#WeAreNorthern

As part of HIM Week 2026, we’re shining a light on the people behind health information and the important work they do to support safe, high-quality patient care.

Meet Kyrstie Pagunsan, Data Integrity Officer in Northern Health’s Data Reporting Unit, who shares her journey in Health Information Management, what her role involves and why accurate health information matters.

Q: What’s your coffee order?

A: The Henry’s team knows me as “medium soy chai”. If I’m ever drinking a real coffee, please use short sentences when speaking with me. This is an indication that the lights are on but no one’s home.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your journey in Northern Health. What inspired you to pursue a career in Health Information Management?

A: My Northern journey started at the height of Covid-19 in 2020 as a Covid Administrative Officer in the testing and vaccination clinics. While it was a challenging time for everyone, I found inspiration in the resilience, innovation, and compassion demonstrated by both clinical and administrative staff. As someone new to the healthcare field, I fell in love with learning about what goes on behind the scenes of promoting quality and safe patient care, as well as the ‘why’ behind our hospital workflows.

My curiosity led me to work as a Ward Clerk across multiple areas at Northern before finding my place in HIS’s Data Reporting Unit where I currently work as a Data Integrity Officer alongside Health Information Managers (HIMs). The team here has inspired and supported me to pursue a Bachelor of Health Information Management at La Trobe. I am now nearing the end of my first year!

In my personal life I like to travel, eat good food and do arts and crafts. Life is kept fun and busy with my tuxedo cat, Betty and her overly enthusiastic housemate, Penny (the border collie).

 Q: What does a typical day look like for you as a Data Integrity Officer working in Health Information Services?

A: A core part of my role is providing Northern staff with ad-hoc education and training regarding patient registration and movement on i.PM. This year, Monika Cherubin (Digital Learning Experience Designer) and I created a LMS module (iPM – Registration, Admission, Discharge & Transfers) to support staff through self-paced learning on this subject.

Most of my days are a blend of data quality assurance, problem-solving, and supporting Northern staff with data queries to ensure information is accurate, complete and compliant. I mainly work on our Virtual Emergency Department data but also assist the HIMs with various tasks across the ESIS, VAED and VINAH datasets.

Q: What do you enjoy most about working with Health Information Managers?

A: What I enjoy most about working with HIMs is the depth of knowledge, support and collaboration they bring to every task, whether that be a large project or a small query. I’m very lucky to have been exposed to such incredible HIMs at the beginning of my career. I admire the different career paths each HIM has taken. They all exhibit a unique ability to connect clinical activity, documentation standards, data governance and operational requirements to ultimately place patient-centred care at the forefront. Working alongside them has given me a richer understanding of health information and how it shapes patient care and hospital performance.

 Q: HIM covers everything from health records and clinical coding to data, information governance and reporting. What’s something people might not realise about the work your team does?

A: A common assumption with the HIM profession is that they simply perform data checks and submit reports. In reality, the role is far more complex and interconnected with clinical practices and workflows in Northern Health. Our team doesn’t just correct errors or code, we piece together narratives from different data points to provide insight on emerging health trends, system optimisations, and gaps in organisational workflows. The role also extends beyond a traditional HIS. More and more HIMs are actively working on overseeing the development of IT projects, EMRs, and AI-assisted tools. The role is ever evolving alongside medical and digital advancements.

Q: Why is accurate and accessible health information so important to delivering safe, high-quality patient care?

A: High-quality data ensures that clinicians and other stakeholders have a thorough understanding of a community’s healthcare needs. Accurate and accessible health information drives patients and clinicians towards safe and informed decisions regarding the patient’s health, reduces clinical risks, and guides organisations to acquire resources and develop services needed to improve health outcomes. It also has the ability to close gaps in healthcare delivery by placing a spotlight on under-represented communities.

 Q: With HIM Week celebrating the profession and the people behind health information, what’s one thing you’d love people across Northern Health to know about HIM?

A: I’ve had the pleasure of working with different departments across my time at Northern and it’s clear every person has an integral part of the organisation’s accomplishments. One thing I’d love people across Northern to recognise is the incredible work HIMs do behind the scenes to support our frontline workers and safeguard our patients. HIMs often make their appearance on the occasional email or Teams meeting, but their contribution is expansive and fundamental to the safety, quality and continuity of the care we provide- HIM Week is the perfect time to acknowledge that.