Meet health information professionals at VCH
Health Information Management (HIM) is a leader in the collection, storage, and use of patient information within British Columbia. As a consolidated Lower Mainland department of Providence Health Care, HIM has staff at 42 geographically dispersed locations across Vancouver Coastal Health and at other local health authorities. Learn more at www.himconnect.ca.
In celebration of Health Information Management week, take the time to meet and celebrate the work of health information professionals!
Alan Ford
New Patient Referral Clerk
BCCA Vancouver Island
“New patient clerks are the first point of contact for referrals through BC Cancer. We pair patients to the appropriate oncologists, book screening tests, and ensure they receive timely access to lifesaving care.”
Tiffany Poelvoorde
Emergency Registration Clerk
Ridge Meadows
“The role patient registration plays in the hospital: greeting and registering patient, as well as, verifying all patient’s information and insurance details are accurate and up-to-date in both Main Registration and Emergency. We are the first point of contact a patient sees when entering a hospital.”
Lois Clayton
Release of Information Clerk
St. Paul’s Hospital
“I never know what the day will bring. Whether we are releasing information to help a patient fast track to a specialist, assisting the Ministry for child protection, processing requests for lawyers, insurance companies, or law enforcement, or just lending a compassionate ear to those suffering the loss of a loved one; I am proud to be a part of a dedicated ROI team who treats each unique request as if it were our own.”
Cheryl Macapagal
Health Records Clerk
BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital
“As a member of the Health Records Department, I have a legal and moral obligation to ensure a high quality of patient care and to strive to improve care by ensuring that all of the patient’s charts and medical records are complete and up to date, as well as, readily available to medical practitioners and others (patients, law firms, insurance companies and the healthcare ministries) requesting for such information.”
Sherry Scarff
Health Records Clerk
Langley Memorial
“I’m in a hybrid role supporting Quality Assurance and Release of Information, as needed. I also jump in and help prep, scan and verify charts. These multiple roles allow me to see the chart from start to finish so it’s clear to me the importance of a complete, quality health record.”
Christopher Vilches
Education Specialist, Front End Speech Recognition
Transcription Services
“As an Education Specialist with Transcription Services, my role is focused on training and supporting physicians, and other dictation users, in front end speech recognition (FESR). We are deploying FESR initially as a stand-alone application throughout VCH, PHSA and PHC, and then integrating it for use in Cerner.”
“As an educator, I am responsible for ensuring that providers follow LMHIM regional standards and best practices when they dictate, and assisting them using this new tool. Each provider is unique and we are often engaged to assist them with personalizing FESR to maximize their use of the tool.”
Jett De Leon, CHIM
Health Records Administrator I
Howe Street Coding Office
“As coders, we extract important pieces of information from patient documentation to inform decision-making in many areas of healthcare. Along with our clinical knowledge, established coding standards ensure that the data we extract is accurate, complete, and a useful resource for physicians and administrators alike.”
Judy Tomiak, CHIM
Coding Business Support
1080 Howe St.
“My role contributes to Patient Safety in Canadian Acute Care Hospitals. I work with a Data Quality team who work is to ensure accurate coding of Harm Indicators to measure variations in patient safety.”
Steve Sung
ETL Architect/Developer
HIM Business Solutions
“I provide technical leadership to ensure that the Business Intelligence and data management solutions that our team develops not only meet the operational and leadership needs but also follow best practices and ultimately improve patient care.”