20 August 2026

Need access to a medical record? Trying to work out how to release patient information? Looking to understand the data submitted to the Department of Health (DoH), help with a Freedom of Information request or wondering why a clinical coder has come back with a question about your documentation? 

Chances are, Health Information Services (HIS) is somewhere in the background helping you get it sorted. 

The team of around 100 staff works across Austin Health's sites and bring together the Medical Record Department, Freedom of Information, Transcription and Corporate Records team, Clinical Coding Services and the Data Submissions team. 

Their job is to make sure the right health information is available to the right people, while keeping it accurate, secure and compliant with privacy and other requirements. 

For staff, that can mean providing access to the clinical information needed for patient care, research and education, helping teams navigate requests for patient information, supporting reporting and performance monitoring, and making sure the information we rely on across Austin Health can be trusted. 

It also means translating the care we provide into the data used to report and fund our activity. 

Every admitted episode at Austin Health is reviewed by a clinical coder, who translates documented diagnoses and procedures into standardised codes. It sounds simple enough, but it is a real skill. 

Coders work within hundreds of detailed rules and cannot make assumptions, even when the clinical meaning may seem obvious. 

For example, a high blood pressure reading and an order for antihypertensive medication cannot simply be coded as hypertension. The diagnosis needs to be documented by the treating team and linked to the treatment provided. 

Those questions from coders are not just about getting a technical rule right. Accurate documentation helps ensure the complexity of the care we provide is properly captured, reported and funded. 

It is highly specialised work. Clinical coding combines clinical knowledge, detailed coding rules and interpretation of medical documentation, and new coders can require 18 to 24 months of intensive hospital-based training to reach the required level of accuracy. 

Health Information Management Week is being celebrated this week, at a time when the profession is facing significant workforce shortages. 

Austin Health is helping build that future workforce, with a second-year Master of Health Information Management student currently completing a placement with HIS and developing resources to make it easier for teams across Austin Health to find the health information guidance they need. The team is also recruiting two clinical coding trainees. 

Director Health Information Services Kate Hunt said the team's work was often unseen, despite supporting staff and patients across the organisation. 

"Health Information Services is often a service people don't see, but one that touches every patient, every clinician and every part of Austin Health," Kate said. 

"Our team ensures health information is accurate, accessible, secure and trusted. 

"From supporting patient care and protecting privacy to enabling funding, research and service planning, the work of our staff helps Austin Health deliver safe, high-quality care every day."