CHIME was formed with the dual objective of serving the professional development needs of healthcare CIOs, and advocating the more effective use of information management within healthcare. The need for an organization like CHIME had become apparent to leaders of the HIMSS and CHIME organizations during their strategic planning sessions in 1991. A special task force was formed to develop initiatives that would respond to this need, and from those planning efforts sprang the CHIME concept. The idea gained immediate support from the HIMSS and CHIME organizations, and planning efforts moved swiftly forward to launch the new organization in 1992.

CHIME's first Board was comprised of individuals who had participated in CHIME's development. This included HIMSS and CHIME leaders, as well as CIOs with leadership experience in related organizations such as HISEA and ECHO. CHIME was unveiled at the 1992 HIMSS Annual Conference, and the membership quickly grew to more than 250 members by year's end. The CHIME organization played a major supporting role in CHIME's development, providing staff and office support to the new organization. A three-year development period was initiated for CHIME to provide this support, extending through 1994. CHIME was created as a complement to HIMSS, intending to provide a specific focus for healthcare CIOs. CHIME events and activities were designed to reflect that purpose, including CIO-oriented surveys, education programs, and networking activities.

Forward Progress

Thanks to a very warm reception from the healthcare industry, CHIME's first 15 years have yielded a number of significant accomplishments. CHIME's leadership is determined to build upon its early successes and nurture the organization such that it maintains its recognized billing as the premier organization for healthcare CIOs. CHIME has made significant progress in growing its membership and expanding the programs and services it offers to its members.

At the end of CHIME's inaugural year of 1992, 250 senior information management executives were on board as CHIME's charter members. The membership level continued to grow and reached beyond 800 by the end of 2002. Since then, membership growth goals have focused on diversification into all related healthcare sectors.

Networking with peers has always been an important component of the benefits of CHIME membership. The CHIME-HIMSS and Fall CIO Forums provide significant amounts of programming tailored to meet both professional growth and networking needs of CIOs. The CIO Forums have addressed such hot topics as healthcare reform's implications for CIOs, and the I.S. requirements for managed care and community health information networks. CHIME members have enjoyed a number of prominent speakers at the CIO Forums, including C. Everett Koop, MD, former U.S. Surgeon General; Warren MacFarlan, Ph.D., of Harvard University,; and James Clark, Ph.D., Chairman of Netscape.. Future CIO Forums will continue to address critical challenges facing CIOs and provide the necessary networking opportunities for CIOs to collectively problem solve.

Given that CHIME members strongly value the experiences of fellow CIOs, CHIME provides its members with a number of vehicles to collaborate and share information with peers, including:

1. Member InfoXchange - Need some comparative data on staffing ratios or salary information? Want to contact other CIOs who are using the same vendors you are? You can use the Member InfoXchange to immediately find other CIOs who have the same issues, vendors, or interests as you.
2. Member Discussion List - Using our Member Discussion List, you can get instant answers to your questions. Whether you're asking about a system you are planning to install, wondering about a vendor you're evaluating, you can reach more than 700 of your peers for their feedback and input.
3. IT Warehouse - You can save time and use our online bank of reference material as your "one-stop shopping" resource for the information and research you need. The IT Warehouse includes sample documents, job descriptions, research, and more.
4. Member-to-Member Surveys—CHIME provides its members with the vehicle to easily survey the entire membership on specific topics of interest using CHIME's fax board or e-mail service.
5. Distance Learning Center (DLC)—The DLC is your point of access to a wealth of anytime, anywhere education specially tailored for busy CIOs. Here you'll find links to both live and archived presentations on dozens of topics. Participate in webcast presentations hosted via our College Live online learning program. Access select PowerPoint presentations from CHIME-HIMSS and CHIME Fall CIO forums and multimedia-enhanced presentations conducted by CHIME members at past HIMSS Annual Conferences. Additional education ideas are always being sought for the DLC...you can even submit a topic suggestion or your own presentation proposal.

A hallmark of CHIME's success has been a close collaborative relationship with the H.I.S. vendor and consulting community. The CHIME Foundation was formed by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives Board in 1994. Incorporated as a separate non-profit organization, the Foundation was structured to support CHIME's programs and activities. In 1994, 15 firms stepped forward to become the Foundation's first group of member firms. The Foundation Board of Directors, chaired annually by CHIME's past chair, established a set of educational activities and surveys designed to promote collaboration between The CHIME Foundation and CHIME members. These activities have proven to be entirely successful—The CHIME Foundation and CHIME members have discovered mutual benefit in such activities as focus group discussions conducted by Foundation firms. In 2009, CHIME Foundation membership rose to 69 member firms.