The Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has announced that its merged with the Laguna Beach, Calif.-based American College of Medical Coding Specialists (ACMCS). According to AHIMA, the more than 500 members of the ACMCS will join AHIMA.
AHIMA says the two organizations share a “natural synergy” due to their commitment to advocating for and advancing practices within the medical coding and health information management profession. ACMCS members will be given access to AHIMA’s various career and educational resources.
“We embrace our newest members, and we are confident they will find a good home at AHIMA,” AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, said in a statement. “We are appreciative of ACMCS members’ expertise and are certain their specific skills in the physician’s office and outpatient arena will complement the knowledge and abilities of our members.”
The ACMCS certification issues will now be dealt with by the Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM). Within the next two months, CCHIIM will figure out how it will proceed with ACMCS certification exams and the recertification of ACMCS certified professionals.
“I am thrilled that ACMCS and AHIMA have joined forces to meet the coding and compliance challenges facing outpatient, professional and physician coding experts,” Gretchen L. Segado, former chair of ACMCS Board of Governors, said in a statement. “Joining AHIMA will provide ACMCS members access to a wealth of resources that ACMCS is unable to provide on its own, as well as a more influential voice in the future of the profession.”
