The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) opened a Global Services Office in Brussels, Belgium to serve as a hub for decision-making for leading health information management (HIM) institutions.

The decision to establish an office in Europe sprung from AHIMA's desire to respond with a multinational outreach to trends in the health care industry including digitization, e-health, cross-border care, telemedicine and providing medical care for travelers.

Vera Rulon, AHIMA President, affirmed that viable HIM is essential to providing quality health care worldwide. Additionally, two of AHIMA's goals are to advance industry standards for HIM and accredit the educational systems required to advance the HIM practice around the globe. The hope is also that the hub office will encourage building relationships with other HIM professionals throughout the world.

"For a while now, AHIMA has been actively looking into new development opportunities that promise to serve health care consumers as well as the greater health care community," commented Rulon.

"AHIMA believes that close collaboration with similar organizations focused on health care can leverage the debate and bring strength to the non-governmental sector. AHIMA is committed to the advancement of health information in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning," said Sandy Fuller, AHIMA COO.

AHIMA, an advocacy organization for quality health care information, globally represents more than 53,000 HIM professionals.

More Industry Headlines