Letter from the editor
Welcome to Issue 2 of 2018 and I hope you are still enjoying the new look of the journal
Diverse gender, sex and sexuality: Data collection and population health
This two part series examines diverse gender, sex and sexuality (DGSS) in the context of health information management. Part 1 discusses the need for and creation of data definitions and reporting requirements for DGSS, and describes the new International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 11th Revision (ICD-11) sexual health chapter. These new data definitions and reporting requirements can be used in a variety of settings and allow for the classification and effective collection of gender identity and related sexual health material, most importantly without stigmatisation. Part 2 considers managing safeand inclusive workplaces and will be published in the next issue of HIM-Interchange.
Why clinical documentation improvement often goes off the rails
A well guided thought out directed mission is paramount to driving and ensuring success in any professional role and this is particularly holds true for the profession of clinical documentation improvement (CDI). In my travels as a consultant and in speaking with numerous CDI colleagues I have become convinced that the major limiting factors in clinical documentation improvement effectiveness and outcomes is the targeted mission of the profession preventing optimal sustainable achievement of consistent documentation excellence. With the rapid evolution in healthcare delivery models and emphasis upon quality, value, cost effective outcomes, patient centredness, and healthcare prevention, all impacted by the accuracy and completeness of clinical documentation and derived data, the imperativeness of a thoughtful well designed meaningful mission of CDI cannot be overemphasised.
Clinical coding education: the Clinical Coders’ view
The HIM-Interchange Subcommittee approved the production of an article that would outline the education provided by various jurisdictions to support the introduction of new editions of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification, Australian Classification of Health Interventions and the Australian Coding Standards (ICD-10-AM/ACHI/ ACS). Further discussion resulted in an expansion of this idea to include education provided by health services in addition to jurisdictional education and, to seek comments from Clinical Coders (CCs) about how they viewed existing education opportunities and, what they considered were the big issues for the delivery of optimal CC education.
Moving beyond traditional methods of learning in health information management tertiary education
As demonstrated by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the skills and knowledge gained as a graduate are applicable to a wide range of industries (AHIMA 2017). Yet, the acquisition of skill and knowledge has been kept within the traditional domains of learning - such as essays, exams and work placements. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the world has been changing at unprecedented speeds. From brick-sized mobile phones to the iPhone X, giant box televisions to curved televisions. In the United Kingdom, companies such as DeepMind have partnered with the National Health Service to create artificial intelligence systems that are capable of improving the equality of access to care, and searching for new methods of diagnosis.
A four-decade career: From a manual typewriter to an Electronic Medical Record
As I began writing this article, I realised my career as a Health Information Manager (HIM) began in high school. That may sound strange but I have my Year 11 French teacher to thank for a career that now encompasses 40 years. I had a not so favourable result in a French exam, he undertook some research, and I was presented with information for a Medical Record Librarian course at Lincoln Institute in Carlton, Victoria. I enrolled in 1976 and ‘the rest, as they say, is history’.
Is data quality a simple matter of ‘garbage in – garbage out’?
Commentary on Improving and Maintaining Health Data Quality - A virtual special issue of the Health Information Management Journal, with guest editors Dr Monique Kilkenny and Dr Kerin Robinson. Improving and maintaining data quality is an integral part of the role of a Health Information Manager or Data Manager. Recent articles published in the Health Information Management Journal and included in the Virtual Special Issue on Improving and Maintaining Health Data Quality highlight the important role data quality has in the healthcare system in Australia.
ICD -11 Update
Changing leadership of a project during the final stages can be challenging, but can also create opportunities for fresh perspectives on outstanding issues. Having joined WHO on 1 September 2017 as Director of the Department for Information, Evidence, and Research following the March 2017 retirement of Dr Ties Boerma, an immediate priority has been to take stock of the work to date on ICD-11, the known challenges and tasks outstanding, and the current plan by the team on how to reach finalization. At the same time, a primary focus has been how ICD- 11 will serve to meet the needs of Member States and the global user community. To this end, four key themes or questions may serve to guide the work of the department, including on ICD.
