International Medical Interpreters Association

2. What is IMIA
• It is an independent organization
established under Swiss law in 1989
• IMIA was originally established in 1967
as Technical Committee 4 of the
International Federation for Information
Processing (IFIP)

3. • In 1979, it evolved from a Special
Interest Group of IFIP to its current
status as a fully independent
organization.
• IMIA continues to maintain its
relationship with IFIP as an affiliate
organization.

4. • IMIA also has close ties with the World
Health Organization (WHO) as a NGO
(Non Government Organization)
• IMIA is also a Liaison A category
organization in cooperation with ISO.

6. • promote informatics in health care
and research in health, bio and
medical informatics.
• advance and nurture international
cooperation.
• to stimulate research, development
and routine application.

7. • move informatics from theory into practice in a full
range of health delivery settings, from physician's office
to acute and long term care.
• further the dissemination and exchange of knowledge,
information and technology.
• promote education and responsible behavior.
• represent the medical and health informatics field with
the World Health Organization and other international
professional and governmental organizations.

8. IMIA's goals are
• moving theory into practice by linking
academic and research informaticians
with care givers, consultants, vendors,
and vendor-based researchers.
• leading the international medical and
health informatics communities
throughout the 21st century.

9. • promoting the cross-fertilization of health
informatics information and knowledge across
professional and geographical boundaries.
• serving as the catalyst for ubiquitous worldwide
health information infrastructures for patient care
and health research.

11. • to provide ethical guidance for the professionals
themselves,
• to furnish a set of principles against which the
conduct of the professionals may be measured,
• to provide the public with a clear statement of the
ethical considerations that should shape the
behavior of the professionals themselves.

12. Fundamental Ethical Principles
• All social interactions are subject to
fundamental ethical principles. HIPs function
in a social setting. Consequently, their actions
are also subject to these principles. The most
important of these principles are:

13. • Principle of Autonomy
- All persons have a fundamental right to self-
determination.
• Principle of Equality and Justice
- All persons are equal as persons and have a
right to be treated accordingly.

14. • Principle of Beneficence
- All persons have a duty to advance the good of others
where the nature of this good is in keeping with the
fundamental and ethically defensible values of the
affected party.
• Principle of Non-Malfeasance
- All persons have a duty to prevent harm to other persons
insofar as it lies within their power to do so without
undue harm to themselves.

15. • Principle of Impossibility
- All rights and duties hold subject to the
condition that it is possible to meet them under
the circumstances that obtain.
• Principle of Integrity
- Whoever has an obligation, has a duty to fulfill
that obligation to the best of her or his ability.

16. “Mother’s love is the fuel
that enables a normal
human being to do the impossible.”