The computer-based patient record and health information management professionals

Much has been written over the past 5 years about an electronic medical record and how this technology is affecting the individual health care professions. The Health Information Management profession (previously called the Medical Record profession) is one of the health professions in which computer technologies are making drastic changes. The primary purpose of this study was to determine how the electronic medical record has affected the health information management practitioner as well as the types of technology that may motivate Health Information Management educators to radically modify future curriculums.;The primary research objectives were: (1) to determine how Health Information (HI) practitioners are utilizing specific types of computer technology, (2) to determine the extent of the responsibilities of HI practitioners in the development of security policies and procedures and the development of standards and protocols for a computer-based patient record, (3) to determine the types of educational needs that will be required for HI Managers once the computer-based patient record is implemented, (4) to determine the utilization of automated information systems in various health care facilities (in relation to the computer-based patient record) and, (5) to obtain feedback from HI practitioners in administrative and middle-management positions regarding their perceptions and concerns as they become more involved in the implementation of the computer-based patient record within their own facilities.;The respondents included in this study were 685 credentialed members of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) who were employed in diverse health care facilities. The survey instrument ascertained the responsibilities of HI practitioners and the type of computer technologies that they were utilizing in the various facilities. Survey questions also examined how the computer-based patient record concept might be utilized in HI programs in the future. The survey also ascertained the status of the CPR system within diverse facilities (i.e., whether a CPR system was in progress or fully functioning).;The results suggest that Health Information Management practitioners have an instrumental role in assisting with the assessment and implementation of information systems when a computer-based patient record system is being developed. In general, the results also revealed that future Health Information academic curriculums will need to include a broader scope of courses that are focused on information systems and systems analyses.