Have you ever heard about health information manager roles and responsibilities? Are you interested to know more about it? If your answer is yes, then this article is made just for you.
Health Information Manager
A health information manager is a person who manages health information and health information systems. This manager focuses on the health of patients and the success of hospital management. In this article, you are going to find out what kind of roles and responsibilities do these managers have. The main responsibility of a health information manager is to make sure that the medical records of patients are managed effectively and safely. It is also the responsibility of a healthcare information manager to make sure that the privacy of patients is protected at all times.
Health Information Manager: Roles and Responsibilities
- To manage the medical records of patients in an effective manner. The records should be stored in an organized manner so that they can be easily accessed when needed.
- To protect the privacy of each patient at all times. Privacy should be protected by following certain rules and regulations such as HIPAA rules.
- Also, to analyze patients’ medical data for research purposes. A health information manager works with other professionals such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and so on in order to provide quality healthcare services to patients.
- To ensure that all updates on a patient’s medical history are updated whenever needed such as when there is a change in treatment or when there are new updates about the patient’s condition and so on.
- To make sure that the medical records are transferred from one facility to another when needed such as when a patient is transferred from one facility to another because something happened with him/her or because he/she needs special attention from other qualified professionals not available in his/her current facility such as neurologists, oncologists and so on.
- And to keep track of drug prescriptions given by doctors to their patients in order to avoid any side effects or adverse effects resulting from the interaction between drugs prescribed by different doctors for the same patient at different times and so on.
- To make sure that all electronic medical records are kept up-to-date with the latest software installed on computers used for managing electronic medical records such as electronic health record (EHR), electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) software, clinical decision support software, imaging software.
Importance of Having One
Having a health information manager in a hospital is very important. Because this person will make sure that the health information of patients is managed in an effective and safe way. The patient’s medical history can be easily accessed when needed by doctors, nurses, and other professionals working in the hospital. This will make sure that each patient gets the best possible healthcare services he/she deserves.
Health Information Manager Education, Certification and Licensure
To become a certified health information manager, you need to complete a bachelor’s degree program in health information management. Also, you need to pass the national certification exam before getting a certificate from American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). To become a certified health information manager, you are required to have at least three years of work experience. If you have earned a certificate from AHIMA or its affiliate association, it is okay. Because you can still be employed as a health information manager even without having three years of work experience.