The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) responded to President Bush’s recognition in his State of the Union address to computerize health records to avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care.
The association outlined four actions necessary to make the President’s vision a reality.
Advancing electronic health records (EHR) standards, which would provide the benefits of reducing medical error and providing health information at lower cost.
A standard medical language to standardize medical language, terminology and coding standards used in HER and improved data.
A national health information infrastructure to provide accurate and timely information to support decision-making at all levels. It must provide access to and exchange information that can be used by patients, providers, payers, research entities, public health, oversight and policy makers.
Jobs and education are also needed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics research shows the demand for HIM professionals will increase and some 6,000 jobs will need to be filled each year over the next 10 years.