Time for a New AHIMA Mission Statement

Is it time for a new AHIMA mission statement? Seven AHIMA past presidents say “Yes” that is time to go forward with a clearly stated focus on member needs and professional development and advancement of the profession and public good by promoting the integrity of health information.

?In early June of this year, six other AHIMA past presidents and I signed a proposal to amend the association’s bylaws by changing the organization's current mission statement to one that clearly states the association’s responsibilities to its members and is consistent with its designation as a 501(c)(6) non-profit Professional Association whose purpose is to improve conditions for its members.?

Below is the association's current mission statement, followed by the proposed one we support:

• ?Current Mission Statement: Empowering people to Impact Health association’s?
• ?Proposed Mission Statement: AHIMA is a professional membership organization whose mission is to benefit its members, advocate for their professional interests and needs, and promote the advancement of the profession and the integrity of health information.

?Current status of proposed mission statement:? The proposal was submitted to AHIMA in early June. We are awaiting AHIMA’s response regarding approval to place the proposed bylaw amendment on the HOD agenda.

?Background and Rationale Supporting a New Mission Statement

AHIMA as a Professional Association

?AHIMA is a 501(c)(6 )non-profit. A 501(c)(6) is a Trade or Professional Association.

?A professional association is “an organization consisting of mission, objectives, structures, and processes centered about the education and development of a voluntary membership situated in the intersecting contexts of specific fields of knowledge and practices, clientele, and values” (Rusaw 1995, p. 217).

?The primary purposes, therefore, of a professional membership organization are to:

• Aid members in professional development through educational offerings, enhancing their professional network, providing career and job-search resources, and broadening their knowledge through Association literature and research
• Advance the profession and professional practice, and
• Serve the public good.

Comparison of AHIMA's Current Mission with Social Advocacy Group Missions

?AHIMA’s current mission statement, Empowering people to Impact Health ?,?does not clearly state the association’s responsibilities to its members and aligns more with the mission of a social advocacy organization rather than a professional membership organization.

The following definitions highlight the differences between a trade or professional association with a social advocacy group:·???????

• AHIMA is a 501(c)(6 )non-profit. A 501(c)(6) Trade or Professional Association is defined as an association whose purpose is to improve conditions for their members.
• A 501(c)(4) Social Advocacy Groups: Advocate or lobby whose purpose is to promote a certain social or political cause.

Assessment of AHIMA’s current mission statement by comparing the mission statements of a selection of 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) associations shows a misalignment of AHIMA’s mission with the stated purpose of its 501(c)(6) designation as a professional organization.?

Comparison Mission Statements: Social Advocacy Groups & Trade or Professional Organizations

Selected Mission Statements of the American Health Information Management Association

The following three AHIMA mission statements show a historical perspective of how AHIMA has clearly stated its mission and focus on member needs and professional development, advancement the profession and professional practice, and service the public good in the past.

?1985 (AHIMA President's Address to HOD 1985 and Huffman, 1985)

The mission of the American Medical Record Association is to:

• Achieve and maintain the highest attainable levels of professional competence in those who manage health records and health information systems;
• Be the nation’s authoritative body on health records and health information systems, and to be an advocate for the profession on governmental, academic, and social or business issues that affect the management of health records or health information systems;
• Advance the professional standing of those who manage health records and health information systems; and
• Contribute, within the scope of the profession, to quality and efficiency of health care.

?1997 (AHIMA President’s Address to the HOD 1997)

As a membership organization of health information professionals, the American Health Information Management Association fosters the professional development of its members through education, certification, and lifelong learning. These commitments thereby promote the quality of health information for the benefit of the public, the healthcare consumer, providers, and other users of clinical information

2001 (Johns, 2002)

The American Health Information Management Association is the community of professionals engaged in health information management, providing support to members and strengthening the industry and profession.

?

References

Membership Organizations https://boardsource.org/resources/membership-organization/

A Complete Guide to Membership Organizations: https://joinit.com/membership-organizations-guide

Types of Non-profit Designations. https://www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/nonprofit-designations-explained

Agarwal, Naresh Kumar, and Md Anwarul Islam 2016 How can professional associations continue to stay relevant? Knowledge management to the rescue https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pra2.2016.14505301028

Friedman, Andrew and Mary Phillips 2004 Balancing Strategy and Accountability A Model for the Governance of Professional Associations

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Henczel, S and P Macauley 2013 Professionalism Exploring the Role and Responsibility of Our Professional Associations https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan-Henczel/publication/262730023_Professionalism_Exploring_the_Role_and_Responsibility_of_Our_Professional_Associations/links/0f317538b0cbde8caf000000/Professionalism-Exploring-the-Role-and-Responsibility-of-Our-Professional-Associations

Huffman, E. 1985. Medical Record Management Eighth Edition. Berwyn: Physicians’ Record Company

Johns, M. 2002. Health Information Management Technology An Applied Approach. Chicago: American Health Information Management Association

Rusaw 1995. Learning by Association: Professional Organizations as Learning Agents https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hrdq.3920060209

Smith, David. (2010). Membership and Membership Associations. 10.1007/978-0-387-93996-4_562.

Wang, Yuan and Eyun-Jung Ki2? 2017. Membership Matters: Why Members Engage with Professional Associations https://eyunjungki.people.ua.edu/uploads/6/6/0/1/66018365/2017ijvnowangki.pdf