title: Convergent evolution of health information management and health informatics: a perspective on the future of information professionals in health care.
abstract: Clearly defined boundaries are disappearing among the activities, sources, and uses of health care data and information managed by health information management (HIM) and health informatics (HI) professionals. Definitions of the professional domains and scopes of practice for HIM and HI are converging with the proliferation of information and communication technologies in health care settings. Convergence is changing both the roles that HIM and HI professionals serve in their organizations as well as the competencies necessary for training future professionals. Many of these changes suggest a blurring of roles and responsibilities with increasingly overlapping curricula, job descriptions, and research agendas. Blurred lines in a highly competitive market create confusion for students and employers. In this essay, we provide some perspective on the changing landscape and suggest a course for the future. First we review the evolving definitions of HIM and HI. We next compare the current domains and competencies, review the characteristics as well as the education and credentialing of both disciplines, and examine areas of convergence. Given the current state, we suggest a path forward to strengthen the contributions HIM and HI professionals and educators make to the evolving health care environment.
authors.affiliation: Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University , London, ON, CANADA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University , Indianapolis, IN, USA ; Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Inc. , Indianapolis, IN, USA ; Center for Health Information and Communication, Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research and Development Service CIN 13-416, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center , Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: Canadian College of Health Information Management , London, ON, CANADA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004517:Education, Professional; D063025:Health Information Management; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D008490:Medical Informatics
keywords: Information management; competency-based education; informatics
references.citation: Stud Health Technol Inform. 2013;192:884-8
references.pmid: 23920685
references.citation: J AHIMA. 2013 Mar;84(3):48-53
references.pmid: 23556405
references.citation: JAMA. 2014 May;311(20):2067-8
references.pmid: 24823876
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2014 Jul;33(7):1163-70
references.pmid: 25006142
references.citation: J Med Pract Manage. 2011 Mar-Apr;26(5):314-6
references.pmid: 21595388
references.citation: Public Health Rep. 2013 Nov-Dec;128(6):546-53
references.pmid: 24179266
references.citation: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2012 Nov-Dec;19(6):931-8
references.pmid: 22683918
references.citation: Inform Health Soc Care. 2013 Mar;38(2):104-19
references.pmid: 23323639
references.citation: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2013 Jan 1;20(1):144-51
references.pmid: 22733976
references.citation: Inform Health Soc Care. 2013 Jan;38(1):1-14
references.pmid: 22657387
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2003 Jun 19;348(25):2526-34
references.pmid: 12815139
references.citation: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Mar-Apr;16(2):153-7
references.pmid: 19074296
references.citation: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2009 Mar-Apr;16(2):158-66
references.pmid: 19074295
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2013 Jul;28(7):957-64
references.pmid: 23371416
references.citation: Nurse Educ. 2013 May-Jun;38(3):110-3
references.pmid: 23608911
references.citation: Am J Manag Care. 2011 Dec;17(12 Spec No.):SP76a-SP
references.pmid: 22216771
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2013 Aug;32(8):1346-54
references.pmid: 23918477
references.citation: JAMA Intern Med. 2013 Apr 22;173(8):702-4
references.pmid: 23460235
references.citation: Methods Inf Med. 2010 Jan 07;49(2):105-120
references.pmid: 20054502
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2010 Feb;29(2):244-51
references.pmid: 20348068
references.citation: Curr Oncol Rep. 2011 Aug;13(4):249-51
references.pmid: 21559791
references.citation: Int J Med Inform. 2012 Jul;81(7):493-9
references.pmid: 22425281
references.citation: Stud Health Technol Inform. 2007;129(Pt 2):1414-8
references.pmid: 17911947
references.citation: J AHIMA. 2013 Nov-Dec;84(11):64-9
references.pmid: 24319941
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2012 Mar;31(3):481-7
references.pmid: 22392658
references.citation: Health Aff (Millwood). 2013 Aug;32(8):1478-85
references.pmid: 23840052
references.citation: BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2009 May 15;9:24
references.pmid: 19445665