Seema Sondhi

1/21/2016

Roles of HIM professionals

HIM professionals are responsible for delivering improved healthcare by
effectively managing patient information and medical records. They abide by state,
federal, and accrediting regulations while maintaining, storing, collecting, analyzing,
protecting, and retrieving any and all patient data. HIM professionals are no longer
found only in offices where medical records exist as they have also taken on roles of
data analysts, revenue cycle auditors, and data quality managers.
As implementation of EHRs continue, the roles and responsibilities of HIM
professional continue to evolve and increase. One of the topmost roles of HIM
professionals is medical coding which ensures that all health records are precisely
documented and coded for maximum reimbursement and correct diagnoses.
Another equally important role includes maintaining privacy, confidentiality, and
security of health records.
As technology continues to progress, the duties of future HIM professionals
will continue to change and increase. The Office of National Coordinator (ONC) for
Health information Technology proposed four themes to the federal government
outlining the future of HIM. These themes were privacy and security,
interoperability, adoption, and collaborative governance. The roles and
responsibilities of HIM professional in the future will be based off of these four
themes.
EHR implementation has made many tasks a lot simpler like entering patient
data, pulling up patient histories and test results, and communication. However,
with such substantial data being collected, analyzed, and retrieved at any given

time, it is of great importance and highest of priorities that the integrity and
confidentiality of this data be maintained. This is where HIM professionals come
into play by being highly trained with specialized skills to maintain and protect
patient information and health records.

References
Abatjoglou, G., & George, S. (2013). From Maintenance to Management: The
Evolution of
HIM. Retrieved from:
http://healthinformation.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/FromMaintenance-to- Management-The-Evolution-of-HIM.aspx
Reynolds, R., Sharp, M., & Zeng, X. (2009). Redefining the Roles of Health
Information
Management Professionals in Health Information
Technology. Retrieved from: http://perspectives.ahima.org/redefining-theroles-of-health-information-management- professionals-in-health-informationtechnology/#.Vp_N1fkrLIU