The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) brings together more than 103,000 Health Information Management (HIM) experts from America and around the globe (AHIMA's Current Advocacy Agenda, 2017). Through AHIMA, these experts are actively involved in the efficacious management of health – related information records, to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare services to the people. Proper handling and management of health information is a crucial determinant of the level of quality of the services rendered to patients. The association plays different leadership and empowerment roles in the healthcare industry to ensure that the provision of high-quality services is guaranteed and maintained. AHIMA publishes books, journals, and the HIM body of knowledge, and organizes meetings and web-based education programs, that offer HIM professionals with the latest and most salutary standards and practices in this field. The association is also actively involved in the health information management law and policy making processes. AHIMA encourages informatics and the governance of data analysis for ameliorated healthcare.
AHIMA’s advocacy and public policy teams are proactively engaged in the legislative and policy processes encompassing health information management(AHIMA's Current Advocacy Agenda, 2017). The association’s advocacy and policy efforts are currently concentrated on two items of important concern; Patient Identification and Privacy and Security.
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Patient Identification
Identification is the first step that a patient goes through when he or she visits a healthcare facility. Once a patient is identified, it becomes easy for healthcare practitioners to ascertain whether the patient has been to their facility before and whether or not they possess any medical information on the patient. In today’s age of technology, Electronic Health Records (EHRs,) provide a platform for easy and quick patient identification. EHRs also provide expedited access to patient information (Bowman, 2013). However, an increase in the adoption of EHRs has seen an increase in the risk of incorrect patient matching. A patient may visit a health facility and have a nurse retrieve information records that do not belong to the said patient from the facility’s computer system(Bowman, 2013). This is what is referred to as incorrect patient matching, and it can be caused by several factors, among them; a similarity in the patient personal information details. Incorrect patient matching compromises patient safety as the patient might be wrongly misdiagnosed and have the wrong medication prescribed to him or her.
In their efforts to address this potentially dangerous problem, AHIMA launched a campaign dubbed the MyHealthID campaign in March of 2017(AHIMA's Current Advocacy Agenda, 2017). The aim of the campaign is to have the government lift the budget ban that interdicts the US Department of Health and Human Services from being involved in efforts to a credible patient identification solution. AHIMA is working with partners who include lawmakers to see to it that the petition sails through Congress.
Confidentiality, Privacy, and Security of Health Information
The collection, storage and access of health information using EHRs and Health Information Exchange platforms have raised considerable amongst consumers, healthcare stakeholders, and the government. Information technology platforms always face the risk of being compromised. This puts sensitive patient information at being accessed and used unauthorized individuals, who may at times have malicious intentions. The security of patient information needs to be guaranteed at all times. AHIMA is working closely with the relevant government agencies to formulate suitable privacy policies, regulations and security standards(AHIMA's Current Advocacy Agenda, 2017). These policies will complement the already existing policies on the issue, which include; HIPAA/HITECH privacy and security laws (Murray et al. 2011). The association is also working with Congress to facilitate the adoption of universal healthcare confidentiality, privacy and security laws. These laws are aimed at curbing malpractices such the unauthorized access and misuse of health information
References
AHIMA's Current Advocacy Agenda. (2017). Retrieved June 12, 2017, from http://www.ahima.org/about/advocacy/agenda
Bowman, S. (2013). Impact of electronic health record systems on information integrity: quality and safety implications. Perspectives in Health Information Management , 10(Fall).
Murray, T. L., Calhoun, M., & Philipsen, N. C. (2011). Privacy, confidentiality, HIPAA, and HITECH: Implications for the health care practitioner. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners , 7(9), 747-752.
