In the Media
This month I have had the opportunity to provide two interviews which have been published in the media. Firstly, in the November edition of the Hospital and Agedcare Magazine, I provided an interview in relation to health information best practices based on the paper I presented at the recent HIMAA/HIMSS Conference. A copy of the interview is available here (first appeared in Hospital and Agedcare, November 2011 Edition. Used with permission. All rights reserved). Secondly, I provided an interview to ehealthspace.org about the role of Health Information Managers in the health informatics and ehealth environment. The article can be accessed here. These opportunities align closely with HIMAA’s strategic objectives related to advocacy and I hope there will be many more opportunities to promote health information management over the coming months and years.

University of Western Sydney
I am pleased to report that the University of Western Sydney is undergoing preparation work to commence an undergraduate HIM degree in the near future. Work has commenced on identifying how the HIMAA Health Information Management Entry-Level Competency Standards will be met within the ICT and ehealth programs. While official approval is still required, this is a very positive step towards once again having a HIM degree offered in NSW.

Australian Health Informatics Education Council (AHIEC)
Last month I started as the HIMAA representative on the AHIEC Steering Committee. AHIEC exists to ensure a coherent, comprehensive approach to quality health informatics education and training in Australia. Two documents in particular have been recently finalised and are now being circulated to the auspicing organisations for endorsement. I am pleased to report that at the November board meeting, HIMAA endorsed the AHIEC Strategic Plan for 2012 and 2013 and the AHIEC Health Informatics Scope, Careers and Competencies document. My thanks is extended to all HIMAA members who have been involved in reviewing the competency document over the past 2 years. Once these document have been approved by all the auspicing organisations, they will be circulated to HIMAA members. More information about AHIEC can be found at http://www.AHIEC.org.au. 

Finances
The board has continued to focus over the past month on finalising the 2011/12 budget and establishing a set of principles for financial management moving forward. In particular, a Finance Working Group has been established with both board and non-board members to continue to focus on HIMAA’s financial performance for the remainder of the financial year.

New Board Member
I would like to welcome Amanda Hicks as the newly appointed board member. Amanda is the Manager, Health Information Services at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and I look forward to working with Amanda on the board.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very peaceful Christmas and happy and successful New Year.

From the CEO

• Health Workforce Australia Survey
• NSW Clinical Coder Training
• New Appointments
• NSW Branch
• Rural Health SIG
• Season’s Greetings

Health Workforce Australia Survey
HIMAA is cooperating with Health Workforce Australia in a project to more clearly define/describe the Australian health information workforce. Part of the project is an online survey of the workforce in the following areas:

• Metro South Health Service District (QLD) 
• Far West Local Health District (NSW) 
• Barwon Health (VIC)

An email has already been sent to HIMAA and CCSA members (current and past) in these areas, based on postcodes, inviting them to participate in the online survey. However, it is possible that not all HIMAA/CCSA members (current or past) have been captured in this process.

If any HIMAA/CCSA members working in these areas have not received the above email, or know of other HIMs or Clinical Coders working in the areas who have not received the email, please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X83YTL5 to complete the online survey.

The survey closes on the 23rd December 2011 and should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

It is extremely important that the maximum possible number of eligible HIMs and Clinical Coders complete the survey, to clearly establish the critical roles played by HIMs and Clinical Coders in the health information workforce.

NSW Clinical Coder Training
Lyn Williams (Training Manager, HIMAA Education Services) and I met with representatives from the NSW Ministry of Health on the 30th November to discuss Clinical Coder training in NSW Health. The meeting was extremely productive and, in essence, confirmed that NSW Health wishes to utilise HIMAA’s courses for its Clinical Coder training. The exact details of implementation are yet to be resolved, however, this decision represents a great, in principle, outcome. My thanks to all those who have supported HIMAA’s initiative on this issue.

New Appointments 
Two new appointments have recently been made, namely:

• Amanda Hicks has been appointed a Director of HIMAA Ltd. Amanda fills the casual Board vacancy created at the election of Board members at the 2011 AGM. 
• Jennie Shepheard has been appointed Editor of HIMJ/HIM-I and replaces Barbara Postle. Thank you to Barbara for her great work as Editor.

NSW Branch
The NSW Branch has called for nominations for election to the Branch Executive Committee and nine nominations have been received for formal election at a General Meeting on the 8th December 2011. There are indications that a further two members will seek appointment to the Executive Committee, subsequent to the General Meeting. This is a great show of support for the re-establishment of a fully functioning branch in NSW and should provide a very firm platform for that to occur. All NSW members are encouraged to support your new committee to the best of your ability.

Rural Health SIG
Robyn Lunt has generously offered to convene a HIMAA Rural Health SIG. Further information about the SIG will be available in the near future.

Season’s Greetings
As this will be the last newsletter for 2011, I would like to thank the members of the HIMAA Board, the HIMJ Board, the Education Committee, the State Branch Executives and all the other members who have volunteered their time and effort in so many ways to make 2011 such a successful year for HIMAA.

I would also like to especially thank the staff of the HIMAA National Office for their support and dedication throughout the year. I consider myself very privileged to work with such a great team.

To all members and HIMAA National Office staff: may you have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

Bob Blue
CEO, HIMAA 
 
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NEWS IN BRIEF

AUS: Authority to release e-health development plan 
The National e-Health Transition Authority will publish a Specifications and Standards development plan for the $500 million personally controlled e-health record system next week. A NeHTA spokeswoman has told The Australian the plan would be released “within the next seven days”. The organisation recently announced a series of “tiger teams” to fast-track critical technical specifications needed for the PCEHR build. 
The Australian

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