Oct 8
2019
AHIMA19 Celebrated Innovation and Global Impact At the Annual Conference
By Wylecia Wiggs Harris, CEO, American Health Information Management Association.
At the AHIMA19: Health Data and Information Conference, leaders in health information management (HIM) shared innovations in healthcare and addressed issues affecting patient access to their health records including the privacy, accuracy and interoperability of that information.
The annual meeting for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), AHIMA19, also highlighted inspiring stories of perseverance, empowerment and shared details of AHIMA’s global leadership.
Patient advocate Doug Lindsay shared his gripping story of transitioning from a wheelchair to walking again; Alexandra Mugge, deputy chief health informatics officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), outlined the benefits of interoperability and patient access; healthcare innovators pitched their ideas to a panel of experts for a $5,000 prize; and exhibitors and industry speakers shared their spectrum of knowledge with attendees gathered from across the globe.
Nearly three thousand HIM professionals gathered for the annual conference in September, held at Chicago’s historic McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America.
Information and Inspiration
Speakers addressed clinical documentation, data ownership, patient access to their medical records, interoperability and cybersecurity. These presentations provided important insights and updates on technology to help HIM professionals continue leading the industry in improving healthcare and changing lives.
Mugge told the crowd that interoperability and greater access to medical data is integral to improving healthcare outcomes for payers, patients, and providers.
“We believe electronic data exchange is the future of healthcare, and interoperability is the foundation of value-based care,” Mugge said. “Patients should know that the way they interact with the healthcare industry is changing. Patients are no longer passive participants in their care, they now have the ability to be empowered consumers of the healthcare industry through access to data that puts them in the driver’s seat to make the best and most informed decision about their health.”
Mugge assured attendees that privacy and security safeguards would remain in place as HIM professionals help shape the landscape of interoperability.
Lindsay found his own way to improve his health, seemingly against all odds. He was bedridden and home-bound for 11 years because of a debilitating illness that forced him to drop out of college at 21 years old.
Although Lindsay’s body was limited, his mind was strong and he was determined to walk again, and to live again.
That determination led Lindsay to create a surgery for what he learned was bilateral adrenal medullary hyperplasia. He then assembled a team of experts to perform the surgery, which eventually led to his recovery.