Beyond Traditional and Nontraditional Roles: Reframing Health Information Practice Through the Health Information Continuum.

Background: The health information (HI) profession has expanded beyond hospital-centered roles, yet it continues to rely on the labels "traditional" and "nontraditional," which no longer reflect workforce realities. Methods: In this study, the authors used an evidence-informed, mixed-methods synthes...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Advances in Health Information Science & Practice Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 1 - 12
Autores principales: Grebner, Leah, Campbell, Angela
Formato: tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: American Health Information Management Association 2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Background: The health information (HI) profession has expanded beyond hospital-centered roles, yet it continues to rely on the labels "traditional" and "nontraditional," which no longer reflect workforce realities. Methods: In this study, the authors used an evidence-informed, mixed-methods synthesis incorporating federal workforce data, professional literature, and original survey data from HI practitioners and educators. Results: The findings demonstrate that HI roles are increasingly cross-sector, technology-enabled, and functionally interconnected, with substantial workforce activity occurring outside hospital settings and beyond federally classified roles. Conclusions: In this article, the authors introduce the Health Information Continuum as a conceptual framework that reframes HI work around shared competencies and the health data life cycle, offering a more accurate and inclusive model for workforce description, education, and professional identity.