Global News The Link for Health Records/Information Management Around the World International Federation of Health Information Management Associations

A Non-Governmental Organization in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO)

Issue No 10, March 2012

- IFHIMA President’s Message Margaret Skurka 2

- Obituary Dr. Leonardo la Pietra Italian Medical Health Records Association (AIDOS IHIMA) 4

- Improving Health Information Management at Zomba Mental Hospital, Malawi Michael M.M. Udedi 5

- Barbados Community College Health Information Management (HIM) Programme Deneice Marshall 9

- Coding in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Michelea Peech 11

- Implementation of ICD-10-AM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abid Al-Abdr, Regina G. Weber 14

- ICD Classification in Denmark Marie Lykke Rasmussen 18

- 37th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Health Information Management (JHIM) Yukiko Yokobori 19

- HIMAA National Conference 2011, Melbourne, Australia Sallyanne Wissmann 21

- Announcement: 17th IFHIMA Congress, May 13-15.2013, Montréal, Canada 22

- IFHIMA Matters 25

- WHO: World Health Day 7th April 2012 26

- Calendar of events 27

- Publishing information 28

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

IFHIMA President’s Message March 2012

 

Margaret Skurka

MS, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA President of IFHIMA

Email: mskurk@iun.edu

Dear Global News recipients, my very best greetings to all of you!!

As the current President of IFHIMA, I am happy to reach out to you at this point, as we are currently 14 months out from the next IFHIMA Congress, the 17th Con-gress, scheduled in Montreal, Canada on May 13-15, 2013.

Plans are very much underway with sig-nificant information already on the IFHIMA web site. I hope you are all making plans in your countries for as many to attend this Congress as is possible.

I have also been contacting all of you rela-tive to your dues payments for 2011, and now 2012. Not all countries have paid their dues for 2011 and I have contacted you specifically in this regard. The Executive Board will need to decide at its next meet-ing if those countries will be eligible to vote on issues that come before the Congress, if they have not been a member continu-ously through the period since the last Congress. Our membership chair, Darley Petersen has worked very hard this year in the membership area, and has sent timely reminders to all members, both national

members and individual members, regard-ing dues.

Please check the web site of the Associa-tion on a regular basis and assure that we have the correct names listed in the Direc-tor and Deputy Director slots. Directors and Deputies are appointed for a three year term. Our web site is our window to the world.

Other requests are that each of you con-sider contributing to the Global News by sending articles for publication to Angelika Haendel, editor, who has done a fabulous job now for several years in this regard. Our success here is clearly linked to the contributions from members and countries. Please also visit our web site regularly at www.ifhima.org. Send along to me infor-mation for posting to the web site, meet-ings going on in your countries and the like. We depend so much on the contribu-tion of our members. If you are enjoying this Global News, consider contributing to the next issue.

Registration for the 17th Congress is al-ready open. If you go to our web site, there is a link that will send you right to the Canadian site for the latest information on the Congress. Watch for the deadlines for the abstract submission, and scholarship opportunities. Also, you can go directly to the Congress web site at www.ifhimacongress2013.com.

Please plan on arriving in Montreal by Fri-day May 10, 2013, as there will be some pre-meetings on Saturday, as well as the General Assembly on Sunday. The official opening of the Congress will be on Mon-day the 13th of May, 2013.

Our work on the board of IFHIMA this year is outstanding. The IFHIMA Europe group, with the good work of past president Lorraine Nicholson, is making great strides on many fronts, including the AHAIP true European Innovation Partnership focusing

2

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

3

on enabling ageing EU citizens to lead healthy, active and independent lives. Lorraine, with the assistance of Carol Lewis of the US, has also worked on streamlining the guidelines for countries wishing to establish an HIM association. Again, check the web site.

Thank you readers for your contributions to IFHIMA. We are only successful be-cause of our members, Directors and Ex-ecutive Board. Please outreach to others and bring them along in our wonderful vir-tual organization.

Other directors and board members have been equally as busy - their activities are too numerous to mention in this letter, but please go to the web site to see activities of our executive board in the Western Pa-cific, Africa and the Eastern Mediterra-nean, The Americas, and South East Asia. You’ll find their names and emails on this letterhead. A big thank you goes out to Angelika, Lorraine, Joon, Marci, Stuart, Yukiko, Sallyanne and Darley. We could not do it without each of you.

Best regards,

Margaret MS, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA President, IFHIMA 2010-2013 Professor and Director, HIM Programs Indiana University Northwest 3400 Broadway, Gary, Indiana 46408. UNITED STATES

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Obituary Dr. Leonardo la Pietra  

In the early hours of December 21st 2011, Dr. Leonardo la Pietra died aged 49, de-spite treatments and his enthusiastic at-tachment to life.

He was the Chief Medical Officer of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. He was also the Chairman of AIDOS-IHIMA (Italian Health Information Manage-ment Association) and a core Founding member of several other associations such AIRISS (Italian Association of Risks in Healthcare) and SIMM (Italian Associa-tion of Medical Managers).

Moreover, Dr. Leonardo La Pietra was devoted to IFHIMA (International Federa-tion of Health Information Management Associations) for many years. In the year 2010 he was president of the 16th IFHIMA congress that took place in Milan, Italy (November 15-19, 2010). He also was a committed member of the IFHIMA Euro-pean Group and was dedicated to publish a unique textbook about Health Informa-tion Management in Europe.

A Public Health Physician with a Master in Business Administration from INSEAD, Fontainbleau, France, Leonardo la Pietra left a memorable contribution to the scien-tific community and healthcare systems at Regional, National and International lev-els.

His farsighted and innovative mind was focused on quality improvement, perform-ance evaluation, clinical indicators, patient safety and risk management, medical re-cords and information management, hos-pital planning and design, and interna-tional health policies. He also lectured and consulted on medical and hospital man-agement subjects in different academic and executive programs.

These are few, but significant, memories of the professional pathway of a deeply caring and compassionate colleague who was always led by an indefatigable scien-tific curiosity. We will never forget his ex-traordinary skills and his unshakeable will.

Leonardo was unique in his ability to set new objectives, especially during changes and crisis, when he used to repeat “Do something, anyway! ‘Better’ is the enemy of ‘good’”.

We share a recent picture of him, taken in November 2011 during his presentation at the Quality Day of the European Institute of Oncology, where, once again, he played a leading role despite his physical condi-tion.

Leonardo la Pietra is survived by his wife, Claudia, and their children, Francesco and Renato.

AIDOS-IHIMA

4

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Improving Health Information Management at Zomba Mental

Hospital, Malawi

Michael M.M. Udedi, Zomba Mental Hospital, Malawi.

Email: mphatsoudedi@yahoo.co.uk Introduction Mental health information system (MHIS) according to WHO (2005) is a system for collecting, processing, analysing, dissemi-nating and using information about a men-tal health service and the mental health needs of the population it serves. The MHIS aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the mental health service and ensure more equitable delivery by enabling managers and service providers to make more informed decisions for im-proving the quality of care. MHIS are an essential component of facility-based, ad-ministrative health unit, and national men-tal health care delivery platforms. When properly designed and implemented, they can generate information on the needs of people with mental disorders and their families, the inputs provided into the men-tal health care system, the processes of care, and the outcomes achieved, thus providing a basis for coherent planning, policy implementation and evaluation, (WHO, 2005). Mental Health Information Systems capture data regarding current mental health status, service provision (admissions, outpatient visits) and re-sources (budgets, staff, facilities).

It is estimated that 10% of the general population who see a general practitioner for new illness one in five have a mental disorder (Tansella & Thornicroft, 2005:3). In most developing countries, including Malawi, where infectious diseases are endemic, mental health is given little or no attention by policy makers. A lack of inter-est in and understanding of mental health by policy makers is a key factor. Currently mental health service information is not adequately incorporated into the general Health Management Information System (HMIS) in most developing countries. In a study by Abas et al (2003) in Zimbabwe on barriers to primary mental health care pro-vision in Zimbabwe clinics, 92% of the health workers mentioned that lack of di-agnostic categories for mental health dis-orders like depression was a barrier.

Background  Malawi is a country with an area approxi-mately 118,000 sq km and has an esti-mated population of 13.1 million people, (NSO, 2009). The gender ratio (men/ women) is 98:100 while the proportion of population under 15 years is 47 % and over 60 is 5 %. The literacy rate is 75.5 % for men and 48 % for women (NSO, 2005). The country is divided into 3 regions, Northern, Central and Southern and also further divided into 28 districts with Li-longwe being the Capital city.

Malawi has one public mental hospital (Zomba Mental Hospital) which is situated in Zomba. The Hospital was built in 1950 and officially opened in 1953. There is a small psychiatric unit in the central region in Lilongwe with about 30 beds and this is run as part of Kamuzu Central Hospital, which is the tertiary referral hospital in the central region. Psychiatric patients from the northern region are usually referred to a Christian Hospital Association of Malawi (CHAM) hospital, St John of God, which has 50 in-patient beds.

5

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

The Ministry of Health in Malawi (MOH) implemented a comprehensive and inte-grated routine nationwide Health Man-agement Information System (HMIS) in January 2002 (MOHP, 2003). In the gen-eral HMIS, information is collected, gath-ered from the different levels of services and is available centrally. The hospitals collect information (demographic and clini-cal/treatment information) for each patient and gathered in the relevant reporting forms, then transfers it electronically to the Health Management Information Unit (HMIU). The current HMIS has three men-tal health indicators among its nationally reported indicators namely Acute Psy-chotic disorder, Chronic Psychotic Disor-der and Epilepsy. As a result, mental health institutions including Zomba Mental Hospital and other general hospitals use the HMIS. Although demographic, general health and basic mental health (case iden-tification) information is collected at the level of the health center facilities, mental health data included in the data sets of the HMIS only indicates whether the patient has a mental or neurological problem. There is relatively rich clinical data re-corded routinely in mental hospitals but little is fed into the general HMIS. As a result, few resources are allocated to men-tal health.

Goal of project and specific aims The main objective of this project is to es-tablish an up to date and comprehensive database as well as efficient Information Management System to enhance the op-erations of the mental health services at the hospital.

Rationale of project An up to date database and efficient in-formation management system are essen-tial for effective provision of any services, mental health inclusive, and yet mental health services in Malawi currently lack this mental health information system. The rationale of the project is to support the

development and implementation of the health management information system to adequately address mental health issues at Zomba Mental Hospital.

The benefits of developing this information management system for the hospital are to collect information for better management of the hospital and relevant information for external stakeholders, like the Ministry of Health. The health care workers will also need this information for planning and im-plementation of mental health interven-tions services at the hospital. The patients will benefit from the improved health in-formation system as it will provide continu-ity of care.

Project Area The project is being carried out at Zomba Mental Hospital. Zomba Mental Hospital is a 332-bed hospital with an average of 1,500 admissions per year. The average length of stay is 37 days. Zomba Mental Hospital is the main provider of mental health care in Malawi. Administratively, the Director who is the Chief Government Psychiatrist, runs the hospital.

The Hospital offers the following services; long stay care, forensic care, acute inpa-tient care, community patient care, reha-bilitation services, occupational therapy and outpatient care. The mental health problems range from mood disorders, psy-chotic disorders, anxiety disorders to alco-hol and drug use disorders. The hospital houses eight wards for inpatient care for both adult male and female patients and also for adolescents and children. The hospital has several departments which include Clinical, Nursing, Pharmacy, Ad-ministration and Occupational.

There are about 42 health practitioners both clinicians and nurses. Zomba Mental hospital is a teaching institution for all health training institutions in Malawi includ-ing government institutions or faith based institutions. Demographic data and diag-nostic information for patients is available

6

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

from Zomba Mental Hospital. In addition, the Hospital keeps a record of patient data pertaining to admission and discharge.

Intervention and outcome measures The author is currently undertaking a pro-ject to improve the mental health informa-tion system (MHIS) of Zomba Mental Hos-pital which is the hub of mental health ser-vices in Malawi. This is a transfer project as part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Hospital Management course at the Hoch-schule Neu-Ulm University in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Interna-tionale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Germany.

The project has adopted a participatory approach, building consensus and collabo-ration with prescribers and records de-partments, of the Zomba Mental Hospital. The project embarked upon extensive stakeholder consultation at the initial stages with the Director of Zomba Mental Hospital, and the Director of the Health Management Information Unit (HMIU). The project run for six months from October 2010 to March 2011.

The proposed intervention record key in-formation on all patients accessing mental health services at Zomba Mental Hospital (symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, hospi-talization, discharges and follow-up). The proposed system will keep a track of pa-tients and generation of a report regarding the present status. This project will have software that will help in storing, updating and retrieving the information through various user-friendly menu-driven mod-ules. The staff of Zomba Mental Hospital

will be trained in the use of the MHIS reg-istration form, diagnostic coding using ICD-10, data entry and analysis. Logistics have been provided in the form of an addi-tional computer for the records department of the hospital, external hard drives, rewri-table CD’s and printer to aid data entry and processing to kick-start the interven-tion.

Progress so far During several meetings, the International Classification of diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) has been adopted as the diag-nostic classification tool and part of the reporting indicators and a MHIS registra-tion form was developed for the hospital. Some of the core data to be collected will include; basic patient demographic infor-mation; diagnosis; type of medication and other treatment, number of visits and clini-cal outcomes. A new system based on MS Access Database has been designed and the MHIS is being computerized as an improvement over the old manual system. Hence, patient data could be stored safely, retrieved easily and its output used to aid prescribers in providing continuity of care for patients. The implementation of the tools is scheduled for December 2011.

The interim results show that the project has been well received, it is progressing well and it is of interest to see how this translates into practice after full implemen-tation. Results of the database and the pilot will give us a good indication as this is a continuous system of developing the HMIS. The pilot of the diagnostic tool, MHIS registration form and database will be implemented in December 2011 upon completion of the database and staff train-ing. The final results will be in March 2012 after the completion of the project.

7

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

8

Challenges The challenges faced so far are the need to allocate resources to the information system so that output may also be timely and useful (for instance increasing data clerks in the re-cords departments to aid data entry and also an increase in the number of computers) and the need for an IT policy to safeguard security and integrity of the system.

References

MOHP. (2003). Health Information System: National Policy and Strategy. Lilongwe: Ministry of Health and Population.

Abas, M., Mbengeranwa, O.L., Chagwedera, I.V.S., Mara-mba,P., & Broadhead, J., (2003) Primary Care Services for Depression in Harare, Zimbabwe. Harv Rev Psychiatry 2003;11:157–165. National Statistical Office (NSO) [Malawi], and ORC Macro.

(2005). Malawi Demographic and Health Survey 2004. Calver-ton, Maryland: NSO and ORC Macro. Carlson, C. (2007). Health Management Information Systems.

DFID Health Resource Centre. NSO (2009). Population and Housing Census 2008. ‘Main Report’, vol. 1, September 2009; National Statistical Office, Zomba, Malawi

Available at: www.eldis.org/healthsystems/hmis/index.htm.

Chaulagai, C.N, Moyo, C.M., Koot,J., Moyo,H.B., Samba-kunsi,T.C., Khunga,F.M. & Naphini, P.D. (2005). Design and implementation of a health management information system in Malawi: issues, innovations and results. Health Policy Planning, November 1, 2005; 20(6): 375-384. Available at:

Primary Care Services for Depression in Harare, Zimbabwe. Harv Rev Psychiatry 2003;11:157-165.

WHO-AIMS (World Health Organization Assessment Instru-ment for Mental Health Systems), version 2.2. World Health Organization: Geneva, 2005.

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/20/6/375

Gladwin J, Dixon R,& Wilson T. (2003). Implementing a new health management information system in Uganda. Health Policy and Planning 18: 214–24.

Available at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/AIMS_WHO_2_2.pdf Available at:

http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/18/2/214. WHO (2005) Mental health information systems. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2005 MHAPP Ghana Team. (2010). Mental Health Information

System-Ghana. Policy Brief. Department of Psychiatry, Univer-sity of Ghana Medical School/Ministry of Health Partner.

(Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package). Available at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/essentialpackage1v12/en/index.html Available at: www.psychiatry.uct.ac.za/mhapp

MOHP. (2001). Health Management Information System: Training & Reference Manual. Lilongwe: Ministry of Health and Population.

Tansella, M, & Thornicroft, G. (2005).Common Mental Disor-ders in Primary Practice. London: Taylor & Francis e-LIBRARY

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Barbados Community College Health Information

Management (HIM) Programme   

Deneice Marshall RHIA deneicemarshall@gmail.com

Health Information Management is a won-derful profession but it is often overlooked here in Barbados. HIM professionals play a vital role in the continuum of care in the health sector. We are considered the gate keepers of personal health information. The Barbados Community College offers an intense and diverse two year pro-gramme in Health Information Manage-ment.

Health information management is one of the oldest and fastest growing healthcare professions and there is a need for gen-eral awareness here in Barbados.

The Barbados Community College has been offering the HIM programme since 1978 and has produced many HIM gra-duates working at various health care insti-tutions in Barbados, across the Caribbean and Internationally.

HIM New Initiatives

The Health Information Management pro-gramme was reopened in August 2009 under the new leadership of Ms. Deneice Marshall. The programme is undergoing some restructuring to meet the demands of the current trends in HIM locally and internationally.

Reflection time Academic Year 2009-2011  

The HIM Graduates of 2011 have dis-played excellent time management skills throughout the two year programme. They balanced a heavy work load and played an active role in the community. During the two years the students raised funds and donated various gifts to Farrs Children’s Home during the Easter and Christmas (2010) breaks. The students had fun filled interactive sessions with the children.

From the left: Deneice Marshall (HIM Coordinator), Shane Green (student), Janna Greenidge (Tutor) Tracy Bancroft, Natasha Murrell, Latonya Holder, Debra Clarke, Tiffany Leacock, Shanika Alleyne (students).

During the summer May-August 2011 the health information management students completed the Directed Practice rotation at various traditional and nontraditional health care settings across Barbados which include; Queen Elizabeth Hospital, The Ministry of Health, various Polyclinics, Psychiatric Hospital, Sandy Crest Medical Center, The Sparman Clinic, Medi-Tech Imaging, Guardian Life Insurance and Sagicor.

Graduation Time 2011 The Health Science Division is proud to an-nounce the nine HIM graduates for 2011. They are: Shankia Allyene, Tracy Bancroft, Debra Clarke, David Griffith, Janice Griffith, Ramona Hayne, Latonya Holder, Tiffany Leacock and Natasha Murrell. The HIM Coordinator would

9

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

like to congratulate all the HIM graduates and wish them continue success.

SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS HIM student Shankia Allyene received the Sir Arnott Cato Award on November 16th 2011 for her outstanding performance in the HIM progamme.

Lady Burton (Sir Arnott Catto Foundation) left and Shanika Alleyne (HIM student) recipient.

HIM INTERNATIONAL NEWS  Coordinator’s Corner:  

“Health Information Management Reach-ing New Heights” was the theme for the 83rd Annual Health Information Manage-ment Convention held in Salt Lake City Utah (Oct 2011) where HIM professionals gathered from all over the world to net-work, shared information, learn and have fun. As HIM Coordinator at BCC and Reg-istered Health Information Administrator this was a great opportunity for me to keep up with the current trends in health infor-mation management and technology.

It was a great opportunity to hear great speakers such as Dr. T.B. Üstün, Team Coordinator of Classification, Terminolo-gies and Standards, Department of Health Statistics and Informatics, World Health Organization. During the convention it was great to have the opportunity to meet with other Barbadian HIM professionals living in Barbados and abroad.

From the left: Waple Haynes (QEH Medical Records Officer) Marcel V Kennedy (College Administrator NYC), Deneice Marshall (HIM Coordinator)

10

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Coding in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Michelea Peech CCS, CCS-P,

AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer Director, True Codes Consultancy FZ LLC

Chair, Clinical Coding Steering Committee of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi mdpeech@thetruecodes.com

Abu Dhabi is one of the Seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest Emirate and the city of Abu Dhabi is the capitol of UAE. In Abu Dhabi, Healthcare began to develop when the late H.H. (His Highness) Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan was sworn in as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966. This was shortly after the withdrawal of the British Army and the creation of the Union. At this time, the Federal Government’s Ministry of Health managed all healthcare facilities in the UAE.

In 2001, as a measure to improve health-care services in Abu Dhabi to match that of its economic growth, the Abu Dhabi local government established GAHS, the General Authority of Health Services. GAHS would oversee and manage all pub-lic healthcare institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Due to the fact that it is never a good idea to have the Provider and the Regulator as one, GAHS was split into two organi-zations in 2007, HAAD (Health Authority of Abu Dhabi), and SEHA (Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA is health in Arabic); with HAAD being the regulatory body of healthcare in Abu Dhabi and

SEHA being the operator of public health-care facilities. SEHA’s mandate was to operate the public hospitals through con-tracting management services to reputable international healthcare institutions as well as developing the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi through direct investments. HAAD, in the words of the then Head of Strategy and Planning, Dr Philipp Vetter, “One key aspect of the Vision was for the Regula-tory Authority of the Emirate [HAAD] to set ambitious quality improvement targets and to monitor and publish key indicators; however, the information available to HAAD was incomplete, inconsistent, inco-herent, but more importantly, it was not decision-relevant: one of the key pieces of information needed is accurate diagnoses and treatments, which was summarily un-available to HAAD.” This lack of credible information was due to the fact that each GAHS (and later SEHA) facility was cod-ing, but as there was no regulated or stan-dardized code sets, they were using a dif-ferent set in each facility. There was also the steady increase of private facilities, both inpatient and outpatient; however, these private facilities were not utilizing coding at all.

In 2006 GAHS finally realized the neces-sity of standardizing their code sets across all their facilities. To facilitate this they cre-ated the GAHS CCSC (Clinical Coding Steering Committee). Shortly after this HAAD (the regulator) also realized that they needed to regulate these code sets for all facilities, both private and public in order to acquire the 'self-sustaining data' to achieve their Vision. So in 2007 it was decided that the GAHS CCSC be answer-able to HAAD, and not SEHA and also include the Private Providers and Payers.

Following this, in January 2008, HAAD published the Data Standards & Proce-dures. Among other regulations, it regu-lated the code sets and at the advice of the CCSC, the valid code sets would be the ICD 9 CM (2008) for diagnostic coding

11

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

and the Current Procedural Terminology 4th Edition (2008) (CPT) for all procedural coding. It was decided that the CPT would be used for all settings due to a lack of coding knowledge in the majority of the healthcare market. HCPCS codes were valid for supplies and consumables and it was determined that only CPT procedure codes would be valid; thus disallowing any HCPCS procedure codes. This standardi-zation would not only facilitate the vision of implementing E-Health and more specifi-cally eClaims, but also build a ‘’body of knowledge’’ which HAAD required to achieve their Vision for the improvement of quality of care.

As previously mentioned, the public facili-ties were coding, but the private facilities, which were gaining market share each year, were not even aware of what a code set was and had little idea of what was ICD and CPT were. Therefore, the coding of these code sets had to be introduced and enforced. This was done through the Data Standards & Procedures publication. This HAAD regulation stated that the Emirati National’s insurance pro-duct (Thiqa), as of June 2008, could only be claimed via electronic claims. Think for a moment, if you will, what that meant. In-stead of Providers submitting reams of paper claims with supporting documents, they could only be reimbursed by coding and submitting eClaims. This was a huge hurdle for both Hospital Information Sys-tems (HIS) as well as Finance Depart-ments. They had to code or not get paid and of course the big question which hung over all the Private Providers was “what’s a code?”

Of course, the problem was even bigger than many Providers and Payers initially perceived. Many times I heard such comments as “How difficult can it be?”, “Simply download the Excel sheet of the ICD 9 CM codes and you are good to go”, “Take an afternoon to explain the codes to the Data Entry personnel” or “Give the

Excel list to the doctors and they can enter the codes”. As you can see there was a fair amount of naiveté about coding and even more about correct coding. To put this into perspective, in 2006 there were only 2 certified coders in the entire Emirate of Abu Dhabi!

Once coding was implemented, the hard work, the long hours of training, the per-sonal sacrifices of many people began. All the price lists had to be restructured and adjusted to reflect a price per code and not per procedure as previously done. The Providers’ HIS had to be recreated to cope with coding and eClaims. The Payers’ sys-tems had to be able to accept and assess the new claims and codes. And, of course, everyone needed coders. Well, we’ve come a long way since 2006, there are more than 200 certified coders in Abu Dhabi at the present time and it is increas-ing every day. AHIMA has established a testing center in Abu Dhabi, a fact of which we are very proud.

The next coding challenge was to improve the accuracy of the coding. This was nec-essary to ensure that HAAD’s ‘body of knowledge’ was correct and also to ensure that the correct reimbursements occurred. To facilitate this, the CCSC instigated the Clinical Coding Audits in 2011.

Prior to 2011, the Providers were billing their Office Visits using HAAD created Service Codes (9 for General Practioner, 10 for Specialist and 11 for Consultant) rather than CPT Evaluation & Manage-ment codes. In June 2011, these Service Codes were retired and E & M codes were validated; however, the Providers could only bill to the lowest level of the relevant E & M code, unless they had passed a Clinical Coding Audit, which included basic coding error scoring for diagnostic, proce-dural as well as E & M. This achieved a two-fold purpose, it brought about an im-provement in coding accuracy as well as building the trust of the Payers in the Pro-

12

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

13

viders’ coding competency. This audit cer-tification is now an annual requirement.

In 2011, HAAD introduced the DRG pay-ment system in Abu Dhabi. The IR DRGs (Internationally Refined – Diagnostic Re-lated Groups) is being utilized for inpatient billing on the Thiqa product and all other products will follow at preset deadlines. This again requires the entire coding community to reach further heights in their coding capacity. Their next challenge is the update of the code sets to the 2011 codes. The 2008 versions were not up-dated annually due to the pace of progress and intense challenges facing the health-care entities. Therefore, as of 1st April 2012, the 2011 versions will become valid; which of course means the coders must make three years updates at one time. It is the intent that Abu Dhabi will progress to ICD 10 CM in 2015.

The Healthcare Industry in Abu Dhabi has gone from virtually no coding to eClaims and IR DRGs in a mere five years. For the first time, in 2010, Health Statistics from HAAD were published. This data showed the performance of the Abu Dhabi health-care sector against a series of Diabetes and other Clinical indicators. Based on international indicators and data collected during the routine eClaim process, this information gives insight into whether pa-tients are receiving appropriate care, and if healthcare facilities and clinicians are ad-hering to local clinical guidelines. These statistics, as well as others, and this vital Publication would not have been possible without the effort and hard work of the fast-growing Coding Community in Abu Dhabi.

By: Michelea Peech CCS, CCS-P, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer

Director, True Codes Consultancy FZ LLC

Chair, Clinical Coding Steering Committee of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi

References: Data Standards & Procedures www.haad.ae/DataDictionary

Clinical Coding Audit Methodology www.haad.ae/DataDictionary

Clinical Coding Manual www.haad.ae/DataDictionary

Clinical Coding Audit Methodology

HAAD Health Statistics www.shafiya.org

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Implementation of ICD-10 AM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Abid Al-Badr MedFormatix/Excellence Health Institute

abid@medformatix.net

Regina G. Weber regina@medformatix.net

The healthcare and insurance industries in

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the re-

gion are growing rapidly and experiencing

significant changes due to regulatory re-

forms, globalization, and demographics.

Accordingly, healthcare and insurance or-

ganizations are forced to deal with in-

creased demand, employee shortages,

intensive competition and compliance to

long lists of new regulations.

MedFormatix is a Saudi based company

established in 2001 with commitment to

elevate the regional healthcare and insur-

ance infrastructures to international stan-

dards. Since then, MedFormatix matched

its market expertise by international part-

nerships with well-recognized learning,

technology, and consultancy institutions.

Over the years MedFormatix started up

successful services including Waseel,

which streamlined medical insurance proc-

essing in Saudi Arabia, as a corporate

partner with the largest health insurance

companies in Saudi Arabia.

In 2003, a study was initiated from the

Council of Cooperative Health Insurance

(CCHI) and MedFormatix to evaluate the

healthcare system processes and relation-

ships throughout the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia. Special attention was given to the

role of clinical coding and its impact on the

delivery of healthcare services throughout

the Kingdom.

At the request of CCHI, MedFormatix con-

ducted an analysis of international clinical

coding structures based on the World

Health Organization’s ICD medical coding

standard. MedFormatix evaluated the

most prominent derivations and the most

recent edition of the ICD coding structure

(AM, CA and CM) with a sensitivity to-

wards several key objectives: a coding

scheme that can be used as a clinical data

collection device, but can also be de-

ployed as a billing and reimbursement

tool; a coding scheme that can be used as

a quality surveillance mechanism, a cod-

ing scheme that is logical and compara-

tively easy to learn, and one that is com-

prehensive, vendor neutral and rapidly de-

ployable. CCHI also defined several cod-

ing selection criteria:

• standardization of coding

• business process and clinical information

capture

• ease of implementation and ease of use

14

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

• training and ongoing support requirements;

• scalability and flexibility;

• quality surveillance capabilities.

To develop the human resources knowledge

and skills in the healthcare and insurance

sectors, the Excellence Health Training Center

was established in 2010. The institution is fully

licensed and accredited by the Saudi Com-

mission for Health Specialties (SCfHS - the

Saudi authorized medical licensing agency).

Excellence was determined to join govern-

ment and private sectors in elevating the

level of skills and knowledge amongst those

two professions. Since then, the Excellence

has entered into strategic alliances with in-

ternationally reputable institutions to reach

international standards both in Saudi Arabia

and neighbouring countries.

One of those strategic alliances was the

official appointment on July 9th, 2010 with

Health Information Management Associa-

tion of Australia (HIMAA). The Excellence

(through MedFormatix) is the exclusive

partner in providing ICD-10-AM coding

training in the Middle East.

Vicky Bennett (HIMAA) and Dr. Abid Al Badr (MedFormatix / Excellence Health Institute)

Previously, local and international insurance

organizations submitted claims through pro-

prietary systems unique to each insurance

company. Providers also submitted claims

under a variety of coding classification sys-

tems (e.g. ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, ICD-10-AM,

and custom-made codes) as well as through

a variety of transaction media.

For providers and payers, the clinical cod-

ing system in the KSA was confusing, time

consuming, and wildly inefficient. The frag-

mented nature of KSA clinical coding also

prevented any meaningful attempt to cap-

ture and interpret clinical data for medical

reporting and surveillance purposes. To

effectively manage the changes conceived

in the new regulations the industry requires

standards, common systems and proc-

esses, and leadership. Initiated through the

CCHI, the ICD-10-AM, 6th edition has be-

come the mandated classification system

for Saudi Arabia and should therefore be

fully implemented in all healthcare institu-

tions by May 2013.

Progress is slowly being made through plan-

ned communication with the different health-

care stakeholders affected by the nationwide

implementation of clinical coding, with the

objective of improving buy-in and aligning

efforts of the different players involved in the

coding implementation. In addition, the Ex-

cellence is collaborating with health regu-

lators to conduct awareness campaign

about clinical coding practice, challenges,

and opportunities of appropriate imple-

mentation, which targets healthcare pro-

15

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

fessional, managers, and leaders in the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Excellence Health Training Center

envisions the establishment of an inde-

pendent body to be responsible for the

classification, collection and management

of health information, and that significant

change could be accomplished by appro-

priately implementing national clinical cod-

ing and classification in the Kingdom. HIMSS Middle East Conference, Riyadh,

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (May 2011)As in the US and other industrialized coun-

tries, the Saudi government should also

provide incentives for healthcare providers

to adopt appropriate clinical coding and

reporting practices. In addition, decision-

makers should realize the value of profes-

sional clinical coders to establish a clear

career path and certification process for

clinical coders, as well as installing attrac-

tive job benefits for members of the Health

Information Management profession.

Health Information Managers should also

work together in establishing a profes-

sional society, which could also act as the

cohesive body that align their efforts, pro-

pose standards, and connect them with

their peers around the world.

Management Congress, Abu DhabiUAE (October 2011)

16

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

17

Reference: http://www.himaa2.org.au/

Alshair, M. and MedFormatix, LLC. KSA Standard-ized Medical Coding Implementation Plan (2003, November)

Saudi Arabian Health Information Management (SAHIM)

http://www.sahimclub.org/ Links

Saudi Association for Health Informatics (SAHI) Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) http://www.sahi.org.sa/ http://www.cchi.gov.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx

Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCfHS) Council of Health Services (CHS) http://english.scfhs.org.sa/ http://www.chs.gov.sa

Saudi National Clinical Coding (SNCC) Excellence Health Institute Council of Health Services (CHS) http://www.theexcellence.com/ http://www.chsicd.com/index.php?option=com_con

tent&view=frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA)

Overview of ICD-10-AM, Meeting at the International Medical Center, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (December 2011)

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

ICD Classification in Denmark

Marie Lykke Rasmussen

Odense University Hospital, Surgical Department

Odense, Denmark marie.lykke.rasmussen@ouh.fyns-amt.dk

The ICD is the international standard di-agnostic classification for all general epi-demiological, health management pur-poses and clinical use. These include the analysis of the general health situation of population groups and monitoring of the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems in relation to other variables such as the characteristics and circumstances of the individuals affected, reimbursement, resource allocation, qual-ity and guidelines.

It is used to classify diseases and other health problems recorded on many types of health and vital records including death certificates and health records. In addition to enabling the storage and retrieval of diagnostic information for clinical, epidemi-cological and quality purposes, these re-cords also provide the basis for the compi-lation of national mortality and morbidity statistics by WHO Member States.

In 1994 WHO had the 10th revision of In-ternational Classification of Diseases ready for use for all member states. In Denmark until then we used the 8th Edi-tion. Denmark never used the 9th Edition, but went directly from the 8th to the 10th. It is mandatory to use the classification in hospitals and all health institutions all over the country.

In 1996 I attended a Coding Quality Work-shop in Munich with participants from eleven countries. At that time only a few countries had experience in using the 10th edition. The workshop was a great oppor-tunity to share experience in coding, qual-ity control and preparation for coding na-tionally.

Coding workshop participants and tutors in Munich - 1996

Each year, the National Board of Health makes a revision and new diagnoses and procedures are included or excluded. The language has lately undergone a change from using Latin to more common Danish for diagnoses.

In conclusion - the classification system in Denmark is well established and has been so for many years.

18

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

19

Report from Japan: Scientific conference (The 37th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Health Information Man-

agement (JHIM), 2011)

• Human errors and information man-agement (medical safety)

• What is the role of health information managers in the IT age? (The expand-ing role of health information manage-ment in the team-approach to medicine)

 

• Improvement in the accuracy of Diag-nostic Procedure Combination (DPC) data and use of the DPC data

• Health information management in the regions struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

• Improvement in the accuracy of death certificates (from the results of a re-search project funded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2010)

Yukiko Yokobori IFHIMA Director

Head, Distant Training Division, Japan Hospital Association

• Health information managers: today and the future (from a fact-finding sur-vey on practitioners)

On September 29 and 30, 2011, the 37th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Health Information Management (JHIM) was held in Fukuoka, Japan. The Annual Meeting, first organized by JHIM in 1975, is a scientific conference held in different locations in Japan every September. The theme for this year’s conference was “The Meaning of Health Information Recording in the IT Age and the Role of Health In-formation Managers.” Attendance and number of presentations at the conference were 2,173 and 228, respectively, both record numbers in the conference’s his-tory, continuing the upward trend in recent years, together with the rise in JHIM mem-bership in our country. These develop-ments clearly show the growing awareness within Japan’s medical community of the importance of health information manage-ment and reflect the essential role it plays in hospitals.

• Assessment and improvement of qual-ity of healthcare (Quality Indicator)

Presentations were made in such topical areas as electronic health information, statistics, analytics, auditing, regional col-laboration, public relations, and cancer registration. Professor Eun Woo Nam of South Korea’s Yonsei University (Depart-ment of Health Administration) delivered the Special Lecture on “Health Information Management System in South Korea: From the Perspective of E-Health and IT,” which drew many questions from Japa-nese health information managers in the audience.

Of particular note in this year’s conference was the organization of a students’ ses-sion, titled “The Future Image of Health Information Managers: The Role of HIM in the IT Age,” on September 28, a day be-fore the official opening. A total of 468 stu-dents and teachers participated, and 20 presentations were made in this session. Although such a session was held for the

Some of the topics discussed at the an-nual meeting were:

• Filling out medical records and the role of healthcare professionals

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

first time at JHIM’s Annual Meeting, the younger generation of students was im-pressive in their showing. With the number of universities and vocational colleges providing education for health information

managers growing to about 70 in our country today, the conference stirred re-newed expectations on the coming gen-erations of health information managers of the new era.

The venue, Fukuoka International Con-gress Center

Participants: 2,173 in all - gathered from all over Japan.

At the General Assembly

The winner of the Most Outstanding Paper Award and newly certified Health Information Administrators

Address by the Chairman

Dr. Yoshida remarked that assessment of medical records can tell much about a hospital’s quality and called on the HIMs to attain a high level of expertise and ethics to play a key role in a team-approach to medicine.

20

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

HIMAA National Conference 2011

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

Melbourne, Australia, 20th -22nd September, 2011

Sallyanne Wissmann Sallyanne.Wissmann@mater.org.au

The 2011 HIMAA National Conference was combined with the HIMSS AsiaPac’11 Con-ference and Leadership Summit, which was held in Australia for the first time. Effectively the HIMAA conference became one of the streams within the larger HIMSS confer-ence. This provided an excellent opportu-nity for HIMAA’s members to attend an international conference and conversely for HIMSS’ members to experience uniquely Australian HIM perspectives.

Australia is undergoing major reform in its healthcare sector, much of which is highly relevant to the HIM profession, so this was a great opportunity for visitors to learn about Australia’s experience. The total conference statistics are impressive, with approximately 1,100 delegates (approxi-mately 150 being represented by HIMAA) and approximately 75 vendors on the trade exhibition floor. The HIMAA conference was focused on the Australian healthcare reform agenda with keynote presentations from speakers such as: • Dr Mukesh Haikerwal: National Clini-

cal Lead, National eHealth Transition Authority

• Mr Peter Williams: Advisor, E-Health Policy & Engagement, Department of Health, Victoria

• Mr Andrew Howard: Head of Strategy, National eHealth Transition Authority

• Mr Ian Brownwood: Program Manager of Information, Analysis & Planning, Health Workforce Australia

• Mr Peter Broadhead: Health Reform Transition Office, Commonwealth De-partment of Health and Ageing

• Mr Colin McCrow: Technical Manager, Activity Based Funding, Activity Based Funding Model Team, Finance Pro-curement and Legal Services Division, Queensland Health.

There was also a wide range of papers presented, all of which can be accessed at www.himaa.org.au/2011/presentations.htm, along with the presentations from the key-note speakers above.

The conference highlighted that a great deal has been achieved, but a great deal also remains to be done as the Australian healthcare system moves towards Per-sonally Controlled Electronic Health Re-cords and universal Casemix/Activity Based Funding in the near future.

The conference was “rounded out” by a most enjoyable conference dinner at the Melbourne Museum.

21

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Online Registration Now Open for the

The Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) is pleased to announce

that online registration for the

17th IFHIMA Congress on Health Information Management: Making a World of Difference is

now available at: http://www.ifhimacongress2013.com

The International Federation of Health In-formation Management Associations (IF-HIMA), (formerly known as the International Federation of Health Records Organization (IFHRO) Congress 2013, is being hosted by the Canadian Health Information Man-agement Association (CHIMA) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada May 13-15, 2013.

This international congress provides a tremendous opportunity to bring together Health Information Management (HIM) professionals, Health Informatics profess-

sionals, industry leaders and other key stakeholders from around the world. Edu-cational sessions, networking and social activities will broaden attendee knowledge of Health Information Management; en-gage new members from affiliated organi-zations and provide a unique forum for collaboration and information sharing.

Start planning now to attend this Interna-tional HIM event in 2013 and register early!

Don’t Miss the Call for Abstracts, which opens April 30th, 2012

22

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Developing Country Delegate Sponsorship           

Application Process Opens: April 2nd, 2012

Application Deadline: September 28, 2012

Notification of Acceptance:

October 30, 2012

Delegates and students can apply for a Developing Country Delegate Sponsorship.

A limited number of sponsorships will be awarded and funding will come from dif-ferent sponsoring companies.

Sponsorship awards (valued at $1,500 CDN) include:

• Full 3-day complimentary conference registration

• Social evening event ticket • $500 cash stipend • Housing accommodation at a University

residence (number of nights to be de-termined)

Eligibility Criteria: The selection of candidates will be based on the following criteria:

1. Are you an individual member of IF-HIMA or is your country an IFHIMA Na-tional Member?

You must be either an individual mem-ber of IFHIMA or your country must be a national member of IFHIMA.

2. Will you submit an abstract?

Preference will be given to a candidate who will submit an abstract for either oral or poster presentation.

3. Do you reside in a developing country?

Preference will be given to a candidate originating from a developing country (see list from WHO).

How to Apply: To apply for a Developing Country Spon-sorship, please complete the Application Form, which will be made available for download on the IFHIMA website: http://www.ifhimacongress2013.com by April 2nd, 2012 and attach the follow-ing documents by email to the IFHIMA 2013 Congress Secretariat at: awards@ifhimacongress2013.com on or before September 28, 2012: 1. A curriculum vitae (resume) along with

a cover letter outlining the reasons you require sponsorship and your strong in-terest in attending the IFHIMA 2013 Congress.

2. A letter of support on official letterhead

must be sent directly from your work organization/employer to the IFHIMA 2013 Congress Secretariat by fax to: 1-514-227-5083.

Candidates who have been selected and awarded Developing Country Delegate Sponsorship will be notified by October 30, 2012.

23

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

IFHIMA 2013 Education Day – Call for Abstracts IFHIMA invites you to submit an abstract proposal for the IFHIMA 2013 Education Day to be held on Saturday May 11, 2013 from 09.00h to 16.00h at the Palais des congrés de Montréal, Québec Canada.

With many changes in health information and technology in an electronic environ-ment around the globe, the impact on cur-riculum, higher education and faculty de-velopment are significant. This is an oppor-tunity to provide a specific time for edu-cators and interested health information professionals to learn from each other. The theme for this forum is Quality Improvement with the following areas of focus:

• Quality assurance in health information education

• Academic integrity and accountability

• New or emerging topics in health infor-mation education

• Examples of learning activities, online courses, student projects

• Continuing education programs for health information professionals in the workplace

• Curriculum models in other countries for health information education

Abstract Guidelines • Proposals will be accepted through Sep-

tember 28, 2012

• Content session presentations will be allo-cated no more than 45 minutes

• Panel sessions should feature no more than 3 speakers and will be allocated 60 minutes

Abstract Submission Opening abstract submission: April 30, 2012 Deadline: September 28, 2012 Letter of Acceptance: November 15, 2012 Registration deadline: April 30, 2013

Abstracts are to be submitted to Jennifer Crook at jen.crook@echima.ca .

The requested information must include: • The presenting author data: first and

last name, professional or private ad-dress along with contact phone num-bers and email address.

• Abstract: title, first and last name / af-filiations / city and country of all the au-thors, text of the abstract (maximum 3000 characters spaces included). You can publish up to 3 images in JPEG format, max 2MB each. The images will be published at the bottom of the page (Image Number 1, 2 and 3).

You will have a choice of submitting your abstract for either poster or oral presen-tation; although the abstract review com-mittee reserves the right of choice.

The language for the submission of the abstract, posters and oral presentation is English.

The abstracts which will not comply with these terms will not be accepted. The authors whose abstracts have been accepted for presentation will receive an acceptance email by November 15, 2012. It will include all nec-essary information for the presentation.

As for the publication and the presentation of the abstract at the congress, either poster or oral presentation, the registration of the presenting author is required.

24

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

IFHIMA Matters

Change in Associate (Individual) Members Dues Billing

At the most recent teleconference of the IFHIMA Board of Directors, held in De-cember of 2011, the Board decided to move the current monthly operation of dues processing to a yearly membership, running from January to December.

For our members who joined after Sept. 30 of 2011, we will do a onetime extension of the membership to 15 months, covering all of 2012. For all other members who joined sometime this past year between January and September of 2011, we are asking for dues payment now in January of 2012, to cover the entire year of 2012. Your next dues billing will then for ALL members in January of 2013.

We would love for you to re-join the Asso-ciation now, and to continue to help us to promote the health information manage-ment profession and discipline around the world work with us to advance HIM in de-veloping countries, help us work on data quality, accurate coding, and help us pro-mote quality HIM education throughout the world.

A membership for one year is $35 US. Please see the updated application form for 2012 which is now found online at our web site. And credit card payment is an option! Use this link www.ifhima.org/PaymentProcess/ApplicationType.aspx

If you prefer a paper membership applica-tion, one is attached to this mailing, or available on the web site as well. http://www.ifhima.org/application.aspx

We are hoping that you again will re-join IFHIMA by signing up for the year 2012. We send our warmest greetings for the New Year and the best of 2012 to each of you. We look forward to hearing from you along the way, and seeing you in Montreal in May of 2013 at our next Congress.

Thank you for re-joining, for volunteering and contributing to the best possible HIM profession worldwide.

25

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

World Health Day – 7th April 2012

In 1948, the First World Health Assembly called for the creation of a World Health Day to mark the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 1950, World Health Day has been celebrated every year on 7th April with a different theme. Each theme reflects a priority area of current concern to WHO and it is a worldwide opportunity to focus on key pub-lic health issues.

World Health Day - 7 April 2012 -- Ageing and Health - to which each and every one of us can relate - is the theme of this year's World Health Day. Using the slogan "Good health adds life to years", campaign activities and materials will focus on how good health throughout life can help older men and women lead full and productive lives and be a resource for their families and communities. Activities and cam-paigns throughout the world will focus on ageing and health, raising awareness of what individuals and governments can do to promote active and healthy ageing. The median age of the global population is steadily rising, with the number of people aged 60 years and more expected to triple between 2000 and 2050.

WHO promotes a healthy lifestyle across the life-course to save lives, protect health and alleviate disability and pain in older age. Age-friendly environments and early detection of disease as well as prevention and care improve the wellbeing of older people. Population ageing will hamper the achievement of socioeconomic and human development goals if action is not taken today.

With this year's World Health Day cam-paign, WHO wants to go beyond aware-ness-raising to elicit concrete action and positive change. The World Health Day campaign aims to engage all of society – from policy makers and politicians to older people and youth – to:

• take action to create societies which appreciate and acknowledge older peo-ple as valued resources and enable them to participate fully; and to

• help protect and improve health as we age.

World Health Day can be used to highlight how this change can be brought about, giving examples of how older people con-tribute to their families and their communi-ties in different parts of the world. You can set up your own World Health Day 2012 campaign, using the WHO key messages and materials. A WHO Toolkit for event organizers is available at http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2012/en/index.html

26

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Calendar of Events

April 7th, 2012: WHO: World Health Day http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2012/en/index.html

May 7th – 9th, 2012: The 2012 World of Health IT place in conjunction with eHealth Week 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark http://worldofhealthit.org/2012/

August 26th – 29th, 2012: 24th European Medical Informatics Conference - MIE2012, Pisa, Italy http://www.mie2012.it/

20th – 21th September 2012: 12. National Conference of DVMD Braunschweig, Germany http://www.dvmd-tagung.de/

September 26 – October 4, 2012: AHIMA National convention, Chicago, Illinois http://www.ahima.org/events/convention/default.aspx

13th – 15th May 2013: 17th IFHIMA Congress Montréal, Canada http://www.ifhimacongress2013.com/

15th – 20th September 2013: AHIMA National convention, Atlanta, Georgia http://www.ahima.org/events/convention/default.aspx

27

Issue Number 10 ■ March 2012

Editorial Board: Cameron Barnes, Australia Angelika Haendel, Germany Marci MacDonald, Canada Lorraine Nicholson, UK Darley Petersen, Denmark Margaret Skurka, USA Global News Advisory Board Ulli Hoffman Germany Carol Lewis, USA Phyllis Watson, Australia PS: If you do not wish to receive further IFHIMA/IFHIMA messages or editions of Global News please let us know and we will remove you from the mailing list (petersen.darley@hotmail.com).

Disclaimer: Contributions to Global News are welcomed from members and non-members of IFHIMA and articles should be typed and sent by e-mail to the Editor, Angelika Haendel Angelika.Haendel@uk-erlangen.de for consideration for publication. Responsibility for referencing in any article rests with the author. Readers should note that opinions expressed in articles in Global News are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of IF-HIMA.

28