Author: Warner, Diana; Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2018

This Practice Brief supersedes the June 2014 Practice Brief “Navigating a Compliant Breach Management Process.”


The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Omnibus Final Rule modifies and clarifies the definition of....

Author: Downing, Katherine; Taylor, Christine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2017

Getting started with information governance (IG) requires research, documentation, and understanding what information and applications need to be included in the IG program. There are times when students can be used to help with this IG preparation, an act that benefits the healthcare faci....

Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2016

Editor’s Note: This is the eighth and final article in a series that provides a road map for implementing an information governance (IG) program in any organization. Each month a set of concepts is discussed that tie to the IG Road Map Infographic developed by AHIMA. Any organization....

Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2017

Healthcare organizations are under constant attack from cybercriminals due to the richness of information they collect, store, and disseminate that can also be used for multiple types of fraud and identity theft. Stolen credit card information only lasts until the victim cancels the card,....

Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2016

Information governance (IG) is an emerging discipline in healthcare that focuses on how an organization ensures information is complete, accurate, trustworthy, and usable. The goal of information governance is to enable organizations to utilize a valuable strategic asset—information&....

Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2014

The purpose of AHIMA’s new Breach Management Toolkit is to provide a comprehensive collection of resources and best practices to help healthcare organizations and health information management (HIM) professionals navigate their way through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Breach Notification Rule and the overall breach management process. The toolkit is intended to raise awareness of the importance and responsibility of everyone within the organization to report HIPAA breaches to the appropriate designated personnel, as well as provide breach prevention education and training.

Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2014

On January 25, 2013, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the long-awaited HITECH-HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule in the Federal Register. As anticipated, the Omnibus Rule includes some of the most significant changes to patient priva....

Author: Dooling, Julie A; Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2014

Positively identifying patients in myriad healthcare registration systems is no easy task. The process of capturing patient demographics and the structure behind data fields varies depending upon the technology, care setting, and organization’s preferences. Until standardized and uniform....

Author: Cacciatore, Victoria; Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2014

Criminal attacks on healthcare systems have risen 100 percent since 2010, according to a recent Ponemon study.1 This makes it obvious that the privacy and security of patient health information is vulnerable and highly susceptible to data breach. The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule became e....

Author: Cacciatore, Victoria; Downing, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2014

Release of information (ROI) has become a complex area for health information management (HIM) professionals. ROI staff and HIM management now must question and dissect every line on a request prior to release. Because of this, a quick reminder on some of the complex ROI risks is appropria....

Author: Burton, Ben; Downing, Katherine

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Editor’s Note: This Practice Brief update supplants part of the 2013 Practice Brief “Patient Access and Amendment to Health Records.”


Before April 2003, a patient’s legal right to amend his or her health records was limited to those patients treated at hea....