ArticleHealth information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia2026
Early-career pathways in health information management: A comparison of graduates' position titles and knowledge-skill domains using two classificatory methodologies.
Article in Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study extended prior research on employment outcomes of the 2012-2016 and 2017-2021 health information manager (HIM) graduate cohorts from La Trobe University, Australia.
objectives(1) To classify graduates' early-career pathways, applying two classificatory methodologies, employing (a) position title (methodology 1), (b) self-reported knowledge and skills-based duties (methodology 2); (2) To compare outcomes of the methodologies; (3) To examine graduates' duties within the profession's established knowledge-skills domains and inform understanding of HIMs' roles.
methodResidual data from prior cross-sectional studies were applied to early-career graduate HIM positions, using the two classificatory methodologies.
resultsMethodology 1 showed a greater proportion of roles under the "Health Information Management" domain. Methodology 2 revealed more roles aligned with the "Health Information Systems" and "Data Management and Analytics" domains. A longitudinal increase in health systems implementation, system documentation development, database management, and IT system support and maintenance characterised increasing "technologisation" of HIM roles ("Health Information Systems" domain). Clinical coding of admitted episodes ("Health Classification" domain) was the most frequently reported skill utilised in HIMs' first post-graduation position, offset by a slight, longitudinal decrease in clinical coding engagement. The 2017-2021 cohorts progressively reduced involvement in clinical coding roles, instead utilising more skills in the "Health Information Systems" and "Data Management and Analytics" domains. Methodology 1 showed a cohort 1 to cohort 2 increase in graduates assigned to the "Data Management and Analytics" domain (10.2-16.6%); Methodology 2 showed a simultaneous decrease (22.0-15.1%), arguably influenced by artefactual differences. The apparent decline in the "Data Management and Analytics" domain should be viewed cautiously owing to HIMs' increasingly data-driven work.
conclusionReliance on job title may oversimplify or misrepresent the scope of HIMs' duties. Choice of classificatory methodology significantly impacts upon the domain to which HIMs' roles are categorised. The findings support a skill- and duty-based methodology for accurate capture of evolving HIM roles.Implications for health information management practice:This research provides valuable insights into HIM workforce trends, and foundations for (a) longitudinal career pathway and skills mapping and (b) a visual tool (career map) to support the profession's visibility, promotion, and development of illustrative career trajectories.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.