About Us

Founded in 1947, the South Dakota Health Information Management Association is a component association (CA) of the American Health Information Management Association. Susie Tyson, RRA initiated the effort to form the South Dakota Chapter of the American Association of Medical Record Librarians. The first meeting was held October 18, 1947 in Watertown to elect four officers. Later on that year, a meeting was held in Mitchell to adopt the constitution and bylaws. It is hard to imagine the tremendous effort these four women put into coordinating the medical record professionals of South Dakota! As the years went by membership and meeting attendance increased. Along with increased membership came organization name changes. The first came about 25 years after the initial meeting making the organization the South Dakota Medical Record Association (SDMRA). Times kept changing; thus, another name change to the South Dakota Health Information Management Association (SDHIMA) in 1992.

The purpose of this association is to promote the art and science of health information management and to improve the quality of comprehensive health information service for the welfare of the public in the State of South Dakota.

SDHIMA is affiliated with the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations, an association of hospitals, long term care facilities, and other healthcare professional groups. SDAHO, with offices in Sioux Falls, SD, provides clerical support and informational resources, as well as being actively involved in healthcare legislative and policy issues in South Dakota.