DSU Celebrates Health Information Professional Week

April 5, 2016

Dakota State University, in conjunction with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), will honor and celebrate health information professionals during the 27th annual Health Information Professionals (HIP) Week April 3-9, 2016. This year’s theme is “Accurate Information, Quality Care.”

“Increasingly, accurate and timely health information is becoming healthcare’s greatest asset,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, CAE, FAHIMA. “During AHIMA's Health Information Professionals Week, our goal is to raise awareness that health information management professionals who are armed with the skills to manage health information effectively are key to the success of our health system.”

HIP Week 2016 will coincide with AHIMA’s Leader Symposium and Hill Day, events where AHIMA members receive education specific to advocacy and visit Capitol Hill to share the importance of advancing HIM. Information governance, privacy, security, and fraud and abuse concerns continue to be key issues for HIM professionals; AHIMA will continue to provide guidance to the healthcare industry and government leaders seeking expertise and counsel.

“We are already seeing HIM professionals leading the industry in achieving data integrity through information governance and ensuring patients and consumers have access to timely information they can trust,” said Thomas Gordon. “This year’s HIP Week theme reflects our commitment to our vision of a world where the right information is available to the right person at the right time—for better care.”

DSU health information management programs include a Certificate in Health Care Coding, AS in Health Information Technology, BS in Health Information Administration and MS in Health Informatics.

During HIP Week, health information professionals will engage in focused activities in their organizations and the community to raise awareness of the important work they perform. Some of the activities include lunch and learns, displays in facility lobbies and lunchrooms, quizzes with prize opportunities, tours for elected officials, community seminars, and local media coverage. Facilities may recognize the accomplishments of their HIM team during HIP Week.

Information can be used as an asset to benefit healthcare organizations, to improve performance and improve patient health. Achieving aims such as improving cost, quality, and population health depends on the ability to turn data into knowledge. With the theme of “Accurate Information, Quality Care,” AHIMA reiterates its belief in the necessity of building quality healthcare through quality information.