Health Information Management Policy Making

Health Information Management Policy Making

            The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is responsible for improving the health record management system. An efficient record management system is responsible for the provision of quality health services to the public. The role of government in the health sector is to provide guidelines on the proper management of the health facilities. Government entities may sometimes overstep the roles of the health management systems, and the responsibility of AHIMA is to push the government into giving the health information management, the attention that it needs. AHIMA is responsible for the operation of all information management systems including the electronic management systems. The roles played by AHIMA can be seen as charitable and educational with the primary goal being to improve the quality of service delivery towards the government. AHIMA works to ensure that any legislative process takes into consideration the needs of the members registered under AHIMA. The three arms of the government control the making of health policies; the Judiciary, the executive and the legislature, with each arm playing a particular role in the policy-making process.

The judiciary is responsible for approving several health policies that later proceed to become laws. The judiciary has however suffered criticism for its insignificant involvement in the health sector. Some individuals have blamed the judiciary for being used by other individuals to bring confusion in the health sector by approving contradicting laws to govern the health systems (Warren, 2018). However, the judiciary has been instrumental in the development of various health policies that have stood out to be effective in improving the performance of the health sector. Some of the laws include the ruling of the Supreme Court concerning the right of a woman to decide whether to conceive or not. The ruling gave the women the right to use contraceptives at their convenience. The ruling has stood up to improve family planning services.

Legislature is responsible for making laws to be considered in maintaining the daily order. The legislature has been standing out to indicate that it is the most suited arm of government responsible for making laws. Responsibilities assigned to the judiciary require it to be impartial and accountable for public welfare. The making of health policies, therefore, falls under the responsibilities of the legislature. The legislature is capable of discussing the proposal by the lobbyists to protect the health information systems from exploitation that could happen due to the passing of the law governing photocopying costs. Generally, the legislature is responsible for making the primary laws that the move to the judiciary and executive for implementation and maintenance.

Executive arm of government is not involved directly in the making of health policies. Executive plays roles that are sometimes similar to the roles played by the legislature. The roles of the executive make it be both publicly accountable and objective. The roles of the executive officers are made significant by the fact that most chief executives are political figures and have a significant influence on the policy-making process. The position held by the executives is strategic for providing the necessary evidence and data required for the making of sound health policies. Roles of the executive revolve around giving executive orders, rulemaking, and giving guidance on the interpretation of health policies.

In association with its members, AHIMA is capable of influencing the policy-making process. The goal of AHIMA revolves around speaking on behalf of the health information management bodies. The proposal by lobbyists harms health information management systems. Placing a cap on a level of costs that is lower than the actual costs could affect the government’s allocation towards the health sector, which will, in turn, affect the issuing of contracts (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2017). The immediate impact on the public will be the provision of low-quality services. AHIMA is capable of making comments to the agencies responsible for assessing the impact of specific policies to the general public and has a higher probability of being considered. The decisions made by regulatory bodies rely on the comments made during the policy-making process. AHIMA is able to make comments concerning the proposal so that its passing as a law can be overturned.

The coordination between AHIMA and the Component State Associations will play a significant role in standing against the proposal by the lobbyist group. The Component State Associations is tasked with assessing the concerns of individual associations and its efforts are highly regarded during the policy-making process (Niles, 2016). Therefore, the AHIMA will depend on the CSA to advocate influencing the policy-making process.

In sum, all three arms of the government play a particular role in the making of health policies. The roles played by each arm depending on the responsibilities tasked with the particular arm in the law-making process. AHIMA is responsible for talking on behalf of the health information management bodies. Generally, the success of AHIMA in the attempt to influence the policy-making process will depend on its cooperation with the Component State Associations.