Author: Hyde, Lynda; Casto, Anne B.; Koehler, Melissa; Lockwood, Famey; Peterson, Kathleen

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

Healthcare is an evolving world where data is central to all aspects of care. It is an information-intensive environment where data analysis is used to make decisions about the quality and safety of patient care, public health programs, and healthcare reform. At the core....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

When Carolyn Rubin, CPC, CPC-I, became the director of revenue cycle management at Dallas Nephrology Associates, she had an important task on her to-do list: Relieve the workplace tension that had plagued health information management (HIM) staffers for years. Communication and collaborati....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

With all of the public and political debate over the last nine months about healthcare reform and its consequences for consumers, it’s easy to forget that providers are grappling with a world of changes on their own. These changes are meant to improve patient care delivery, yet the biggest....

Author: Bradshaw, Susan R; Krause, Donald G; Marron-Stearns, Michael

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) has created significant and complex changes to Part B Medicare reimbursement. As a result of MACRA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) created the Quality Payment Program (QPP) that includes two reimbursemen....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

In July, I attended AHIMA’s CSA Leadership Symposium in Chicago, IL. This is an incredible gathering of CSA leaders from across the country. I’m always energized by the willingness of every attendee to share ideas and best practices with others.


This year, I part....

Author: Witmer, Marna

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2017

Quality coding has always been a goal for health information management (HIM) departments. Traditionally, HIM focused on coding for acute care services while physician practice coding was accomplished by physician office staff—typically using super-bills with CPT lists and generic IC....

Author: Stambaugh, Robyn

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: August 17, 2017

In the era before computers and search engines, libraries would use the card catalog—a paper database ordered by the Dewey Decimal System—to find a book or information. The Dewey Decimal System, a hierarchical scheme, is the means with which to identify, classify, and retrieve....

Author: Wood, Jane

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: August 09, 2017

Every fall, coding professionals anxiously await the list of new and revised ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes. They read articles and listen to webinars that describe the changes and are eager to prepare themselves for compliant, accurate use of the updated code set on October 1. But....

Author: Fernandes, Lorraine M.; Burke, Jim; O'Connor, Michele

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Healthcare transformation activities involving data analytics, population health, disease registries, and consumer engagement have raised the stakes for stronger and real-time, or near real-time, patient identification and record matching.


Yet many organizations have hundred....

Author: Nahra, Kirk J

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Personal healthcare information is inherently sensitive, and individuals are justified in worrying that the breach of such information could result in an impact on their career, personal embarrassment, insurance risks, and a variety of other adverse consequences. Identity thieves, as a res....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

While millions of health conscious consumers are strapping health tracking devices around their wrists, doctors are prescribing a more invasive device for another group of consumers. To boost compliance with life-saving medications for people with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, de....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Is the future of healthcare in the hospital? Probably not.


Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest health systems, recently noted that in 2016 Kaiser provided more than 100 million primary care encounters. Of those, Tyson said, 52 percent o....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Among healthcare providers, there is nothing new about the desire to keep people out of the hospital. For years, procedures that used to require an inpatient stay have been moved to outpatient surgical centers and ambulatory clinics. Not only does this save payers money, but it also helps....

Author: Barranger, Kellie

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Effective healthcare transitions, new payment models, and quality outcomes are fast becoming a major focus for long-term care (LTC) providers as part of the new shift to value-based healthcare reform. The requirements are changing the concept of “value” from the best price for....

Author: Watanabe, Chris Thorne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

Editor’s Note: The following is a first-person account of an HIM professional embracing the “HIM without walls” concept and working as a vice president at an emergency medical service company.


In 2012 I responded to a blind ad looking for someone with health information mana....

Author: Gibbs, David; McLeod, Alexander; Lalani, Karima

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

By David Gibbs, PhD, CPHI, CHPS, CPHIMS, CISSP; Alexander McLeod, PhD; and Karima Lalani, MBA, RHIA


As the conversation continues among health information management (HIM) professionals about information governance (IG), discussions about privacy and security have been in the spot....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2017

I recently heard an interview with Bill Gates where he was discussing the great advances taking place with artificial intelligence (AI). One of my big takeaways was his prediction that labor substitution across industries will be substantial in the next five- to 20-year period. In the heal....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: August 2017

In certain neighborhoods and communities in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, pediatric access to primary care is not a certainty for thousands of pre-K to high school-age children.


April Aumann, MSN, APN, FNP-BC, a family nurse practitioner who works on Advocate Children’s Ho....

Author: Geetter, Jennifer S; Van Demark, Dale C

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: August 01, 2017

Digital health technologies, solutions, and approaches to decision-making are transforming the delivery of healthcare, reshaping patient (and health consumer) expectations, and presenting health plans, health systems, informatics companies, and other stakeholders with a dizzying array of d....

Author: Land, Daniel

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 2017

Although inpatient clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs have traditionally measured their immediate success by financial data gleaned from DRG shifts and the health of their organization’s case mix index (CMI), the influence of CDI reaches far beyond revenue enhancement....

Author: Paulson, Dawn

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 21, 2017

Patient safety is an organizational responsibility. But concern over the astonishing rate of development and adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) in recent years has also provided potential for risk and safety issues. This rapid growth in EHR development has in large part been....

Author: Barron, Chrystel

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 12, 2017

It is important to know the difference between anticoagulant drugs and antiplatelet drugs when assigning a Z-code for long term drug use. Both of these types of drugs are closely related in the way they manipulate the various channels of the blood clotting mechanism, which can make this a....

Author: Combs, Tammy; Endicott, Melanie

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

Physician engagement seems to be the buzzword in healthcare these days. Hospital administrators charged with various clinical improvement initiatives have come to realize that physician engagement is an essential element of success. While physician engagement in clinical documentation improveme....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

In the HIM world, we have a catchphrase: “If it’s not documented, it’s not done.” This phrase has even more resonance as we consider the importance of clinical documentation improvement (CDI), the focus of this month’s Journal issue.


CDI emphasi....

Author: Taylor, Christine; Fahy, Kristi

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

Editor’s Note: This is the seventh installment in an ongoing series highlighting information governance case studies.


Consistency in any enterprise-wide initiative is a key for success. To achieve this, it is often as simple as policy and procedure updates and education....

Author: McNicholas, Faith C.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) created a new place of service (POS) code for use by physicians and other qualified healthcare practitioners (QHPs) who furnish telehealth services from a distant site, effective January 1, 2017.


According to Medicare, ser....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

Anyone who has ever tried to sort through the tables and charts that accompany laboratory results in their patient portal has wished they had a doctor standing over their shoulder. 


This type of help would be especially beneficial to senior citizens who arguably have more blo....

Author: Monga, Kapila

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

As early as 1959 people have been defining what machine learning—a subfield of computer science—means. In that year Arthur Samuel, one of the pioneers of machine learning, said that machine learning is a science that gives “computers the ability to learn without being exp....

Author: Hidalgo, Stevan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

Just as a child’s body differs from an adult’s body both physically and physiologically, privacy practices and challenges in a pediatric facility differ from those in an adult facility. As the minor approaches the age of majority, confidentiality and privacy rights of the minor....

Author: Orlova, Anna; Bourquard, Karima; Parisot, Charles

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

AHIMA, in collaboration with Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) International, has been publishing the findings of the Use Case Task Force in a series of articles in the Journal of AHIMA’s Standards Strategies section. The first article in this series published in the Journa....

Author: Carr, Kimberly J

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

Though accurate clinical documentation has always been important, the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS in October 2015 made accurate clinical documentation critical. Since each character in the ICD-10-CM/PCS code is a specific component of the code, organizations have been challenged with e....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

We see it everywhere: AHIMA is offering education programs to help their members embark on the outpatient clinical documentation improvement (CDI) journey. Consulting firms and technology companies are launching new services and solutions to support expansion of CDI programs to outpatient....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

A physician with his own small orthopedic practice is in a hurry to get his charting and documentation done for the night so his wife—the office manager—can send the day’s claims out the next morning. Exhausted and in a hurry, he turns to his iPhone for coding help.
<....

Author: Merriweather, Kay; Slater, Leslie; Bohley, Michele

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

“If it’s not documented, it wasn’t done.” This is one of the first axioms health information management (HIM) professionals learn. HIM professionals have witnessed the evolution of quality documentation, with patient education becoming the center of healthcare in th....

Author: Hess, Pamela C; Frosch, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2017

With payers moving to risk adjusted payment models such as Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCC) for Medicare Advantage, health systems are challenged to improve clinical documentation in physician practices to support ICD-10-CM linked HCC codes.


Christiana Care Health Sys....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 2017

The pressure healthcare providers—especially physicians—are currently facing with healthcare reforms and reimbursement changes should be cause for reflection, from the durable medical equipment supply chain to clinical documentation improvement (CDI). With the state of....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 01, 2017

Wellness-obsessed consumers now have more tools at their disposal than ever before to help them “live their best lives,” as Oprah might say.


While employer-sponsored health insurance helps individuals gain access to access to care, employer-provided wellness programs can help....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 2017

If you talk to a group of health information management (HIM) professionals for very long, you will learn they all have one thing in common: among their own extended families, HIM professionals are the ones other family members go to for all healthcare-related questions.


Of c....

Author: Fahy, Kristi

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 22, 2017

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force released their long-awaited “Report on Improving Cybersecurity in the Health Care Industry” on June 2. The report addresses information governance (IG) as a concept that will....

Author: Miller, Elena

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 15, 2017

While many people have heard the term “HIV” before, fewer are likely to know what it stands for: human immunodeficiency virus. This is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency sydrome, also known as AIDS. The difference in code assignment is based on whether or not the patient has t....

Author: Miller, Nicole

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 15, 2017

When information governance (IG) first became the buzz word in healthcare it seemed like it was not very well understood and there was much to be learned. The healthcare industry has moved past that initial reaction and is ready to embrace this new reality of information governance. I....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

In many ways ICD-10 coding professionals share a lot in common with college students preparing to spend a semester abroad. Both spend invaluable hours in a classroom learning the nuances and permutations of a new language, as well as months of practicing their new skills in workshops with....

Author: Flood, Diana

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

Every year many patients go to their doctors for an annual exam in which preventive care measures for conditions are explored and enacted. These appointments help patients avoid further, more intensive care down the road. Annual HIPAA training programs are similar to an annual exam—o....

Author: Marron-Stearns, Michael

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

Many healthcare practices are assessing their return on investment for engaging resources designed to improve performance under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program. One area of MIPS, the additional positive payment....

Author: Fernandez, Valerie

Source: Journal of AHIMA | Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: June 2017

A Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) is defined as a risk adjustment model that is used to calculate risk scores to predict future healthcare costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) CMS-HCC model is used to predict healthcare spending for Medicare Advantage Pl....

Author: Houser, Shannon H.; Slovensky, Donna J.; Wang, Luona

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

The volume and types of healthcare information created and captured grow constantly and exponentially, and the business, regulatory, and service drivers for information use continue to evolve as well. Both volume and importance of healthcare information compel robust and sophisticated info....

Author: Abrams, Kelly; Carlon, Sheila; Haugen, Mary Beth; Mancilla, Desla; McElroy, Kyle; Millen, Michelle; Sandefer, Ryan; Sharp, Marcia; Sorensen, Linda

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

No matter what data one reviews, there is near-universal agreement that the health information management (HIM) profession is radically changing and will continue to do so for quite some time. This change is a result of innovation in technology that has revolutionized the methods of collec....

Author: Primeau, Debra; Hernandez, Victoria M

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

With thousands of new and revised ICD-10 codes implemented with the new coding update on October 1, 2016, reviews and audits are essential to identifying patterns, trends, and best practices that affect documentation, coding, training, education, compliance, query practices, data analysis,....

Author: Bourquard, Karima; Orlova, Anna; Parisot, Charles

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

In computer science, a use case-driven approach is the foundational methodology for documenting user needs.1 This has been adopted by national and international efforts to enable health information technology (HIT) to support HIT systems interoperability and information sharing across syst....

Author: Fahy, Kristi; Hermann, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

Editor’s Note: This article is the sixth installment in an ongoing series highlighting information governance case studies.


AHIMA defines information governance (IG) as “an organization-wide framework for managing information throughout its life cycle and for supp....

Author: Comfort, Angie; Rugg, Donna; Ward, Maria

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

Editor’s Note: This update replaces the 2010 Practice Brief “The Evolution of DRGs.”


In the early 1970s Yale University developed diagnosis related groups (DRGs) to describe all types of patient care in an acute care hospital. The Yale system encompassed the Medi....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

Just as healthcare professionals were starting to get comfortable with mobile health’s (mHealth) entrance into the field, they are now staring down the new kid on the block: artificial intelligence (AI).


AI isn’t brand new to healthcare or health information management....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

A recent story in the Chicago food blog Eater detailed some of the ways automation is changing the food industry: from sushi served on a conveyor belt to touch-screen beer orders and “pour your own” wine bars. There are even “automated restaurants” that are essentia....

Author: DeVoe, Megan

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2017

The Impella® device (2.5 and 5.0) provides percutaneous external ventricular support for high-risk patients who cannot undergo traditional open cardiovascular procedures in the inpatient hospital setting. Like intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) that have been used for decades, these de....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 2017

In the months leading up to the ICD-10 go-live, many hospitals implemented computer-assisted coding (CAC) in the hopes that it would offset anticipated productivity losses and boost coding accuracy. Now that the industry has passed the one-year ICD-10 milestone, an important question remai....

Author: Bryson, Casey

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: May 22, 2017

You can’t throw a rock in healthcare today without hitting someone claiming to solve “the problem of interoperability.” Those claims come from interface engines, private or public collaboratives like the Sequoia Project and Commonwell, government entities like the Office of the Nation....

Author: Fahy, Kristi

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: May 19, 2017

A chord of fear has been struck in many organizations—both healthcare and others—after the ransomware attacks that occurred last week that infected more than 200,000 computers across 150 different countries. The ransomware attacks known as “WannaCry” have left many organizations questionin....

Author: Bryant, Gloryanne H.

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: May 10, 2017

The American Health Information Management Association Standards of Ethical Coding includes new and updated information and guidance as of December 2016. This is a must-have resource for any health information management coding professional.


The standards now include definiti....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: May 10, 2017

The journey from coding professional to C-suite executive isn’t really as far as it seems—just ask Cheryl Harmon, MBA, COO of St. Vincent Indiana, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN. Last year, Harmon—who started her health information management (HIM) career as a coder for an ambu....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

“Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?” This thought-provoking question resonated with me as I was thinking about the issues of education, evolution, and progress. Fast Company magazine cofounder Bill Taylor describes this question as “a defining challenge of....

Author: Carey, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

So far 2017 is shaping up to be the year of fear in the realm of healthcare cybersecurity. There was a 61 percent increase in healthcare cyberattacks in 2016. This followed two years of steadily increasing cyberthreats in healthcare, including 93 major cyberattacks in 2016 resulting in com....

Author: Wiedemann, Lou Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published as two installments of the Journal of AHIMA blog Data Revolution. This monthly blog highlights and discusses emerging trends and challenges related to healthcare data and its ever changing life cycle. Read the blog each month on th....

Author: O'Hagan, Dorothy; Meehan, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

Editor’s Note: This article is the fifth installment in an ongoing series highlighting information governance case studies.


Information governance (IG) can be overwhelming, especially as an organization looks to implement a program that addresses all types of informatio....

Author: Barnette, Erin; Endicott, Melanie; Ericson, Cheryl E; Wieczorek, Michelle M.

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

In order to effectively discuss clinical documentation improvement (CDI) opportunities in physician practices, it is important to first understand the drivers and goals of a physician practice CDI program. Historically, diagnosis codes have had little impact in regard to physician practice paym....

Author: Grzybowski, Darice; Orlova, Anna

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

As the healthcare industry has evolved from paper to the digital environment, topics such as information governance, informatics, and standards—which are at the forefront of healthcare—are becoming critical subjects when educating health information management (HIM) professiona....

Author: Leonard, Janis

Source: Journal of AHIMA | Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: May 2017

Prior to the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS, Albany Medical Center (Albany), based in Albany, NY, was struggling with attracting qualified coding candidates. Despite recruitment efforts including sign-on bonuses and incentive pay, Albany was unable to maintain staffing levels to meet the....

Author: Ward, Maria

Source: Journal of AHIMA | Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: May 2017

Coding respiratory cases can sometimes lead to coding professionals getting bogged down in the circle of sequencing instructions, inclusions, and exclusions. This article will help readers gain a better understanding of the differences in the diagnoses that all come with a majority of the....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

As a small group of US Marines come under fire in fierce house-to-house fighting through an all but deserted urban terrain, a frantic shout of “Medic!” rings through the air. Ducking for cover, a medic comes running with a bag of supplies and… a mobile device with the injured....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

For college seniors, May is the time when the job search intensifies—putting the finishing touches on the resume, buying that new interview suit, and making connections with alumni.


The professional practice experience (PPE) is an important part of student education and is a....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

Like many new HIM graduates, Makema Hopes, RHIT, began looking for a job immediately after receiving her associate’s degree in 2011. She thought her 80-hour internship at a local hospital prepping and scanning charts would surely help her get her foot in the door with an employer and....

Author: Marc, David; Robertson, Janet; Gordon, Leslie; Green-Lawson, Zakevia D; Gibbs, David; Dover, Kayce; Dougherty, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

In 2015 a workforce study was conducted using a survey instrument to define how health information management (HIM) is shifting to meet future needs and what knowledge, skills, education, and credentials will be necessary to perform successfully as an HIM practitioner.1 This study discover....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

Would any housing co-op board ever hire a self-described all-purpose handyman who might perfectly connect the plumbing systems of a 40-unit new construction condo building, but may only semi-competently replace a dining room light switch? Probably not. The board would more likely hire a pe....

Author: Land, Daniel

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2017

Health information management (HIM) professionals by nature are intensely focused on the present and future—especially today with health IT leading a large scale evolution in the HIM industry. The demands of daily life often leave little time for reflection or nostalgia. However, thi....

Author: Dover, Kayce

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: May 01, 2017

Healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, and Millennials (individuals born between 1982 and 2000) are a vast and vital part of a multigenerational workforce. This article explores ways to bridge generational gaps in the workplace, offering insights and strategies fo....

Author: White, Jim

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: April 20, 2017

One of the more significant healthcare trends we see today is the consolidation (mergers and acquisitions) of hospitals, physician groups, and insurance companies into larger integrated systems. The goal of this activity have been focused on: increased market share, increased financia....

Author: Meyer, Melanie

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: April 19, 2017

Healthcare organizations are increasingly focused on managing patient populations to improve outcomes while reducing costs. Here are short profiles of how some health information exchanges (HIEs) are using data to support population health efforts.

Managing Populations

Author: Ward, Maria

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: April 13, 2017

A few weeks ago, an article came to me from a co-worker about World Leprosy Day, which is the last Sunday of January each year. I was under the naïve impression that leprosy had been, for the most part, eradicated. I had no idea the extent to which leprosy still existed, much less tha....

Author: Williams, Patricia A.H

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Information sharing between healthcare organizations increasingly includes the use of electronic health records (EHRs) as well as data from medical devices that have been integrated into existing networks. When exchanging such data, providers should be mindful not only of the interoperabil....

Author: Fahy, Kristi

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Many healthcare organizations that implement an information governance (IG) program have difficulties deciding which projects to prioritize first. Often, organizations will target the “low hanging fruit” projects, such as establishing an IG committee or advisory group or the pr....

Author: Bowman, Sue E

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

For 2017, there are new CPT category III codes describing procedures involving cardiac contractility modulation systems and implantable counterpulsation ventricular assistance devices. These emerging technologies are currently undergoing clinical trials. These codes are scheduled to sunset....

Author: Reed, Andretta

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

This article highlights pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) code selections and proper sequencing based on healthcare provider documentation, ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, and ICD-10-CM conventions. As additional coding guidance continues to....

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....

Author: Backman, Cecilia; Meyer, Melanie; Westhafer, Kathy J; Wise, Lee A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and value-based programs have created opportunities for population health initiatives in relation to health information exchange (HIE) and greater data sharing across the care continuum. HIE allows providers and patients to securely access and share a patient&....

Author: Wiedemann, Lou Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the new “External HIPAA Audit Readiness Toolkit” developed by AHIMA. The full toolkit is free for AHIMA members.


THE HITECH OMNIBUS Rule mandated that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) condu....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, let’s call him Dr. Hollywood, has a thriving business—an impeccable office, gracious and welcoming staff, and top of the line equipment and devices. His clientele is primarily celebrities and other wealthy socialites who can afford to pay out of....

Author: Primeau, Debra

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Smaller healthcare facilities typically lack the resources and expertise to address the constant flow of competing priorities, forcing leadership to wear many hats in a fragmented environment. Few have a designated privacy, security, or compliance officer, let alone the corporate support s....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

In 1941, author Edna Huffman, writing about the management and storage of medical records, introduced readers to “the newest development in storage methods and the method that will conserve the greatest amount of space, known as microphotography.” She described how medical reco....

Author: Arvin, Marti

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

One might ask why a privacy officer even needs to worry about defending against a cyberattack—isn’t that the role of the chief information security officer and the chief information officer? The answer is no. Cyberattacks are not always about technology. The privacy officer is not generall....

Author: Journal of AHIMA Staff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

For the past several years, seismologists have been warning that California is overdue for “The Big One”—an earthquake with a Richter scale Level 8 or greater magnitude in densely populated parts of the state.1 In anticipation of this sort of event or other natural disaster, l....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2017

Many influential thought leaders have come to realize there are three foundational elements to getting your ideas understood and appreciated: social proof, which gives people a reason to listen to you; content creation, which allows them to evaluate the quality of your ideas; and your netw....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: April 01, 2017

Your hospital receives a release of information request from an attorney. What exactly can you charge to produce the record, and do fee limitations described in HIPAA apply? These limitations prohibit covered entities from charging patients anything but a reasonable cost-based fee that inc....

Author: Palkie, Brooke

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: March 16, 2017

As I begin digging into the intricacies of long-term digital preservation (LTDP) of electronic healthcare data, I am realizing how little I knew. The ever-changing formats and standards for accessing personal health information (PHI) come to mind. Once obsolete, how will this information b....

Author: Dooling, Julie A; Pruente, Megan

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: March 16, 2017

The LGBT patient population have identification and documentation needs that are not being addressed in today’s mainstream healthcare workflows. Capturing sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) is a relatively new concept and the need for this standardized, private, and secure....

Author: Crow, Lisa

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: March 08, 2017

Monthly bills. Monthly lunch meetings. Monthly delinquent medical record report. So many tasks occur once a month. But monthly external coding audits? Isn’t once a year enough? No, says healthcare provider organizations.


Butler Memorial Hospital in Butler, PA, and dozen....

Author: Chenoweth, Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

Two years ago, I travelled to central Honduras to volunteer my time and HIM expertise at a clinic that supports the primary care needs of 90,000 people. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Access to specialists is few and far between so the clinic had recently implemented telemedicine....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

As an independent contractor and data analytics subject matter expert (SME), Lisa Brooks Taylor, RHIA, spends most of her time working with professional associations and large insurers developing machine-computable algorithms to analyze healthcare data. She works closely with data scientis....

Author: Marron-Stearns, Michael

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is widely viewed as one of the most significant and complex changes to Part B Medicare reimbursement in several decades. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) created the Quality Payment Program (QPP) that incl....

Author: Huey, Kim

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

The 2017 update to the CPT code set brings fewer new codes than in previous years but more guideline changes and clarifications, as well as revisions in code description. One Appendix is deleted and a new one is created. There are a total of 149 new CPT codes, 498 revised codes, and 81 del....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

The old proverb “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” rings true for consumers and the release of their health information. With laws like HIPAA and the advent of patient portals, it has never been easier for consu....

Author: Meehan, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2017

The term “Big Data” is everywhere, but what is it and what do health information management (HIM) professionals need to know about it? Understanding Big Data in healthcare, ensuring its accuracy, and harnessing it for patient care and business decisions are critical to a succes....