The American Health Information Management Association (AIMA)

The essence of ensuring satisfactory patient care and preventing legal repercussions stems maintaining proper patient records and documentation. In the booming healthcare era that we live in, documentation technology is forever changing and being renovated to keep up with the digital applications. With technological changes, it is imperative to ensure that all state and federal regulations, policies, and procedures are being maintained. Enforcing confidentiality and security is a primary concern for healthcare workers. (“AHIMA," n.d.) Information and management guidelines are implemented and enforced by the American Health Information Management Association, or the AHIMA.

Health information management, more commonly referred to in shorthand

Health Information Management is directly responsible for how information is handled, the procedure for acquiring, analyzing, and the method of digital documentation of protecting protected health information. These processes are vital in providing safe and secure patient care. (“Gartee, R.,” 2011) Their mission is solely to improve healthcare by promoting extensive health information management techniques. They plan to achieve this goal by improving healthcare through data analytics and are known by their four core values: respect, excellence, leadership, and integrity.(“AHIMA,” n.d.)The American Health Information Management Association has an extensive role in Health Information Management. Founded in 1928, they outline their goal as the intent to improve the standards of patient care documentation. In addition, the AHIMA declared their mission in the early nineties to uniform patient documentation across all medical facilities rather than solely focusing on hospitals. (“AHIMA,” n.d.) The AHIMA

The American Health Information Management Association has developed a Clinical Documentation Improvement program, known most commonly as CDI. The main focus of the Clinical Documentation Improvement program is to improve the quality of clinical documentation. Improved clinical documentation will also improve regulation compliance, aid in external and internal audits, and provide heightened patient care quality. A universally accepted clinical documentation program will unify how healthcare professionals chart, open communication between healthcare facilities and reduce the number of treatment errors due to a plethora of information available for treatment. Clinical documentation would be vitally important in the case of a 30 year old male suffering from HIV/AIDS. With the CDI, his information will accurately be documented including signs, symptoms, complaints, lab test results, medication history and reactions, and provide a history of care over a long period of time including all Visits. When this patient returns for care, new information will be added to an already existing chart which has all of his information readily available for review. (“Gartee, R.,” 2011) In addition, they will be able to see the progress of his illness and the effects it has had on his body. Prior lab draws and interpretations can aid in course of treatment rather than ordering unnecessary tests and procedures on the patient to