Our Health Information Services team went above and beyond during COVID-19.
10 – 16 May is Health Information Management Awareness Week (HIMA Week).
To celebrate, we are acknowledging the tremendous efforts of our Health Information Services (HIS) team which works tirelessly behind the scenes at Peninsula Health and went above and beyond during Covid-19.
“We are exceptionally proud of our staff who have worked so hard and done so well under extreme circumstances,” says Acting Director of HIS, Peter Jackson.
“Despite the many obstacles thrown our way in 2020, the team was resilient, positive, adaptable and cheerful. They rose to the challenge every day and succeeded.”
The HIS team’s roles are as vast as they are important. They oversee all aspects of document management (including medical records, health information policies and corporate records), clinical coding, data reporting, information release, and management of the digitised medical record.
The team was split in two during the peak of Covid-19, with the clinical coding staff required to work entirely from home and the clerical staff remaining on-site.
“The essential tasks performed by our staff continued, but we had to adapt,” says Peter.
“Having our clerical team remain on-site had its challenges. We had to adapt to the changes to policies and guidelines within the hospital in order to keep staff and patients Covid-safe.”
“It was difficult for our coding team, too, due to the lack of work-related social interaction and face-to-face conferring over any issues that arose.”
“Despite these obstacles, the team adapted incredibly well and we are tremendously proud of them all.”
Recognising the importance of staff morale and wellbeing, the HIS team implemented a range of new activities to help stay connected during the peak of COVID-19 including:
- Bi-weekly virtual wellbeing catch-ups with all staff working remotely
- Light-hearted, 5-minute virtual exercise sessions with both on-site and off-site staff
- Regular huddles with all staff to communicate Peninsula Health/Covid-19 updates and escalate any relevant issues
- The annual HIS footy tipping contest, which was won by Dianne Long.
“The way staff looked out for and supported each other, whether working remotely or on-site, was fantastic,” says Peter.
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