Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Lisa A. Eramo, MA


The more we know about patients, the easier it is to match them. Or at least that’s the theory. Clinical data, patient-generated data, biometrics, social determinants of health: all of this should make patient matching in health information exchanges (HI....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

Editor’s Note: This Practice Brief is based on an excerpt from the AHIMA Press publication Clinical Documentation Improvement for Outpatient Care: Design and Implementation by Pamela Carroll Hess, MA, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, CPC.


The AHIMA Foundation has established compe....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Valerie Watzlaf, PhD, MPH, RHIA, FAHIMA


Over the summer I was fortunate to participate in several conferences. I was both honored to be involved and enthralled at the expertise of all of the individuals who participated and presented.


Data is powerful. Data litera....

Author: Youmans, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Karen Youmans, MPA, RHIA, CCS, and Vanessa Youmans, MA, RHIA, CCS, CPC


As healthcare organizations strive for continuous efficiency and sustainability, mergers and acquisitions (M&A)among diverse medical facilities provides organizations new opportunities to reduce costs an....

Author: Hedges, Ron

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Gail L. Gottehrer, JD, and Ronald J. Hedges, JD


A recently filed class action highlights the risk that the proliferation of health-related smartphone apps, fitness trackers, and the data these programs collect, may enable the re-identification of purportedly de-identified elect....

Author: Fahy, Kristi

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Kristi Fahy, RHIA


Technology is the segue to the future. It is the very thing that will transform the landscape of today’s world into one with endless possibilities. In healthcare, that transformation is being accelerated by the transition to electronic health records (EH....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Karen Starling Greenhalgh, HCISPP, CHC, CHPC


Privacy is often seen as a barrier to electronic health information exchange (HIE). To help address those concerns and meld core privacy principles with proven oversight and accountability mechanisms, the National Institute of Standa....

Author: Clack, Lesley

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Lesley Clack, ScD, MS, CPH


Telehealth, which refers to healthcare services facilitated remotely through electronic information and telecommunications technology, is on the rise. In 2010, 35 percent of hospitals had partially or fully implemented computerized telehealth systems,....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Mary Butler


In the film The Farewell, Chinese-American actress and comedian Awkwafina plays a woman torn between two cultural approaches to death and dying when her character, Billi, learns that her grandmother has terminal lung cancer. Billi's grief is compounded when she....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2019

By Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, chief executive officer


HIM professionals are well aware of the work involved in matching patients to their unique records. Mismatched records can cost us time, lead to frustration, and cause headaches and dissatisfaction for patients and provide....