AHIMA Joins New Information Governance Coalition

AHIMA, which is driving a collaborative effort to adapt and operationalize information governance (IG) for the health care ecosystem, is a founding member of the Coalition for Public Sector Information Governance Leadership (CPSIGL).

The CPSIGL will assist the National Archives and federal agencies as they transition from paper to digital recordkeeping. In addition to providing best IG practices from the private sector, the CPSIGL will offer resources and training to agency officials and federal practitioners to help them better manage their IG practices.

By the end of 2016, federal agencies will be required to manage permanent and temporary e-mail records in an electronically accessible format; by 2019, they must preserve all of the government's permanent electronic records created after that date in a digital format for transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

"We are pleased to join other leading information governance organizations in this important initiative, and we'd like to recognize ARMA International for organizing the coalition," says AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. "While the primary goal is to assist the National Archives and federal agencies in addressing the growing challenges of the paper to digital transition, we expect that all coalition members and the governance community will benefit."

In addition to AHIMA, the other CPSIGL members include the Association for Information and Image Management, ARMA International, the Information Governance Initiative, the National Association for Information Destruction, and Professional Records and Information Services Management International.

"The very establishment of this coalition, and the Presidential Memorandum and the implementing directive by NARA and the Office of Management and Budget, which gave rise to it, are clear signals of the importance of governing information," says AHIMA Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer Deborah Green, MBA, RHIA, who leads AHIMA's IG strategic initiative. "The coalition members all bring solid guidance, practices, tools, resources, and experience to contribute to this initiative."

In 2014, AHIMA launched its IG initiative to increase awareness of IG's importance and move the health care industry to action. Highlights included a first-of-its-kind benchmarking survey of comprehensive IG practices in health care, which AHIMA cosponsored with Cohasset Associates. AHIMA then issued this white paper on the survey that provides context and understanding of the state of IG in health care and a roadmap for establishing steps organizations should take to govern their information. In 2014, AHIMA also released the Information Governance Principles for Healthcare (IGPHC), which were adapted from ARMA International's Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles.

This year, AHIMA plans to launch pilots in which organizations will use AHIMA's IG Principles for Healthcare and a forthcoming IG maturity self-assessment in actual practice. In addition, another IG survey is planned with a focus on professional IG knowledge and readiness and organizational progress in implementing IG practices.

As part of February's IG Month activities, the Journal of AHIMA launched the first of a four-part series that will explore the meaning and intent of AHIMA's eight IGPHC.

Source: AHIMA