Health Information Management

Health Information Management

Health information management (HIM) is the practice of maintenance and care of health records by traditional (paper-based) and electronic means in hospitals, physician's office clinics, health departments, health insurance companies, and other facilities that provide health care or maintenance of health records. With the widespread computerization of health records and other information sources, including hospital administration functions and health human resources information, health informatics and health information technology are being increasingly utilized in information management practices in the health care sector.

Health information management professionals plan information systems, develop health policy, and identify current and future information needs. In addition, they may apply the science of informatics to the collection, storage, use, and transmission of information to meet the legal, professional, ethical and administrative records-keeping requirements of health care delivery. They work with clinical, epidemiological, demographic, financial, reference, and coded healthcare data.

It has been suggested the proper collection, management and use of information within healthcare systems “will determine the system’s effectiveness in detecting health problems, defining priorities, identifying innovative solutions and allocating resources to improve health outcomes.” For example, health information administrators have been described to "play a critical role in the delivery of healthcare in the United States through their focus on the collection, maintenance and use of quality data to support the information-intensive and information-reliant healthcare system". As the field grows and information technology becomes a more crucial part of the medical world, health information management is experiencing a transition from traditional managing practices with paper to more efficient electronic management, such as with Electronic Health Records (EHRs). But the main goal is still to analyze, manage, and utilize the information that is essential to patient care and making sure the providers can access the information when necessary.