Key takeaways from our IG community meeting: Discovering practical tools

October 28, 2021

Document management concept with icons on virtual screen

On July 22, 2021, a CHIMA Information Governance (IG) Community meeting was held and led by Eric Sutherland, the community facilitator. The focus of this meeting was on discovering practical tools for the IG community.

Eric shared the importance of adopting a data stewardship model that puts the patient’s needs at the centre of care. He highlighted three tenets for consideration: reusing current data, ensuring the protection and privacy of that data, and the active contribution of data stewards to the overall outcomes of the health data supply chain.

In the breakout rooms, participants discussed the extent of existing tools, identified gaps in the tools’ implementation, and determined the appetite for new tools (and what they would be).

One breakout room group noted the challenge of silos, and participants suggested the creation of an international IG maturity model with integrated/standardized goals that entities can map local progress against. They also discussed leveraging the former AHIMA assessment tool (now owned by Iron Mountain), possible adoption of an official and consistent lexicon to be used across the board, and a promotional tool to secure stakeholder buy-in.

Participants agreed that the improvement of health data rests on the foundation of standardization—a specific use case was highlighted in the standardization of death clearances. To create and strengthen these foundations, the creation of a policy repository was suggested to identify missing pieces in current policies and find commonalities.

The desire was expressed for a playbook for organizations starting to adopt standard practices, and some wondered about the possibility of merging the CIO Strategy Council’s work with CIHI’s framework.

Eric discussed the importance of significant, small steps—such as sharing data assets with other entities—that have a profound effect on the harmonization of IG tools and resources. Many agreed that collaboration (organizationally, provincially, and nationally) and an accountability framework are necessary to improve the implementation and quality of IG solutions.

In summary, the group agreed that the information governance landscape is evolving, with improvements constantly being developed. They also agreed that the critical elements of success include foundational terminology, the involvement of those holding the CHIM designation, and a clear definition of the scope of the role of health information professionals.

As a first priority, the group will review CHIMA’s career matrix; the objective would be to update it for relevance and supporting agility. This will be a key topic at future community meetings.