The International Medical Informatics Association 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 - www.ifip.org).

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. IMIA also has close ties with the World Health Organization (WHO - www.who.int) as a NGO (Non Government Organization), and with the International Federation of Health Information Management (IFHIMA). IMIA is also a Liaison A category organisation in cooperation with ISO (ISO liaison).