EDITOR’S REPORT By Mary Alice Annecharico, MS, RN, FHIMSS
THIS FALL EDITION OF THE Journal of Healthcare Informa- tion Management is very special because its articles and columns represent both the crossroads of the
legacy JHIM and a continuity in the interactive style that
appeals to readers. In this edition on Continuity of Care, read-
ers will enjoy a series of articles that focus on the challenges
of interoperability and the impact of data sharing on quality
outcomes, and examine care transition issues in VA, acute
care and long term care environments.
The Journal is undergoing an exciting
new transformation this year that will
result in an improved, interactive publishing platform, a more frequent publishing
schedule and a greater outreach to members about the content published in the
Journal. To appreciate the direction JHIM
is headed, it is important to highlight the
history from which the printed and digital
peer reviewed contributions of JHIM have
evolved over the past 23 years.
In its more than 50 year history, HIMSS
began as a management engineering society, called the Health Management Information Society (HMIS), whose objectives
were to network among practitioners and
to share experiences and knowledge. Its
founder, Edward J. Gerner, became its first
president in 1961.
The Society’s first quarterly publication in 1978 was known as the HOSPITAL
DEPARTMEN TAL PROFILES and its audience was the management engineering
community.
As the Society expanded its reach into
national and international affiliations, the
membership began to expand to include
technology, healthcare information,
research and analytics, academics and the
clinical disciplines. As a consequence of
growth, the Healthcare Information and
Management System Society (HIMSS),
too, expanded the audience for its newslet-
ters and publications. In 1990 the HIMSS
News monthly supplement was added to
its original quarterly newsletter. Two years
later the well-qualified staff members pro-
vided the resources needed to dramatically
enhance HIMSS’ publications, educational
programming, and membership services.
It was at this time that copies of the
newly redesigned HIMSS journal,
Healthcare Information Management were distributed to conference attendees as well as to
all members.
The enduring value to the membership
for a peer reviewed publication became a
signature trademark for HIMSS. During
the last 23 years, JHIM migrated from a
quarterly printed publication to the more
versatile digital version, producing relevant case studies and guidelines to help
organizations implement applications and
research to examine outcomes, develop
workflows, share experiences in problem
solving and gather insights into evolving
changes in issues such as reimbursement,
regulatory mandates and structural and
cultural organization changes. Additionally, it connected members and interests
to help promote the professional development mission of HIMSS. For more details,
see the history of HIMSS.
The new HIMSS Media approach is to
fill a broad need for both informational
and educational content within the community. As the Media group restructured,
it has acquired skilled subject matter
experts and a professional development
staff who will be responsible for editing
content and shaping the services that
will satisfy the HIMSS membership and
beyond.
In order to properly solicit input from
such a broad range of individuals and pro-
vide adequate time to build a plan, this cur-
rent edition will be JHIM’s last publication
in its current single-topic format. When the
new Journal launches later this year, it will
be with a product that has evolved to serve
the needs of HIMSS members with a better
use of digital media.
It has been my distinct pleasure and
honor as a HIMSS Fellow to have served
among distinguished industry leaders as
a member of the JHIM Editorial Advisory
Board for ten years and then as Rick Lang
stepped down to join the HIMSS Board, as
JHIM Editor for the past five years.
I would like to acknowledge and thank
a number of very important advisors and
dedicated contributors, the thought leaders and writers who gave their time and
innovative ideas selflessly year after year
to tackle the industry’s most current and
pressing topics, including healthcare
reform, Meaningful Use, ACA, interoperability, cybersecurity, patient-centered care,
mobile health and much more.
JHIM Editorial Advisory Board
Marion J. Ball, EdD
Eta S. Berner, EdD
William Bria, MD
John P. Glaser, PhD
Margaret M. Hassett, DO (dec)
Barbara Hoehn, MBA, RN
Sharon Klein, Esquire
James Langabeer, PhD
JHIM Columnists
Noam Artz, PhD, FHIMSS
Jeffrey Bauer, PhD
Gerry Blass
Robert B. Doe, esquire
David Metcalf
John Hueter, MBA
Rick Krohn, PhD
Roger Kropf, PhD
Ray Hess
Guy Scalzi MBA
Mark Stevens
The Best Is Yet to Come! JHIM
Mary Alice Annecharico,
MS, RN, FHIMSS, is
Sr. Vice President and COI at
Henry Ford Health System.
She can be reached at
Mannech1@hfhs.org.
