The Health Information Management (HIM) profession as it is today helps to collect, analyze, and share patient healthcare data between departments within the healthcare environment to improve patient care. However, this was not always the case.
Prior to hospital standardization, there were no standard procedures or processes when it came to patient health records. Patient identification information, diagnoses, any notes or laboratory reports included in the patient health records were included at the sole discretion of the healthcare provider. This created patient care issues as records would often be incomplete. In 1918, the American College of Surgeons recognized the need for complete and accurate patient records to raise the standards of surgery and subsequently the health record process was created. The standardization would require that records include patient identification information, diagnoses, test results, and a treatment plan. The Association of Record Librarians of North America (ALRNA), now the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), was formed in 1928 with 58 charter members. …show more content…
When Canadian members of ALRNA formed their own association in 1944, the association changed their name to the American Association of Medical Record Librarians. Another name change occurred in 1970 when the term librarian was dropped, thus becoming the American Medical Record Association. The current name, AHIMA, was adopted in 1991 as members saw the value of information in patient health records versus strictly the records themselves. Name changes of credentials mirrored the changes in the association. Currently, AHIMA is a membership organization that represents and encourages professional advancement of HIM professionals through certification, ongoing education, and advocacy for the HIM