Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: August 01, 2016

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken many steps to try and clear up consumer confusion regarding the more consumer-centric aspects of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule and Security Rule. The most recent efforts include the Office of the National Coordinator’s Patien....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2016

The clues are subtle but critical: Perhaps you get a bill for urgent care services you never received. Or upon reviewing your medical record through a patient portal, you see a diagnosis of back pain and multiple prescriptions for narcotic pain relievers.


Though not definiti....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2016

A lot of good things are happening in healthcare in the name of transparency. Rating systems, usually in the form of a designated number of stars, are now being assigned by the public to hospitals, physicians, and nursing homes. And it’s become easier for consumers to comparison shop when they....

Author: Herrin, Barry S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2016

The HIPAA-HITECH modifications to the Privacy and Security Rules have made the management of the release of information function even more complex for providers. Add in state law and other protections, and it can be difficult for health information management (HIM) professionals to know ju....

Author: Carey, Susan; Beahan, Sally

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2016

Historically, health information management (HIM) staff has provided paper copies of medical records in response to authorized requests. No specialty patient education was needed because the paper record was essentially self-explanatory.


But with the ongoing industry trans....

Author: Martin, Melissa

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2016

Back in June I had the opportunity to represent both AHIMA members and the HIM profession while testifying at a National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) hearing on the need for a better definition of the minimum necessary standards. I would like to share with you some hig....

Author: Bowen, Rita K.; Hofman, Judi; Lucci, Susan; McLendon, Kelly

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2016

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made it abundantly clear through numerous communications that providing individuals easy access to their own health information is one of OCR’s most important mandates. Giving patients and their personal representatives access to their own information....

Author: Hedges, Ron

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: September 20, 2016

In my last post of 2015 I tried to predict what types of challenges health information management (HIM) professionals might have to deal with in 2016 and beyond. One prediction involved technological innovation, as I surmised that we could “expect to see more and more ‘apps’ being off....

Author: Delahoussaye, Elizabeth A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2016

Health information management (HIM) professionals can pull meaningful information from privacy and security breach data to evaluate release of information (ROI) processes, uncover workflow risks, and implement corrective measures. While large scale breaches impacting millions of patients m....

Author: Twiggs, Mariela; Goldstein, Sara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2016

Healthcare provider organizations rely on a variety of entities to help them carry out healthcare activities and functions. If these entities create, maintain, or transmit protected health information (PHI) on behalf of a provider organization, they are considered a business associate (BA....