Healthcare Data Lifecycle

AHIMA’s Health Informatics Toolkit is a comprehensive two-part resource designed to help health information professionals succeed in today’s data-driven, AI-enabled healthcare environment. From foundational data, systems, and workforce practices to AI, interoperability, governance, privacy, and compliance, the series delivers practical guidance for professionals at every stage of their informatics journey.

Each part can be used independently or together as a complete resource connecting daily operations with strategic leadership.

This toolkit has been developed to advance knowledge and practice of document management and imaging and its role in supporting the electronic health record (EHR).
It begins with the current document management and imaging landscape in supporting the adoption of the EHR, continues with document imaging operations and best practices, and
concludes with system design options, considerations, implementation, and leadership. The toolkit includes one case study and eight appendices where more details, including tables, are provided to enhance the main content.

This toolkit provides a variety of resource tools for healthcare professionals performing data analysis tasks, whether they are reviewing and trending healthcare data for a healthcare entity, reporting on quality measures in a physician office, managing the enterprise master patient index, or working with other operational and financial data. The toolkit begins by discussing the current healthcare initiatives and programs that are increasing the demand for data analytics.

The Informatics Toolkit For Health Informatics And Information Management Professionals toolkit provides a variety of resources and tools for health information and informatics management (HIIM) professionals who are developing or integrating an informatics initiative, whether they are managing an enterprise master patient index, overseeing or maintaining an electronic health record, initiating an informatics project, or working with other electronic forms of operational, health, or financial information. The toolkit provides tools for HIIM professionals to help them meet the increased demand for informatics in healthcare. It includes an appendix of resources and sample documents, along with suggestions for additional reading.

The Information Governance (IG) Toolkit 3.0 offers a variety of resources for healthcare organizations that are starting an information governance (IG) journey. Such a journey is a multi-year initiative that most likely evolves from one or more short-term projects to (ideally) a full-fledged program that is sustained by the notion that information in healthcare organizations is a critical asset that requires ongoing attention and resources. As with any journey, the required tools will change during its course. So, it is with the current state of this toolkit. This iteration of the toolkit contains primarily foundational information for just getting started on the IG journey. However, it will evolve, and more tools will be added as the journey continues and needs change. This is the third update of the information governance toolkit.

Information integrity in the EHR has a direct correlation to quality patient care. Allied health professionals can support patient care by ensuring appropriate policies and procedures are in place. To assist in that endeavor, this paper provides guidelines for ensuring information integrity in EHR systems.

The Amendments in the Electronic Health Record Toolkit is designed to provide guidance to HIM professionals when addressing the amendment functionality in an EHR. For the purpose of this toolkit the authors have made the assumption that electronic signatures are used in the EHR. This toolkit defines the term amendments to include addendums, corrections, and deletions.

Healthcare data governance (DG) is not a new topic but is still challenging for many healthcare organizations to implement and achieve. With the increase in technology and specifically the electronic health record (EHR), the amount of data available has grown exponentially.

This Practice Brief discusses the challenges of maintaining quality data in the electronic health record and offers best practice guidance for ensuring the integrity of healthcare data.

Quality data for reporting and validation is critical to ensure that business decisions based on data have positive outcomes.

When formally implemented, information governance (IG) can position an organization to effectively and efficiently overcome challenges and set the stage for success—resulting in a return on investment and competitive advantage.

This Practice Brief describes the essential focus of information governance as a strategic approach for managing information assets in healthcare organizations.

This Practice Brief provides guidance for enhanced health information management practices not only specifically for the LGBT population but also for any of the many varieties of sexual orientation or gender identity groups.

This Practice Brief defines the data dictionary, describes common data inconsistencies found within healthcare organizations' systems, and discusses associated data management challenges.

This Practice Brief provides best practices for accurate patient matching from the time the patient first contacts a healthcare organization until the organization confirms an accurate patient match.

This Practice Brief provides background on the different types of publicly available healthcare data and the factors that determine if the data serve to meet the user's needs.

The use of the electronic health record for business and legal purposes is every bit as mission-critical as its clinical uses and must be reflected in approaches to its management.

This Practice Brief will discuss best practices for health information professionals to ensure that health information needs are met at the time of discharge or transfer and to assess and improve transition of care practices.

This Practice Brief defines key data mapping concepts and outlines best practices related to the development and use of data maps.

This Practice Brief uses the AHIMA Information Governance Principles for Healthcare (IGPHC)™ as the underpinning of a data quality management model.

This Practice Brief discusses the challenges of engaging healthcare consumers and offers best practices for health information professionals to assist consumers in becoming more engaged in their own healthcare.

This Practice Brief discusses the challenges of maintaining quality data in the electronic health record and offers best practice guidance for ensuring the integrity of the healthcare data.

This Practice Brief will assist in defining Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD) and outlining some important considerations for the inclusion of PGHD in EHR systems.

This Practice Brief outlines the factors driving Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption in Long Term Care (LTC) facilities, and how EHRs affect LTC facilities.

This Practice Brief provides an overview of health informatics basics and includes a glossary of terms that are commonly associated with the field.

This Practice Brief explores the complexity of patient identification integrity, including how organizations can manage patient identification systems from front end data capture to back end quality control as an ongoing process and carry local quality operations into health information exchange efforts.

This Practice Brief provides guidance on record retention standards and destruction of health information for all healthcare settings.

This Practice Brief provides guidance on record retention standards and destruction of health information for all healthcare settings.

This Practice Brief describes the current HIE landscape, provides best practices in information management, and identifies how HIM professionals can collaborate with and offer education to HIEs.

This Practice Brief defines a variety of nontext data types found in healthcare practices today and outlines the operational challenges of managing this data. It also discusses legal and regulatory considerations, including best management practices to achieve optimal compliance outcomes.

This Practice Brief reviews applicable standards for problem list content, examines the role of the problem list in the EHR, and provides guidance on managing problem lists.