Health Information Management (HIM) professionals play a critical role in ensuring accuracy, privacy, and efficiency in the handling of patient data within hospitals, clinics, research organizations, and healthcare systems. These workers manage, analyze, store, and safeguard health records, ensuring they are compliant with legal, statistical, and regulatory requirements. Their work supports clinicians, administrators, public health authorities, and policy makers by providing reliable data essential for medical decision-making. Many international applicants explore opportunities through Canadian immigration streams such as the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, which supports healthcare sector workforce needs across the province.

Professionals in this occupation must have a strong understanding of medical terminology, clinical documentation standards, anatomy, physiology, epidemiology, and healthcare legislation. Their duties go beyond record keeping—they contribute to healthcare quality improvement, risk management, and data-driven decision making. With the global increase in digital health records, HIM professionals are in high demand across Canada’s public and private healthcare sectors.

Main Duties

Health information management workers handle a broad range of responsibilities that ensure patient records are accurate, secure, and accessible to authorized personnel. These duties vary depending on the work environment but generally include:

• Collecting, organizing, and managing patient health information from physicians, nurses, lab technicians, and other healthcare professionals.

• Reviewing medical documentation for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with national and provincial health information regulations.

• Classifying and coding diseases, diagnoses, and medical procedures using standardized classification systems, such as ICD-10-CA and CCI.

• Managing and maintaining electronic health record (EHR) systems, ensuring confidentiality, encryption, and controlled access to sensitive data.

• Analyzing health data for research, quality assurance, audit reviews, healthcare planning, and policy development.

• Preparing statistical reports for hospitals, insurance companies, government agencies, and public health departments.

• Ensuring compliance with privacy legislation, including the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and other federal/provincial regulations.

• Educating healthcare staff on proper documentation practices, privacy obligations, and information management standards.

Because the profession involves both clinical and technical expertise, employers often value candidates with experience in coding, data analysis, and digital records management. In some cases, skilled trades streams—though not directly related to healthcare management—have been pathways for certain medical support professionals, which raises interest in programs like the Federal Skilled Trades Program, even if HIM typically falls under skilled worker categories rather than trades.

Additional Information

Health information management professionals often hold specialized post-secondary education in health information technology, health information management, or medical records administration. Many pursue certification through organizations such as the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA), which enhances job prospects and ensures competency in national standards.

With the shift toward digital transformation, the demand for HIM professionals has increased significantly. Hospitals continue to adopt advanced EHR systems, telehealth platforms, and digital imaging solutions, increasing the need for skilled professionals who can maintain data accuracy and integrity. HIM specialists are essential in healthcare transformation projects, clinical research initiatives, and health informatics programs.

Career progression is strong in this field. Workers may move into supervisory roles such as health records managers, privacy officers, clinical data analysts, quality improvement coordinators, or health informatics specialists. Some professionals provide consulting services to hospitals, clinics, or insurance firms, while others support academic or research institutions.

In addition to career advancement, many individuals explore family-related pathways to bring dependents or relatives to Canada under regulated streams like the Canada Sponsorship programme, which can support family settlement alongside professional growth. While this program is not employment-related, it is often considered by workers planning long-term residency and stability in Canada’s healthcare system.

Exclusions

The following occupations do not fall under NOC 1252 and are classified differently:

• Medical administrative assistants who handle administrative and clerical tasks rather than data management – classified under NOC 1243.

• Clinical coders and abstractors working exclusively on coding tasks may fall under specific coding classifications depending on their role.

• Database administrators and information system specialists responsible for designing or managing IT infrastructure – classified under information technology NOCs rather than health information management.

• Health policy researchers, analysts, and consultants who focus on public health policy instead of health data administration are grouped under policy development categories.

• Medical secretaries whose duties focus on scheduling, communication, and office coordination instead of data classification and health records management.

Understanding these exclusions is essential for accurate job classification when evaluating eligibility for immigration programs, employment applications, and professional certification pathways.

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