Health information professionals are keenly aware of the calls for more data sharing by the federal government and others, yet they face substantial opposition from those who have only known how to operate in a culture governed by strict regulations, litigation threats, administrative siloes, and more.

Recognizing this gap, the American Health Information Management Association knew it needed a way to spur data sharing to improve patient healthcare. The result: the IGPulseRate assessment tool, which was awarded ASAE's 2016 Gold Circle Merit Award in the "New Product/Service Launch Campaign" category.

What the Tool Is

Information governance (IG) is one of AHIMA's five strategic initiatives. IGPulseRate is the beginning of the organization's ambitious goal toward achieving this initiative, providing members a mechanism to measure their organization's progress. "Measuring IG maturity provides a reliable way for organizations to understand their current capabilities and establish a baseline for pursuing and measuring IG improvement," said AHIMA Marketing Manager Jackie D. Palmer, MBA.

We are challenging organizations to look at information more holistically.—Katherine Downing, American Health Information Management Association

After answering a set of questions related to IG competencies, this free, web-based program scores an organization's IG adoption maturity on a scale of 1 to 5. AHIMA also encourages organizations to go back to the tool quarterly to track their progress. "We are challenging organizations to look at information more holistically," said Katherine Downing, MA, RHIA, CHP, PMP, senior director of AHIMA IG Advisors.

How They Introduced It

The success of any new product like IGPulseRate relies a lot on marketing. For AHIMA, its effort centered on a grassroots campaign to energize its members.

At the tool's soft launch at the 2015 AHIMA convention in New Orleans, 3,000 attendees were given a sneak peek at the assessment tool. They were also given scratch-off tickets on the expo hall floor and at their hotels that promised a prize—everything from a tote bag to a button—if they completed the assessment.

After that, AHIMA then turned its focus to determining a baseline of existing awareness among its members of IG. Based on those results, it applied a full-court press to increase IG awareness. This strategy included distributing white papers and infographics, hosting webinars, providing tradeshow displays, conducting discussions, and speaking at industry events. And, then, of course, it pushed for healthcare professionals to take the assessment so they could uncover their IG maturity rating.

Results of the IGPulseRate launch were tabulated and sorted by demographics to determine further marketing activities. Metrics showed that AHIMA reached nearly 10,000 individuals with its efforts—and the group continues to reassess and tweak today.