CHIMA: Canadian Health Information Management Association

CHIMA (Canadian Health Information Managements Association) / ACPGIS
(Association canadienne des professionnels en gestion de l'information sur la santé) represents more than 3,700 certified Health Information Management (HIM™ ) professionals from across Canada in addition to 1,300 affiliate, student and retired members. HIM professionals are employed in: hospitals; in the community health and extended care sectors; government; health and education institutions; the private sector including insurance and pharmaceutical companies; technology vendors; and consulting firms.

The skills and knowledge of the HIM professional support clinical research and provide the information for medical and health care statistics.

Health Information Management professionals provide leadership in all aspects of clinical information management at both the micro and macro levels. At the micro (or individual record level) HIM professionals support data collection, use, access and disclosure, to the retention and destruction of health information regardless of format. HIM professionals perform qualitative analysis on the documentation within the health record and are responsible for the security of health records. HIM professionals are advocates of the individual’s right to private, secure and confidential health information. At the macro (or aggregate data level), HIM professionals deal with the information through the health system, analyze statistics, manage complex information systems including registries and work with public, private and key stakeholders in understanding and using health data to improve the health of Canadians.

This is an exciting time for the Canadian Health Information Management Association, (CHIMA) as HIM professionals work with health care providers and other stakeholders in the transition from the paper health record to the electronic health record (EHR).