Current topics in Health Information Management in

AustraliaVicki Bennett

President, HIMAA

What is a HIM?

Health Information Managers provide information for

evidence-based decision making at all levels of the health

system

For Clinical Care

• Provision of patient records for continuity of care

• Timely access to paper or electronic information can save lives

• Clinical Trials

• Clinical Register

For Facility Management

• Casemix data for funding

• Information for quality monitoring

• Resource allocation

For Government

• Policy decision

• Data standardisation

• Public accountability reporting

HIMAA(draft)

• Vision: Improving the health of Australians through information management

• Mission: HIMAA seeks to promote our members as the universally recognised specialists in information management at all levels of the healthcare system

HIMAAStrategic Planning

• Strategic Objectives:– Professional development– Membership– Education services– Positioning & advocacy– Communication– Knowledge domain– Organisation structure

HIMs are chameleons

• HIMs have always been adaptive– Medical Record Librarians– Medical Record Administrators– Health Information Managers– ?????

HIM Supply issues

• Closure of 2 of the 4 undergraduate programs:– QUT is now moving to post-grad only– University of Sydney has now moved

to a Master of Health Informatics only– La Trobe - Bachelor of Health

Science/Master of HIM (continuing)– Curtin - Bachelor of Health Science

(HIM major) (continuing)

HIM Graduate Numbers- 2004 and 2008

HIM Supply issues

• Lack of entry level professionals to do the base level work

• Cannot be replaced by post-graduate programs – ‘stealing’ from other professions with shortages

• Informatics programs do not replace this entry level health information professional

“A Review of the Australian Health Informatics Workforce”, Health Informatics Society of Australia, August 2009

HIMs – an endangered species?

Current environment

• e-Health– Individual health identifiers– SMOMED, etc.

• Primary Health Care

• Health Care Reform

• COAG data requirements

• Globalisation of health

Coding Workforce

• AIHW are preparing for DoHA “A Report on the Clinical Coders, Health Information Managers and Costing Specialists (Coding Workforce) Shortfall”– Survey of current workforce and projected

numbers for the future– Activities currently being undertaken by the

Jurisdictions– Recommendations for a national strategy to

address the needs

Activity Based Funding

• Healthcare reform

• New classifications for other areas of health, eg primary care, aged care, etc

COAG – National Healthcare

Agreement • Objective: to improve health outcomes for

all Australians and the sustainability of the Australian health system.

• Includes the objectives, outcomes, outputs and performance measures, and clarifies the roles and responsibilities .

• 70 Performance Indicators and 9 Benchmarks

COAG

• Policy and Reform Directions – Prevention– Primary and Community Health – Hospital and Related Care – Aged Care – Patient experience – Social Inclusion and Indigenous Health – Sustainability

• http://www.coag.gov.au/intergov_agreements/federal_financial_relations/docs/IGA_FFR_ScheduleF_National_Healthcare_Agreement.rtf

ICD-11

• Mission: – To produce an international disease

classification that is ready for electronic health records that will serve as a standard for scientific comparability and communication.

– Deliverables:• ICD-11 alpha draft will be ready by 10 May 2010 • ICD-11 beta draft will be ready by 10 May 2011 • ICD final draft will be submitted to WHA by 2014

e-Health

• Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010 and Healthcare Identifiers (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2010 tabled in February.

• Referred for inquiry and report to the Senate Community Affairs Committee

• Report back to Senate by 15 March 2010

• HIMAA made submission to the drafting

Global Initiatives

• IFHRO Congress, Milan, Italy, 15th – 19th November 2010 – “Better Information for Better Health; The

way forward to a safe, responsive and integrated healthcare”

WHO Framework on WHO Framework on Health System StrengtheningHealth System Strengthening

System Building Blocks Overall goals

World Health Organisation (WHO) Everybody’s Business: Framework for Action Strengthening Health Systems to Improve Health Outcomes http://www.who.int/healthsystems/round9_2.pdf

Health Metrics Network “Framework and Standards for Country Health Information Systems”

• http://www.who.int/healthmetrics/en/

What is HIMAA doing?

• Australian Health Informatics Education Council (AHIEC)

• State HIM award debates

• Writing to all Health Ministers re course closures

• Written submissions– Health Identifiers– Safety and Quality– NHHRC

The American model could offer a solution?

What are you doing about this?

• Membership

• Active participation in the Association– Re-activation of state branches in Qld and NSW

• Promote the profession– If each HIMAA member recruited one new

student per year – 600 new undergrads!

• Promote yourself!