Question

How might the working relationship between HIM professionals and CIOs and information systems staff change as PHRs become more prevalent?

Answer 1

Ans) HIM director’s time will be devoted much more to working with the EHR than overseeing day-to-day operations like coding turnaround time or monitoring chart completion.

- Monitoring and reconciling interfaces, running electronic data integrity audits, and attending design sessions for new EHRs are some of the duties of the HIM director of tomorrow, Liette says.

- Extensive IT skills will not be necessary, but the ability to take part in facility-wide EHR discussions is vital.

Increasingly, HIM directors will be virtual managers. More department staff will be working remotely, requiring new management skills and methods.

Core HIM skills and knowledge still apply. Future roles will require “just looking at all the different components of our responsibilities in a different way."