Exploring the research competencies and skills utilised by health information managers in their professional practice: A documentary analysis
Merilyn Riley, Grant Smith, Melanie Tassos, Stephanie Gjorgioski, Joan Henderson, Jenny Davis, Kerin RobinsonBackground:
Health information managers (HIMs) routinely support research through their management, clinical coding, and governance of health data and information. Recent research highlights a disconnect between the reliance, for research, on HIM-managed data and the extent to which HIMs and others within the wider health information management workforce engage in research.
Objective:
To investigate the implicit and explicit uses of research skills by Australia’s HIMs in their professional practice, by: (i) describing the characteristics of abstracts published in the Health Information Management Association of Australia’s (HIMAA’s) Conference Proceedings, 2020–2025; (ii) identifying the application of research-related skills and knowledge, explicitly or implicitly stated, within “professional practice/case-study” (PP/CS) abstracts authored by Australian HIMs.
Method:
A qualitative documentary analysis of abstracts was undertaken, and descriptive characteristics were extracted. For PP/CS abstracts, a competency-based scoring tool was developed. The five research-based, profession entry-level competencies in the HIMAA 2023 Competency Standards, Domain E, were utilised to categorise explicit and implicit research knowledge/skills using the criteria: Implicit (suggested, but not stated); Explicit (clearly stated and appropriate); None (no evidence of indicator). Scores applied were: 0
Results:
“Classification, clinical documentation and coding excellence” was the most frequent topic addressed (38.9%), followed by “workforce transformation and professional collaboration” (16.7%). Of 106 PP/CS abstracts eligible for analysis, 35% (
Conclusion:
These findings demonstrate that research skills are embedded within routine professional practice and not confined to formal research activities.
Implications for health information management practice:
Research competencies appear to be used implicitly in everyday decision-making and problem-solving, to interpret clinical documentation, apply coding standards, evaluate information, and support data quality.