The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is a professional organization for chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. CHIME enables its members and business partners to collaborate; exchange ideas and technology; develop professionally; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. CHIME is directed by an elected 16-member board composed of leading chief information officers (CIOs) and CHIME Foundation representatives. History CHIME was founded in 1992 with the dual objective of serving the professional development needs of healthcare CIOs and advocating the more effective use of information management within healthcare. Membership Currently, CHIME has more than 5,000 members across the globe. Members of CHIME are the highest ranking IT executives within their healthcare organization or facility. While the majority hold the CIO job title, having that title is not a requirement for membership as long as they have equivalent job responsibilities. Many members are the senior IT executive within a division of a larger organization, such as the CIO of a hospital within a larger healthcare system. Some additional high-level executives, such as division leaders or regional leaders may be eligible, as well. A typical CHIME member oversees the information services department and chairs the information technology steering committee within their organization. Additional responsibilities often include telecommunications, medical records, and health informatics. CHIME members represent a variety of provider organizations, including large hospital systems, community hospitals and for-profit hospitals. In addition to CIOs from hospitals, CHIME welcomes all CIOs who are employed by organizations with responsibility for direct patient care, including physician practice groups, clinics, and others. Additionally, members may be accepted from other healthcare organizations such as Payers/HMOs, government agencies, state hospital associations, and RHIOs. Healthcare CIOs play a central role in implementing IT systems that digitize patient records to achieve meaningful use of electronic medical records, enabling their organizations to qualify for incentive funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Certification and Education In July 2009, CHIME launched the Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) Program, the first certification program designed specifically for CIOs and IT executives in the healthcare industry. The CHCIO Program is a member-led initiative. CHIME members oversee the strategic direction of the program as well as write and review all questions on the CHCIO Examination. One of the goals of the program is to help healthcare IT executives transition to