Renee Dean

• Year Graduated: 2000
• Current Position: Health Information Manager - North West Area Mental Health Service and NW/IW Aged Persons Mental Health Service (Melbourne, Victoria)

What attracted you to Health Information Management?
It was that it combined my interest in Health Care with administration/management. Now I love the variety within the job. So many aspects and so many different avenues that can be developed and explored. Each job is so varied, and there are so many different opportunities within the profession.

What kind of work does your position involve?
My current position encompasses every aspect of the Health Information Management spectrum. Some areas are:

• maintain and manage the Statewide Mental Health specific Information System for my Area, including training
• Integration of Mental Health files with General Hospital files
• Involvement in all programs within the area eg. Community Teams, Crisis Assessment Teams, Mobile Support Teams
• Documentation control and education to clinicians regarding standards and guidelines
• Forms Design
• Policy developement and reivew for Information service
• Quality Coordination: development of Quality Register, 6 monthly reporting to Commonwealth against National Mental Health Standards
• Involvement in Quality and Executive meetings
• Management and Review of FOI, ROI and Privacy guidelines, policies etc
• Data Management and statistics reporting
• Clinical Coding

What has been your career path to date?
Started work as the Clinical Information Manager in the Hunter Valley at Cessnock and Kurri Kurri District Hospitals, where I gained experience in all areas. If the opportunity presents itself and its practical, take up the chance to "do some time" in a rural area. You quickly learn what the business is about and have a steep but rewarding learning curve. I moved from there to my current position in Mental Health, which is proving to be challenging and rewarding yet again!