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Let’s Get Together Rebecca Garris Perry; Zender, Anne . Association Management ;
Washington Vol. 56, Iss. 7, (Jul 2004): 28-33+. ProQuest document link ABSTRACT In 1999,
the American Health Information Management Association, Chicago, began an expedition
into the thenlittle-known world of communities of practice. Five years later, AHIMA’s
thriving online communities have helped its 48,000 members network and learn from each
other and have taught the 76-year-old association valuable new lessons about community
management. AHIMA’s members manage personal health information throughout the
health care industry. The rapidly changing practice environment and the expanding roles of
its members led AHIMA to explore communities of practice, or online forums that allow
members with common interests to network. In 1999, the phrase “communities of practice”
was just beginning to appear in business literature and referred to a new organizational
form that complements existing structures and facilitates knowledge sharing, learning, and
change. The steps taken to move the project forward included: 1. Agree to create a new
organizational model. 2. Make members drive the new model. 3. Research technology needs
and prepare a request for proposal. 4. Beta test the system. 5. Launch the communities of
practice. FULL TEXT Headnote Benefit by facilitating self-forming groups. IN 1999, THE
AMERICAN HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Association, Chicago, began an
expedition into the then-little-known world of communities of practice. Five years later,
AHIMA’s thriving online communities have helped its 48,000 members network and learn
from each other and have taught the 76-year-old association valuable new lessons about
community management. AHIMA’s members manage personal health information
throughout the health care industry, Since information management practices started
migrating from paper to electronic systems, the professional practices in the field have
undergone profound changes. Recent workforce research, for example, shows that today’s
health information management professionals work in 40 different settings, from hospitals
to pharmaceutical companies, and have 200 different job titles, from privacy officer to data
quality manager. The rapidly changing practice environment and the expanding roles of its
members led AHIMA to explore communities of practice, or online forums that allow
members with common interests to network. As the communities-of-practice project has
become a part of the association’s day-to-day operations, AHIMA has enhanced its benefits
to members, learned how to support member-driven communities, and learned how to
define success. This article describes why AHIMA created online communities and the
challenges, benefits, and lessons we learned that may be relevant for your association as

2. you undertake similar activities. Members’ changing needs When AHIMA’s leadership
decided to launch communities of practice, the association was at a turning point. The
health information OeIcI had been evolving and changing, but it was clear that the pace of
change was about to accelerate dramatically. The technological barriers to electronic health
records were largely solved, and consensus was growing that bringing health care into the
information age was an important national agenda item (or reasons PDF GENERATED BY
SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 7 ranging from the cost and safety of health care to the
aging population. Health information management professionals needed to help drive
change and that meant that they couldn’t wait for best practices to bubble up to the national
level, be packaged, and trickle back down. The association needed new ways of
disseminating information and supporting members in solving day-to-day work challenges.
To that end, in 1998, AHIMA’s board of directors charged a special task force to create a
new organizational model designed to allow the association to be more mcmber-centcred
and facilitate interactions between and among members across geographic barriers. Early
in the process, AHIMA conducted a member values assessment as part of its annual member
survey. The assessment provided some interesting insights into what members were
thinking: * They were convinced of the need to adapt to an accelerating economy and
workplace and were willing to change. * Many wanted to become more involved in the
association but were not particularly interested in governance-type roles. * They needed
ways to better leverage information to work more efficiently and effectively. * They needed
to keep up with increasing pressures on the workforce and the increased diversity of
workplace roles. For its part, the association wanted to develop an organizational structure
that would accommodate this increased diversity in workplace roles as well. Our existing
model, with its six specialty groups, was no longer adequate or cost-effective given the
number of job niches members now occupied. With members holding 200 job titles, AHIMA
could not afford to support the corresponding number of specialty groups and needed a
more flexible way to connect members. Clearly, the time was right for change. AHIMA
needed to develop ways for its members to more effectively tap into their collective body of
professional knowledge. And by providing the right tools, AHIMA aimed to remain the
primary source of professional information for its members. Selecting the model In 1999,
we found the solutions to our needs in a relatively new concept called practice
communities. At that time, the phrase “communities of practice” was just beginning to
appear in business literature and referred to a new organizational form that complements
existing structures and facilitates knowledge sharing, learning, and change. (One
particularly influential article, “Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier,” by
Etienne Wenger and William Snyder, appeared in the January-February 2000 Harvard
Business Review.) It was reassuring to learn that leading companies were using this
organizational form, although association experience at the time was almost nonexistent.
Here are the steps we took to move the project forward: Agree to create a new
organizational model. The task force recommended a new functional model for the
association with members at its center. A key component was communities of practice.
AHIMA’s intention in creating these communities was to build more than a Web site. We
planned to create a one-stop professional practice resource where members could learn to

3. do their jobs better-from each other. The site would include tools such as threaded
discussion forums, chat rooms, access to industry news, and, importantly, access to an
online body of knowledge for the field. The board approved the model in January 2000.
Make members drive the new model. AHIMA board and staff understood that it was not
sufficient to say, “build it and they will come” with regard to our new model. Instead, the
initiative would be centered on and driven by members. The real value would be added
when members could virtually put their heads together to solve problems, share resources,
and generate new ideas about their workplace problems. As members of the communities,
individuals would provide support to each other by sharing experiences and answering
other members’ questions. Staff would provide resources and support, but member
involvement would make communities come alive, making them a compelling member
benefit. Research technology needs and prepare a request for proposal. The decision to
create online communities was a significant one, especially given that off-theshelf solutions
were limited and did not reflect the vision and PDF GENERATED BY
SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 7 specifications for which members were asking.
Therefore, the only viable option at the time was a custom-built solution. A cross-functional
staff team created a request for proposal to find a vendor to create the communities. The
document covered the features that eventually would be a part of the communities of”
practice: discussion forums, chat rooms, and document-sharing capabilities; the ability for
members to join communities at will; and the capability to integrate with AHIMA’s member
database. The cost: $300,000; months to implement; and staff time spent on designing,
testing, and redesigning. Of course, today, off-the-shelf options incorporate many of the
features AHIMA had to custom build only four years ago. Beta test the system. By early
2001, the association was ready to launch betatest communities. Three communities were
included in our beta launch: a geography-based community for the state of Illinois, a
positionbased community for directors of integrated health care delivery systems, and a
community for one of the former specialty groups. Volunteers tested the communities, road-
testing the functions, noting system hugs, and providing feedhack to stall via weekly
conference calls. Initial feedback helped AHIMA understand the kinds of issues that first-
time users might encounter-most of which related to making the site user-friendly and
intuitiveand fine-tune things. Launching the communities of practice. Finally, the project
moved to an operational stage. The communities of practice were unveiled at AHIMA’s
national convention in October 2001. Volunteers showed the audience how the
communities would work; and, later, members attended hands-on training sessions, which
AHIMA continucs to offer each year. Almost immediately, AHIMA began to monitor and
collect user feedback, and we continue to make modifications to improve usability, based on
the profile of members and their unique requests and needs. Fast forward Today, AHIMA’s
communities of practice comprise an interactivity-rich, Web-based portal that members use
to access the association’s full range of knowledge resources, maintain dynamic mcmbcr-to-
membcr networking groups, share professional practice solutions, and conduct a variety of
association business. For instance, while AHIMA’s house of delegates still meets facc-to-face
once a year at the convention, it discusses and votes on issues year-round through its
community. Members also have the ability to vote in national elections for the board of

4. directors via communities. To participate in these communities, members use common
Webbased tools, including threaded discussion forums, chat rooms, polls, and news feeds.
Also the communities facilitate membcr-to-member networking through a variety of
options, including * links to the FORK Library: HIM Body of Knowledge, an online repository
of articles and items related to health information management practices (the body of
knowledge site was developed at the same time as the communities of practice and is an
integral part of the strategy to make the association indispensable to members); * the ability
to share previously created documents (forms, policies, and procedures) that demonstrate
best practices; * the ability for members to easily propose, lead, and disband communities
as needed (all that’s required is a topic related to the industry and a facilitator); and * access
to a detailed member profile function to search for others with similar interests, job titles,
and geographic locations. Staff support AHIMA’s staff participation in this project has
evolved across time. While we did not add staff to support the communities, the initiative
has touched every part of the organization and, in some cases, resulted in a shifting of
priorities and projects within departments. Support for the communities of practice comes
from the following departments: * Volunteer services. Volunteer services staff originally
administered the six specialty groups and their related activities, including board
communication, budgets, newsletters, educational conferences, and so forth. They now
support the communities of practice, doing everything from training and mentoring
facilitators, monitoring PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 7
community activity, and attempting to increase member usage of the communities to
writing facilitator and member help guides and providing group training at the AHIMA
annual convention. * Information technology. One Web services staff member provided
technology support for the initiative during the vendor selection process and throughout
the first year following implementation. This required about 50 percent of his time. During
the past couple of years, however, that time has been reduced to 5-10 percent. The initial
time commitment was directly related to the custom-built solution (probably less time
would have been required if we had chosen an off-the-shelf solution). Information
technology staff members continue to monitor the communityofpractice technology
infrastructure and enhancements. * Membership. Our membership department monitors
integration of the communities with the association’s membership database. When
professionals join AHIMA, staff provides access to the communities within 24 hours. In
addition, membership staff ensure that members provide demographic and job-related data
for the database, which enables community users to search for fellow members with
specific jobs, skills, and interests. * Marketing. This department creates collateral materials
that orient members to the benefits of communities and encourage participation. Marketing
also has conducted several campaigns to get the word out about the project. *
Communication. Major efforts of this department focus on informing members of the
benefits of the communities through vehicles such as the magazine, print newsletters, and
an e-mail newsletter. * Senior staff. Because AHIMA’s board and senior staff viewed this
initiative as an opportunity to increase the value of association services, it was important
that senior staff take an active role. AHIMA’s senior vice president served as the project’s
liaison to the board and led the cross-functional team from 2000 to 2002. New

5. opportunities for volunteer leaders As staff responsibilities changed, volunteer
responsibilities changed, too. AHIMA’s previous governance structure allowed national
leaders to emerge through the ranks of its 52 geographic chapters. Communities of practice
created a new channel-the role of community facilitator-to identify emerging volunteer
leaders. Up-and-coming practice and technology experts can now be recognized and
perhaps encouraged to move into committee or hoard positions. In fact, the key to a rich
community is its facilitators, who volunteer to support and champion the success of a
particular community. Their participation allows the communities to be truly member-
driven. Facilitators monitor activity within the community, encourage member
participation, and organize community events (virtual or face-tofacc). If a facilitator stays
engaged with his or her community of practice, the community thrives; if content grows
stagnant, members eventually stop returning, and the community withers. The duties of a
facilitator include * starting discussions; * polling community members; * ensuring content
is up-to-date; * ensuring members’ questions are answered; * coordinating communication
to members; * identifying and using experts; * scheduling and hosting chat sessions; *
managing and organizing community resources; and * planning face-to-face community
events, as well as virtual. Staff support facilitators with initial one-on-one training, Followed
by ongoing training via biweekly chats and updates. In-person facilitator training takes
place annually at the national convention. In addition, staff recruit new facilitators for
inactive communities of practice. They often do this via e-mail messages that ask for
volunteers to serve and outline the benefits of volunteering. If a facilitator cannot be found,
the community is closed. Hut if a facilitator emerges, the same community of practice can
start again. We have found that a team of two or three facilitators is best, especially for an
active community. Creating member-driven communities in which members interact with
each other, share documents, and initiate PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM
Page 4 of 7 events, all without staff assistance, remains AHIMA’s biggest challenge. Keys to a
rich community of practice By February 2004, AHIMA’s communities of practice included
200 communitics and 300 facilitators. The most vibrant communities are those that relate
to an aspect of a particular practice or to a hot professional challenge. Five types of
communities support participating members: issue based (e.g., implementing regulations);
role based (e.g., health care privacy officers); setting based (e.g., health information
management as applied to physician clinics); geography based (e.g., state or local groups,
often in conjunction with the component state associations); and governance related (e.g.,
facilitating the work of volunteer groups). To date, 25,000 of our 48,000 members have
visited the communities. Members are using the communities in the following ways: *
Choosing the communities that reflect their professional interests, and joining as many as
they’d like, at no additional charge. Our six specialty groups used to cost $35 per group. *
Keeping current via a single point of access to association news, industry news, and the
professional body of knowledge. * Interacting with colleagues by posting questions; sharing
observations; sharing documents, data, or images; or attending chat sessions on topics of
interest. * Initiating new communities of practice related to specific job functions, practice
settings, or special interests and steering the content according to their collective needs. *
Contacting colleagues who share common interests, job titles, and geographic locations.

6. Measuring success In many ways, the communities are already fulfilling the original dream
of a new way for members to communicate and share information. As we had hoped, the
communities of practice are attracting new AHIMA members who are drawn by the
communities’ promise. For example, AHIMA membership has increased by an average of 8
percent for the past two years. It’s impossible to determine how much of the new growth is
directly attributable to communities, but we believe that communities contribute to the
overall excellence of AHIMA’s member benefits. And we are encouraged by reports of
employers that believe the communities are relevant to employees’ work (and that, in some
cases, have resumed paying dues for their employees). Surveys of communitiesof-practice
users have yielded the following positive comments: * It “gives me an automatic network of
peers for sharing similar practice issues.” * “It is beneficial to see what questions are out
there and how others are coping with their problems.” * It provides “instant information
when most needed.” * “Questions and situations that I hadn’t considered are brought to my
attention and add to my knowledge” when I use the communities of practice. Staff and
volunteers are working to mcrcmcntally increase member participation. Although we may
never sec 100 percent participation, every member who uses the communities makes them
stronger. At the same time, the communities are just one of many resources AHIMA
provides to ensure that members will find the association relevant now and in the future. In
fewer than three years, AHIMA has seen the benefits of communities of practice in
advancing health information management practice, providing a complement to face-to-face
member networking, and increasing the perceived value of AHIMA to its members. Sidebar
The key to a rich community is its facilitators, who volunteer to support and champion the
success of a particular community Their participation allows the communities to be truly
member-driven. AuthorAffiliation By Rebecca Garris Perry, CAE, and Anne Zender
AuthorAffiliation Rebecca Garris Perry, CAE, is senior vice president and chief financial
officer and Anne Zender is director of PDF GENERATED BY SEARCH.PROQUEST.COM Page 5
of 7 communications at the American Health Information Management Association, Chicago.
E-mails: becky.perry@ahima.org and anne.zender@ahima.org. DETAILS Subject: Health
care; Medical records; Associations; Community support; Organizational change; Case
studies Location: United States US Company / organization: Name: American Health
Information Management Association; NAICS: 813920 Classification: 8320: Health care
industry; 5260: Records management; 9540: Non-profit institutions; 2320: Organizational
structure; 9110: Company specific; 9190: United States Publication title: Association
Management; Washington Volume: 56 Issue: 7 Pages: 28-33+ Publication year: 2004
Publication date: Jul 2004 Publisher: American Society of Association Executives Place of
publication: Washington Country of publication: United States, Washington Publication
subject: Business And Economics–Management ISSN: 00045578 Source type: Trade
Journals Language of publication: English Document type: Feature ProQuest document ID:
229329596 Document URL: https
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