on privacy and security practises relevant to HIMs and hopes to include further detail on PIAs, their relevance to HIMs and how HIMs can use them to enhance the privacy practises surrounding the confidential information in their custody. If there are any matters privacy and security related that you would like to see the SIG discuss provide advice or resources for, or if you see an interesting privacy and security related news item, please send through your suggestions to sharonc@himaa.org.au.
HIMAA INTERNATIONAL HIM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) The August HIMAA International HIM Special Interest Group (SIG) Meeting is over and it was a huge success. When COVID-19 pandemic hit us and changed our way of life, we decided to hold this quarterly event differently. Instead of inviting guest speakers outside of the group, our own Shadi Al Hassan shared with us some of the innovations that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia put in place to respond to the pandemic. We also held a roundtable discussion where members shared special items, greetings, food or stories from a country of interest or a nationality they identified with. We talked, laughed and were inspired. Connections between each other have never been more important. Wondered who we are? We are the International HIM SIG, a structured forum under the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) umbrella who discuss, review and support health information related activities that are being
undertaken internationally. The forum provides an opportunity to contribute to relevant national and international dialogue, strategy development and contribute to enhancing HIM practice. We aim to provide members with opportunities to contribute to enhancing HIM practice and mentor or partner with professional colleagues within the group and in other countries. Currently, the SIG has over 30 active members and we meet quarterly via videoconference. Since 2018, we have organised several successful events and invited a number of impressive international speakers who shared their knowledge and expertise and presented on what health information related activities are being undertaken internationally. We are looking forward to another wonderful year ahead and would like to invite new members, both based in Australia and overseas who have an interest in HIM practices internationally. Interested? Join us by emailing himaa@himaa.org.au today.
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LATEST FROM HIM-J ... Since last ‘HIMAA Matters’, HIMJ has published five OnlineFirst articles. A brief summary is provided below.
New Articles Letter to the Editor How Internet technologies can help hospitals to curb COVID-19: PUMCH experience from China Qianyu Zhuang, Guoqiang Sun, Feng Zhang, Jianguo Zhang, Liluan You, Si Chen, Ke Zeng, Xiaoyang Meng, Wen Li, Yue Peng, Peng Peng, Weigou Zhu, Mingwei Qin, Mingyan Chen, Bingshui Hu, Hui Pan. August 18, 2020 | OnlineFirst In this letter to the Editor, the medical team from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) share their experience of initiating control and prevention measures for COVID-19 immediately after the outbreak in Wuhan. In their account, they highlight the importance of information systems in responding to the outbreak. Letter to the Editor Health information systems amid COVID-19 outbreak: Lessons from China Chaojie Liu August 18, 2020 | OnlineFirst In parallel with the letter from Zhuang et al (August 18, 2020) this letter discusses the role information systems have played in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with a more detailed focus on the areas of application. Letter to the Editor Hospital discharge diagnoses in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first months of COVID-19 outbreak in the Italian province of Udine. A Francesca Valent, Francesco Gongolo August 25, 2020 | OnlineFirst This letter describes the introduction of guidelines for coding hospital discharge diagnoses caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), which were adopted by all Italian Regions, and raises the importance of consistent coding rules for analysis of COVID-19 related hospital data, for both costing and epidemiology.
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HIMAA MATTERS | SEPTEMBER 2020
Chief Executive Officer HIMAA
JOB OF THE WEEK
The Health Information Management Association of Australia Ltd (HIMAA) is the peak professional body for health information management (HIM) professionals in Australia. It has been serving the health information management profession since 1949. HIMAA promotes and supports our members as the universally recognised specialists in health information management at all levels of the healthcare system. We do this by: • Developing strategy to position the profession positively in the healthcare environment • Advocating policy and positions to better enable health information management professionals to contribute effectively to health care delivery • Developing quality and practice standards to support the standing of our members in their workplaces • Ensuring workforce supply through quality education and training
Chief Executive Officer HIMAA
Read more
New Website, New Work Web Checkout our new job board! Another reason to advertise with HIMAA
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Work Web Notice Board SEPTEMBER 2020 | HIMAA Job Title: Health Information Services Manager
Job Title: Market Development / Senior H...
Position Type: Full-Time
Position Type: Full-Time
Organisation: West Gippsland Healthcare Group
Organisation: Pavilion Health a PKS Company
Location: Warragul, Australia
Location: Queensland & Victoria, Australia
Contact Name: John Rochstad-Lim
Contact Name: Vicke Edwards
Email: John.Rochstad-lim@wghg.com.au
Contact Email: v.edwards@pks.com.au
Application Closes: 5/10/2020
Application Closes: 21/9/2020
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Job Title: Clinical Coding Auditor
Job Title: Health Information Manager
Position Type: Full-Time
Position Type: Full-Time
Org: UnitingCare – St Andrews War Memorial..
Organisation: Hunter New England Local Hea...
Location: Brisbane, CBD, Australia
Location: Tamworth, Australia
Contact Name: Clarissa Morris
Contact Name: Sharon Bowen
Contact Email: clarissa.morris@uchealth.com.au
Email: sharon.bowen@health.nsw.gov.au
Application Closes: 22/9/2020
Application Closes: 21/09/2020
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Job Title: Contract Clinical Coder Position Type: Contract Organisation: AHP Medical Location: Sydney & Brisbane, Australia Contact Name: Yasemin Alevris Contact Email: Yasemin@aushpc.om.au Application Closes: 3/10/2020 View job
Please visit our job board online to discover many more current job offers
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