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About CAHIIM

CAHIIM accredits degree-granting programs in Health Informatics and Information Management that have undergone a rigorous process of voluntary peer review and have met or exceeded the minimum accreditation Standards as set by the professional association in cooperation with CAHIIM. These programs are granted accreditation status by CAHIIM, which provides public recognition of such achievement.

The CAHIIM Mission

"The Commission:

• Establishes and enforces accreditation Standards for educational programs;
• Recognizes through accreditation programs that meet the Standards;.
• Encourages educational innovation and diversity; and
• Advances the value of Health Informatics and Information Management practice through quality education.”

CAHIIM strives to carry out its mission by promoting, evaluating, and improving the quality of undergraduate and graduate health informatics and information management education in the United States and internationally. Through our partnership with academe and the practice fields, CAHIIM serves colleges and universities in a voluntary peer review process as a means to continuously improve quality education to meet healthcare workforce needs. As a result, CAHIIM Accreditation becomes the benchmark by which students and employers determine the integrity of health information education for the global community.

Additionally, CAHIIM serves the public interest by operating in a consistent manner with all applicable ethical, business and accreditation best practices. Accreditation is a voluntary, self-regulatory process by which nongovernmental associations recognize educational programs found to meet or exceed standards for educational quality. Accreditation also assists in the further improvement of these educational programs as related to resources invested, processes followed, and outcomes achieved. The monitoring of degree instruction is tied closely to national professional association competencies for practice in the profession

Purpose

CAHIIM and its sponsoring organization(s) cooperate to establish, maintain, and promote appropriate standards of quality for postsecondary educational programs in health informatics and information management to provide a competent, skilled professional workforce for the healthcare industry.

By stating that a program has met established academic standards, CAHIIM accreditation provides the following value for:

• Students
• Allows applicant and prospective students to identify institutions and programs that meet established standards for professional career entry.
• Academic Institutions
• Provides a structured framework for ensuring sound educational practices, which involve faculty and staff in a comprehensive evaluation plan for the academic program;
• Stimulates self-improvement by providing nationally acceptable standards against which the program can self-evaluate to meet the needs of students, the profession, and the public;
• Provides a frame of reference for the program to identify resources that may be needed to maintain or enhance the curriculum;
• Provides consultative feedback on possible areas of concern and where excellence is achieved.
• Community and the Public
• Provides outcomes information about the academic program by a peer review organization whose function is to assess quality and content of the educational experience with entry-level competencies for the profession and the public;
• Supports the process of professional certification by providing reasonable assurance of quality educational preparation;.
• Provides an implied level of assurance of a quality healthcare workforce dedicated to the safety and protection of health information through quality educational preparation.
• Employers
  • Provides assurance that graduates of a program accredited by CAHIIM have achieved an acceptable level of quality in education based on minimum national standards.

History

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has conducted specialized programmatic accreditation since 1943, operating jointly with the American Medical Association and in subsequent collaboration with the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

In 2004, the AHIMA House of Delegates voted to establish an indepednent accreditation commission (CAHIIM) with sole and independent authority in all matters pertaining to accreditation of educational programs in health informatics and information management.