Facts About AHIMA

The American Health Information Management Association, or AHIMA, sets the standard by which medical billers, coders and other professionals in the field must live. Besides being a regulatory authority, it is also a source of information for its members, a way of keeping up-to-date on such issues as coding, security and compliance. The organization has evolved over the years as the industry has transitioned from paper to computer records. AHIMA estimates its membership to be more than 61,000.

History

• AHIMA began in 1928, the year that the American College of Surgeons founded the Association of Record Librarians of North America. According to the AHIMA website, the goal was to raise the standard of clinical record keeping in hospitals and clinics. Ten years later, the group changed its name to the American Association of Medical Record Librarians. It proceeded to create rules and standards that established all members as medical record experts. By 1970, when the organization became the American Medical Records Association, the health information management profession had increased its presence in hospitals, community centers and other health care establishments. Its members had also begun to participate in the management of federal programs, such as Medicare. In 1991 the group changed its name to the American Health Information Management Association.

Vision

• AHIMA aims to promote the ethical and appropriate use of health information. It will not tolerate behavior such as divulging a patient's private medical information. According to Beth Kost-Woodrow, a registered health information assistant, the organization seeks to provide information to medical professionals for use in a timely, accurate, complete and trustworthy fashion.

Membership Criteria

• To become a member of AHIMA you must be a health care information management professional, or a student in the field. Cost of basic membership is $165. You must submit that fee along with the online application. According to the AHIMA website, if you apply as a student, you will receive a discount. To get the reduced rate, you must be in an AHIMA-approved, accredited coding program, or in one that is seeking accreditation.

Benefits

• For joining AHIMA, you receive access to online resources such as electronic learning opportunities; the AHIMA website itself; its private discussion forums; and informational emails and newsletters. Offline, you become eligible to sign up for meetings and seminars, and to read the "Journal" of AHIMA. The organization also serves as your advocate in the professional realm regionally, nationally and worldwide.