American Health Information Management Association

American Health Information Management Association
Name	American Health Information Management Association
Abbreviation	AHIMA
Formation	1928
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States
Membership	Health information professionals

American Health Information Management Association is a professional association for health information professionals, health records specialists, and health data managers operating within the United States. It connects practitioners from hospitals, clinics, payers, technology vendors, and academic institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Stanford Health Care to standards bodies including Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Institutes of Health, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, World Health Organization, and International Organization for Standardization. The association interacts with credentialing organizations like National Board of Medical Examiners, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, and Association of American Medical Colleges.

History

Founded in 1928, the organization traces roots to the early hospital records movement that involved institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Bellevue Hospital, NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic. During the mid-20th century it engaged with regulatory and standard-setting activities alongside Social Security Board, American Hospital Association, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services. In the 1990s and 2000s the association aligned with initiatives led by Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, President George W. Bush’s President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, and collaborations with World Health Organization programs. Recent decades saw partnerships with academic centers such as Columbia University, University of California, San Francisco, Harvard Medical School, University of Pennsylvania Health System, and technology firms including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Epic Systems, and Cerner Corporation.

Mission and Objectives

The association's mission emphasizes quality health information management, patient privacy, data interoperability, and workforce development in concert with entities such as Health Level Seven International, National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, Office for Civil Rights (United States Department of Health and Human Services), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Bar Association. Objectives include advancing standards with International Organization for Standardization, promoting certification with National Board of Medical Examiners, supporting research tied to National Institutes of Health funding, and influencing policy alongside American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges, and American Medical Association.

Membership and Certification

Membership comprises clinicians, health information managers, coders, privacy officers, and informaticists from institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Mount Sinai Health System, Geisinger Health System, and Intermountain Healthcare. Certification programs include credentials parallel to standards used by American Health Informatics Association, Board of Certification for Professional Coders, National Healthcareer Association, Commission on Certification of Health Informatics and Information Management, and collaborations with American Nurses Credentialing Center. Credentials often intersect with employer expectations at systems like UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Mayo Clinic Health System, and government employers including Veterans Health Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Education and Professional Development

Educational offerings span workshops, certificate programs, and graduate-level curricula developed with universities such as University of Illinois Chicago, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Minnesota, University of Washington, and Ohio State University. Continuing education tracks reference guidelines from Council for Higher Education Accreditation, Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education, Association of American Medical Colleges, and training models used by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health. Conferences and summits attract delegations from American Hospital Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, International Medical Informatics Association, World Health Organization, and major vendors such as Epic Systems and Cerner Corporation.

Advocacy and Policy Influence

The organization engages in advocacy on privacy, interoperability, and workforce issues alongside Office for Civil Rights (United States Department of Health and Human Services), Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, American Hospital Association, and House Committee on Ways and Means. It files comments on rulemaking affecting Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 implementations, collaborates with Federal Communications Commission on telehealth policy, and participates in coalitions with American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Health Care Association, and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Publications and Research

The association publishes peer-reviewed journals, professional guides, coding manuals, and practice briefs used by institutions like Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford Medicine. Publications align with taxonomy and coding systems such as International Classification of Diseases, Current Procedural Terminology, SNOMED CT, LOINC, and frameworks from World Health Organization and International Organization for Standardization. Research programs collaborate with funders and partners including National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Commonwealth Fund, and academic centers like Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance includes a board of directors, volunteer committees, and staff leaders interacting with stakeholders such as American Hospital Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and academic partners including University of California, Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Michigan. Committees address coding, privacy, education, and public policy in coordination with accreditation bodies such as Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education and standard organizations like Health Level Seven International and International Organization for Standardization. The association convenes annual meetings attended by representatives from Epic Systems, Cerner Corporation, Microsoft, Google, IBM, American Medical Association, and global agencies including World Health Organization.

Category:Health care-related professional associations