Health Information Management Program

Linda Choy
Analyst, Health Reporting and Analysis Branch,
Canadian Institute for Health Information
Class of 2002

Linda Choy was working in accounting, dreaming of a more fulfilling career when she heard about Douglas College's Health Information Management Program. Here was a field that complemented her business background while giving something back to the community.

Now Choy is starting a new job as an Analyst in the Health Reporting and Analysis Branch at the Canadian Institute for Health Information in Toronto. "I would never have thought I'd be doing something like this. It's such a specialized field and not very well-known," says Choy.

Before landing this position, Choy was responsible for abstracting and coding in-patient obstetrical charts as a Health Record Administrator at the Children and Women's Health Centre of BC. "We review the patient's charts and pick out certain pieces of information such as what was the main reason the patient came to the hospital and which procedures were performed. Then we take all of this information and assign international standardized codes to it," she says.

The information goes into a database and is sent to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, which processes the data to produce national statistics and reports for hospitals and the Ministry of Health.

In today's climate of hospital accountability, the role of health information services is more important than ever. "Knowledge is power. We're providing information to important decision makers," says Choy. "It really affects health policy in the hospital and at the provincial level -- it gives a true reflection of what's going on. Everyone can talk about a shortage of nurses but you need actual numbers to find out where the shortage is."

Coding everything saves a lot of time, says Choy. "It makes it easy to run queries or statistical analysis or conduct a study. A doctor working on a research project won't have to go through all of the charts themselves to gather data."

Laurie Kenward, an instructor in the Health Information Services Program at Douglas College, says, "If a hospital wanted to know the ten most common diagnoses for patients or whether or not they need to hire a new cardiologist or if they should open a diabetic daycare, the information compiled by the coders would give them the answers."

Many of Kenward's students go on to this type of work, after gaining practical experience as a student. Choy says, "I thought it was really great that every week we went as a class to the Royal Columbian Hospital and got real-life experience."

Others become gatekeepers of information, making sure requests for medical records aren't violating BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Some of them become analysts like Choy.

"It's a real coup for Linda to land a job like that so early in her information services career," says Kenward. As a student, Choy won the Health Records Association of BC professionalism award.

She is very satisfied with her new line of work. "There's a lot of reading and communication involved. Deciphering a chart is subjective and there are a lot of times when you need to bounce ideas off other coders," says Choy. Tackling a complex chart is really rewarding, she adds. "It's like solving a big brain teaser."

To find out more about Douglas College's Health Information Management Program, attend a free information session. For information call Laurie Kenward, the Health Information Management Program Coordinator, at 604-527-5076.

Visit the Health Information Management Program