A professional practice journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia Limited
In 2024, the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) celebrated its 75th anniversary. This article traces some key aspects of the historical development, establishment, and achievements of HIMAA and its antecedents, viewed through the lenses of the Association’s professional journals, published over many decades. This journey is highlighted via examples of articles published at different points in time.
This guest editorial was published in the Special Issue of the Health Information Management Journal (HIMJ) on the intersection of health information management and clinical registries. The complete Special Issue can be accessed via HIMJ.
The story of health information management's influence on casemix and activity-based funding (ABF) in Australia and globally has been shaped by dedicated professionals who understand the critical connection between quality data, documentation, clinical coding, classification systems and healthcare funding models (Callen et al., 1997; Rowlands et al., 2022; Kilkenny and Robinson, 2018; Shepheard and Groom, 2020; Groom, 2003; Santos et al., 2008). In this perspective piece, an overview of our contribution and a call to action for ongoing learning and skills acquisition is made to ensure our unique contributions and perspectives continue to influence healthcare classifications and pursuit of high quality data for the information age.
The Health Information Management Association of Australia’s Editorial Board oversees the publication and dissemination of high-quality research, policy and practice in the area of health information management. The Editorial Board has responsibility for the Health Information Management Journal and Health Information Management Interchange. The Editorial Board develops and implements editorial policies and strategies, which include peer review and promotion of the image and profile of the journals.
It is with regret that the Editorial Board of the Health Information Management Association of Australia accepted the resignation of Associate Professor Joanne Callen, who has been an Associate Editor of the Health Information Management Journal (HIMJ) for the past two years. However, Joanne’s association with HIMJ dates back much further than this. She joined the HIMJ Editorial Board many years ago and has covered a variety of roles and responsibilities in that time.
communicated to members, reminded me that I have lived through, and experienced many of these changes over the past 60 years! During this time, I have been kept informed, not only on how health information is collected, recorded, processed and managed, but also on other developments in health information management, as well as many other topical issues. Although I have been able to attend national conferences, Branch meetings, and professional development activities, the major continuous and reliable means of communication for me, however has been via our journals. Communicating with our members in this form, started with a very simple newsletter in 1971, which was upgraded to the Australian Medical Record Journal in 1975. A major step forward occurred in 1987 with the establishment of the first editorial board. From this beginning we now have two renowned refereed journals, the Health Information Management Journal (HIMJ) the research arm of the profession, and Health Information Management Interchange (HIM-I) the professional practice journal. Both have had, and continue to have, an important role in communicating with members. Both are important in their own right.
Ten years ago, Kay Bonello wrote the welcome article for the first edition of HIM-I. The creation of HIM-I began in February 2011, with the Editorial Board agreeing to separate the existing health information management journal (HIMJ) into two entities. The enduring theme and legacy of HIM-I is the passion of health information managers, finding new horizons, sharing their knowledge and facing all challenges in an ever-changing and complex world. HIM-Interchange is the professional practice journal of our profession and showcases the differing roles in the health information management profession.
In 2011, the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) introduced a second journal for the members of the association in recognition of the need for a mechanism for HIM professionals to share their experiences and knowledge (Bonello 2011). Volume 1, Issue 1 of the professional practice journal, HIM-Interchange (HIM-I) started as pull out in the HIMAA peer reviewed Health Information Management Journal (HIMJ) in Volume 40, Issue 1. In celebration of the tenth anniversary of HIM-I, this article will provide a history of the journal from the humble beginnings as a pull out in HIMJ to the standalone, web-based journal it has become in 2021.
History will recall 2020 as a year that brought about new challenges and massive overhauls to the very way we work, teach, socialise, and interact. As COVID-19 lockdowns called for staying home, they also demanded new approaches to working, teaching, and learning. Speak to any Health Information Manager (HIM) and they will likely tell you the way they work has been transformed.