Even before last month's national conference for the Health Information Management Association of Australia (HIMAA) and National Centre for Classification in Health (NCCH) opened, it was clear that health information management really is “at the heart of healthcare”, the theme for this year’s event.

In opening the annual conference for Australia’s health information management (HIM) and clinical classification peak bodies respectively, the secretary of Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services Kym Peake described state of the art developments for Australia’s health reform 'pathfinder' jurisdiction, particularly in the area of eHealth, and health information management and clinical classification were central to reform at every turn.