Emerging into E-Health Information Management and Administration Reflections on e-health and my career aspirations - Kathleen M. Nickerson, RHIA, MT(ASCP)

I enthusiastically believe in electronic health records, e-health and electronic health information management for the benefit of each individual patient and the community of people who have been affected with a condition or disease that negatively affects their lives. I’m excited to get involved in the process of moving health care toward more e-health initiatives, to engage physicians and patients in these initiatives and to turn medical data into clinically useful information. One of the critical missions of health information management (HIM) professionals is to promote the adaption of electronic health information in order to enhance the quality of care. There are many challenges to the implementation of e-health initiatives, electronic health records and health information organizations. With these challenges, exciting new opportunities emerge.

My Personal Strengths Unique combination of medical and information technology experience. Twenty years in medical laboratories and 12 years in digital asset management allows me to bring new perspectives from both disciplines. Sincere and intense interest in learning with the comfort, ability and desire to advance technically. Learning new software, new processes, and new management techniques is not only exciting, but critical in moving forward. I’ve embraced the challenges of being a non-traditional student; my academic and career records prove my ability to adapt and succeed. Being a member of the technologically sandwiched generation. Individuals older than I am may have adverse feelings toward new technology; younger folks are much more comfortable in the digital environment. I can identify with the reluctance of established, seasoned professionals to change and I enjoy working with Generation X and Millennials. Detail oriented and data driven. My experiences as a Medical Technologist, Image Bank Archivist and Digital Asset Specialist have sharpened my strong appreciation for detail, data and organization.

Interesting possibilities Healthcare Consumer Advocate - Medical information, insurance issues, and billing issues can be intimidating and confusing. As the population ages and the available information grows, the need for guidance in these areas will increase. Client Support Specialist – Maximizing the technology tools available to patients and/or physicians is important to the advancement of e-health. Clinical Research Coordinator – Acquiring data and transforming it into useful information for the benefit of current and future patients is an honorable and worthy goal. Health Data/Information Resource Manager – Data and information needs to be made accessible to the individuals that need it. Finding the information is a critical step before knowledge, change and action can occur.

My plan Find the right first position. Research organizations, academic institutions, companies, and the positions they have available. Clinical Research Coordinator, Data Analyst and Medical Record Abstractor are some of the job titles that interest me; but would certainly consider more traditional HIM roles, such as document scanning and retrieval, release of information and medical coding. Get connected. Attend Georgia AHIMA and HIMSS activities and make connections at the national AHIMA meeting in Atlanta this fall. Stay in touch with students from the GRU Health Information Administration program and with contacts at DeKalb Medical Center. Continue to go to the Emory Health Informatics seminars. Improve my LinkedIn profile; regularly update my website. Continue to learn. Take advantage of the AHIMA courses and webinars. Consider working toward a specialty certification in cancer or trauma registry or health data analysis.

My Objective Employ my health information management knowledge with my clinical and information technology skills in a new position focused in health data collection, abstraction and analysis, in implementation of e-health initiatives or in record identification and management. Thanks for viewing and I hope you will contact me in the near future to discuss how I can bring my expertise and experience to your institution.