Author: Halpert, Aviva M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

An electronic access audit trail can be an effective security tool if the right conditions are in place. In this article, learn how to ensure that your organization has the right technology, procedures, mechanisms, and plans to implement an audit trail.
Working with healthcare informatio....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

How can you protect patient information while maintaining immediate access for qualified employees? HIM professionals across the country are taking leadership roles in developing and managing audit trails for computerized health information. Here are a few of their success storie....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

In the next few years, the healthcare industry will see a mad scramble to comply with the numerous requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Not least among HIPAA's provisions is a mandate for the standardization of electronic signatures.

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

President Clinton signed the 'Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce' Act that provides electronic signatures the same weight as those in pen and ink. The provisions are currently limited to commercial transactions and become effective on October 1, 2000. When effective,....

Author: Dougherty, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Q: Is it legal to allow physicians within a group practice to authenticate records for each other?

Q: I have the opportunity to consult for a long-term care facility, though I have never worked in long-term care. What resources should I have?

Michelle Dougherty i....

Author: Lofton, Sandra

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

On the road toward an electronic medical record, many organizations will need to evaluate and select document imaging systems. Because of the time and expense involved in these types of implementations, it is critical that the vendor selected be the right one for the organization. The process....

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Once you have hired the right candidate for your vacant position, it's time to orient and train. When I had access to a plethora of qualified candidates, managed a department with infrequent turnover, and employed credentialed staff who were all cross-trained to handle other positions....

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Ten years ago, few of us envisioned the explosion of the Internet. Neither did we anticipate that the Internet would permeate our lives and change a myriad of daily routines.

Today, with every magazine, business, and think tank trying to envision what further ch....

Author: Bryant, Gloryanne H.; Fletcher, Robin

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

A year ago, the Journal of AHIMA reported on the newly created Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP), which went into effect in August 1999. What has happened since then?
Best Billing Practices

PEPP was created to reduce Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) ....

Author: Skurka, Margaret A.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

The old Army recruiting slogan "Be all that you can be" comes to mind this month as I challenge you to serve as an effective mentor or professional role model for a new HIM professional. With the untimely death of my mentor and program director Rita Finnegan, RHIA, CCS, this....

Author: Warner, Homer R. Jr.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: September 2000

As HIM vendors strive to perfect automated coding, one supporting technology has reached an exciting stage of development. Natural language processing (NLP) is a major challenge for the computer industry because of the complexity and variability of human speech. NLP differs from simple word s....

Author: Brouch, Kathy L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Where and how is ICD-10 being used? Learn how countries all over the world have adapted to the newest version of this coding system and how coders in the US can prepare for an eventual transition.


Are you ready for ICD-10? If you're a coder in the United State....

Author: Kloss, Linda L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

I recently attended a symposium at the National Academy of Sciences celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS). The NCVHS is the Department of Health and Human Services' statutory public advisory body on health data, privacy, and ....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Five years ago the first recipients of the Davies awards showed us successes of CPR systems across the country. Where are they now? This article catches up with these CPR leaders.
Is your job exactly the same as it was five years ago? For most HIM professionals, the answer....

Author: Bolton, Zoe

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

With the explosion of technology in other areas of healthcare, long-term care specialists may find themselves feeling a bit left behind. Why isn't the computer-based patient record more prevalent in long-term care? While the industry is taking some first steps, there are still some sizeable ro....

Author: Jeffries, Jane

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

Kelly McLendon, RHIA, is working hard to make your job easier. As director of Chart Manager Domain at Eclipsys Corp., an information solutions company based in Delray Beach, FL, McLendon oversees HIM, clinical data management, and document management products that are designed to incre....

Author: Dougherty, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Q: Can an emergency room exam serve as an inpatient history and physical?

Q: What is the retention period for billing records, such as explanations of benefits, charge slips, invoices, etc.?

Michelle Dougherty is an HIM practice manager at AHIMA. She can be reache....

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Twenty years ago, HIM department leaders often directed one or more departments within a facility or on one campus. It was rare to find them managing at multiple sites. Today, however, it is not unusual to find HIM professionals managing HIM and/or other departments throughout entire....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

HCFA's recently published interim final rule concerning the "Provisions of the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999; Hospital Inpatient Payments and Rates and Costs of Graduate Medical Education" will provide a 2.3 percent increase in payment rates for most acute care hospital....

Author: Hogan, Michele

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Increasingly, HIM professionals are taking unique roads in their professional lives—into other care settings and into boardrooms, classrooms, and more. How have their work lives changed? Four who chose less traveled roads tell their stories here.

When poet Robert Fr....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Confused about the differences between privacy and security? You’re not alone. Combine these with the jargon-laden chain of trust and business partner agreement issues, and a whole new set of questions about HIPAA implementation emerges.

Privacy, pursuant to HIPAA, addresses the righ....

Author: Borges, Ellen M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

From the early 20th century, HIM professionals have been part of the turbulent story of healthcare in America. How has the profession, and AHIMA, evolved along with the industry? The author describes the environmental changes that have shaped the profession.
Chaos creates a need for ord....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) workgroup on the national health information infrastructure (NHII) released an interim report on its work toward a dialogue that focuses on leveraging technology innovation and communications to provide opportunities for healt....

Author: Wieland, LaVonne R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Having served on a corporate compliance committee, I know HIM professionals can bring a lot to the table. If we are not already acting as the chief compliance officer, as committee members we can assist in identifying compliance issues and more importantly, assist in solving problems of nonco....

Author: Kloss, Linda L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

I borrow this column's title from a thought-provoking new book, Change the World, by Robert E. Quinn. Sound pretty lofty? Perhaps, until you read the subtitle: How Ordinary People Can Accomplish Extraordinary Results.

Quinn, a professor of organizational behavior and human....

Author: Uppena, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: October 2000

As coding professionals move into management, other HIM-related professions, or retire, coding supervisors are left with staffing shortages that impede productivity. Record numbers of experienced coding professionals are and will be needed, and recruitment efforts to find this new staf....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Every day, Margaret Neterer, RHIA, handles documentation for some seemingly unusual patients—cats, dogs, birds, or turtles, for example.

But Neterer, who is manager of the clinical information service at the small animal hospital at Michigan State University's College o....

Author: Dougherty, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

The home care industry will undergo a significant shift in reimbursement methodology when HCFA implements a new prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare claims on October 1, 2000. Under the new system, a Medicare beneficiary receiving covered home care services will be reimbursed for a 6....

Author: Harlacher, Mahlon

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Health information management grows increasingly complex and reliant on information technology every year. HIM professionals have become critical players in the healthcare arena, and it's time to showcase these contributions. In celebration of National Health Information and Technology....

Author: Pothen, Daniel J.; Parmanto, Bambang

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Many healthcare facilities have instituted Internet-based healthcare computing applications to better manage and communicate health information.1 Realizing the power and potential of the Internet, various health information system vendors are developing Web-based applications. The advent of th....

Author: Schnitzer, Gregory L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: October 2000

Despite understandable skepticism from the medical community, natural language processing (NLP) is slowly emerging as a viable rival to human coding professionals’ speed and accuracy. NLP autocoding software teaches computers to "understand" English well enough to "read" p....

Author: Barrett, John P.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Managing your career means more than just changing jobs. It's a process that you can plan and control. Find out the steps to shaping your professional future in this article.

Considering all the ways the workplace has changed in recent years, there's....

Author: Schwager, Rob

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

Speech recognition technology continues to develop. Now, with additional enhancements, the latest models offer solutions for entire enterprises. The author rounds up the latest developments.
Most healthcare organizations and clinicians today have automated some portion of their health in....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2000

The availability of patient health data continues to be a hotly debated topic on Capital Hill. Noting that the "lack of complete and comprehensive PMRI (patient medical record information) is a major constraint on the ability of our healthcare delivery system to enhance quality, i....

Author: Hill, Emily

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2000

Few non-clinical issues have inspired as much discussion, revision, and anxiety as the evaluation and management (E/M) services and their accompanying documentation guidelines. E/M services have produced a cottage industry focused on ensuring that medical records contain necessary docu....

Author: Holland, Julie A.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

How can healthcare organizations effectively use the Internet to support care delivery? And what can HIM professionals do to help? This article describes what you can do to help your employer enter the Internet era.
Make no mistake, the Internet is keeping us all racing to stay up to dat....

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

Q: My facility wants to adopt or modify an existing abbreviation list rather than develop its own. Where can I locate such a list?

Q: How long is an authorization to release information valid?

Q: Where can I find a medical record audit tool for physician practice....

Author: Gregg, Cheryl A.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

The long-awaited Draft Model Compliance Guidance for Small and Individual Physician Practices was published by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in early June.1 The OIG received 83 comments from outside sources, including AHIMA, after publishing a request for information and reco....

Author: Brandt, Mary D.; Pollock, Daniel A.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

As HIM professionals know, variations in the way data are entered in healthcare record systems impede the use of these records for direct patient care and deter their reuse for many other legitimate purposes. Unless standards are introduced, maintained, disseminated, and widely adopted....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

HIM professionals have new HIPAA challenges to prepare for: this summer, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the highly anticipated final rule for certain transaction sets and codes.1 The rule was effective on October 16, 2000, and under HIPAA legislation, most....

Author: Averill, Richard F.; Grant, Thelma M.; Steinbeck, Barbara A.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

The Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) went into effect on August 1, 2000. However, as a result of continuing comments from hospitals and the initial experience with the operation of the system, HCFA has made some substantial changes to OPPS. These changes fall into three categories:....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) presents numerous challenges to HIM processes and systems. Not least among these areas is coding. Among the concerns is whether the CPT system will be sufficient to meet the demands of HIPAA. The American Med....

Author: Amatayakul, Margret; Blair, Jeffrey S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

Until now, the section of HIPAA calling for recommendations on uniform data standards for patient medical record information has not received much attention. However, these recommendations have important implications for HIM professionals. Here’s an overview of the history and significance of....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2000

Effective October 1, 2000, 100 new ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes and nine new ICD-9-CM procedure codes have been implemented. Because there were no ICD-9-CM revisions last year, these new codes are the result of two years’ worth of revisions. Coding professionals should familiarize themselves with....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

AHIMA has a long and cherished tradition of honoring the excellence, dedication, and service of professionals whose efforts have bettered the HIM field. This time-honored celebration of outstanding accomplishment continues with the 2000 Triumph Awards.

The Triumph Awards hono....

Author: Spath, Patrice L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

Healthcare report cards have been in existence for more than 10 years. Have their efforts
to measure and compare performance made a difference? This article looks at the state
of the art.
In the late 1960s, researchers in Maine decided to study the use of healthcare services....

Author: Odom-Wesley, Barbara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

Increasingly, patients are becoming interested in maintaining their own personal health records. What should these records contain? A panel of experts offers their recommendations.
When was the last time you or a member of your family moved, changed doctors, or saw a specia....

Author: Jeffries, Jane

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

More than a few HIM professionals might look forward to a Joint Commission survey the way they would a visit to the dentist, but Sharon Sprenger, RHIA, would like to change this attitude.

"People perhaps forget that most of the people working at the Joint Commission h....

Author: Kloss, Linda L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

I am very excited about the contributions from this issue's feature authors. Each article is a strong new entrant to the body of professional knowledge about HIM. As we end 2000, AHIMA is ramping up its efforts to systematize the body of knowledge (BoK) for HIM so that it is a dynamic....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

In August 2000, AHIMA released a set of fundamental principles and operating tenets for placing consumer health records on the Internet. An excerpted version of these tenets follows. The document can be found in its entirety on AHIMA's Web site at www.ahima.org/hot.topics/ [web page no....

Author: Hicks, Joan; Waldrum, Mike; Valeria, Wilson; Marwill, Jeffrey

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

To integrate patient data, this clinic considered upgrading its transcription services, but then opted to overhaul the entire clinical access information system, with successful results. (FORE Best Practice, AHIMA Foundation)

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

Over the past 25 years, I've had the opportunity to facilitate a number of projects. For the most part, I considered managing them challenging, rewarding, and fun. However, as health enterprises grow more complex, organizations attempt to interface more and more software, and managers a....

Author: Dennis, Jill Callahan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

There’s more to ensuring the validity of a patient’s consent than getting a signature. Is your organization making sure that patients are successfully informed about treatments and procedures? Here’s what HIM professionals need to know about this communication process.
Getting a patient....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2000

If you're wondering how to interpret the proposed privacy and security rules related to HIPAA, you're not alone. The requirements of these rules—and the similarities and differences between them—are surrounded by confusion and controversy.

Having recently attended AHIMA's....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

When Judy Conroy, RHIA, looks at a health insurance claim, she thinks like an investigator. Is the information accurate? Is anything missing? Are all the details right?

She's had plenty of opportunity to master the details of reimbursement. Conroy is president and co-owner o....

Author: McLaughlin, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

HIPAA's provisions have brought healthcare clearinghouses into the spotlight. What is a clearinghouse, and how is its role affected by the new regulations? This article answers these questions.

A clearinghouse is typically used to collect, validate, and distribute insurance c....

Author: Dunn, Rose T

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

HIM professionals have skills that can allow them to contribute to the bottom line in many ways. The author describes areas where HIM expertise can make a difference in evaluating an organization's fiscal performance through analysis of services driven by health information.
HI....

Author: Moczygemba, Jackie; Welborn, Ruth B.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Increasing information technology, external billing audits, and federal legislation continue to heighten the demand for HIM professionals. At the same time, there's a critical need for improved cultural diversity in the allied health professions. To tackle both these issues, the HIM p....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) published its "annual" update to the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) as an "interim final rule with comment" in the November 13, 2000, Federal Register.1 Due to delays in the original implementat....

Author: Smith, Cheryl M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

It wasn’t so long ago that HIM professionals witnessed the introduction and use of computers to assist in performing everyday functions in an HIM department. The computerization of the master patient index moved us from typing patient demographic data and filing individual patient index cards....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

The recently published final regulations for transactions and code sets under HIPAA are the light at the end of the tunnel in the quest for uniform healthcare standards-and the first step on a long road to HIPAA implementation. What are the standard transactions and code sets? This article tak....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Organizations must provide general awareness training for every employee and affiliate. This process should build general awareness of confidentiality and security issues for all employees. For employees with access to electronic health information, the organization should include job-specific....

Author: AHIMA House of Delegates

Source: Journal of AHIMA | AHIMA HoD Resolution

Publication Date: January 2001

Background Information
AHIMA has, since its inception, recognized the importance of education in fostering the profession.
Throughout its history, AHIMA's educational programs have continually faced a core set of challenges in sustaining program viability.
Trends a....

Author: Drach, Maureen; Davies, Alethea; Sagrati, Carmen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Is your chargemaster current, compliant, and comprehensive? In the age of APCs, healthcare facilities would do well to answer these questions regularly. Here’s how an HIM professional can help.

On every front, healthcare is advancing by leaps and bounds. At the same time, providers a....

Author: O'Hara, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: January 2001

CPT 2001 Professional Edition (CPT® 2001) is complete and should be landing on your desk soon. As an introduction to the new book, this article provides a brief summary of the changes in 2001. A complete listing of the code and guideline changes can be found in CPT Changes 2001:....

Author: Youmans, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: January 2001

FRGs, RIC, CMGs, FIM, MDS-PAC, IRF, RPPS, UDSMR...What do these letters mean? They are all part of the inpatient rehabilitation prospective payment system (RPPS). This article will explain the history and key pieces of this system.

A Brief History of PPS

As we know,....

Author: Richey, John

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

After examining their CDM management processes, HIM professionals, along with clinical and support departments, redesigned and automated several practice aspects with successful results. (FORE Best Practice, AHIMA Foundation)

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

To the chagrin of business groups and Congressional Republicans, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published its controversial ergonomics program final rule. The potential publication of the final rule was a major bargaining tool in discussion of the Departments....

Author: Hjort, Beth M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) reinforces what HIM professionals have known for a long time: security training is a prudent and valuable mission for an organization to support. Besides the obvious need for compliance with this new federal mandate, it’s....

Author: Jeffries, Jane

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Hospital bills are lengthy, often incorrect, and potentially confusing-to no one's surprise. A hospital bill is the result of a long process with numerous participants, beginning at pre-intake and ending with final collections.

Richard L. Clarke, FHFMA, president and CEO o....

Author: Fuller, Barbara P.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Do you have your own personalized image marketing campaign? AHIMA recently rolled out the image marketing campaign, "Return on Information-Growing Your Information Assets." As dynamic and innovative as this campaign is, it needs a partner-us! The AHIMA image marketing campai....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Convention attendees gained valuable insights into the development of a compliance program during "Meeting the Challenge: Implementing a Company-wide Compliance Program," a presentation by Susan Postal, MBA, RHIA. Postal provided an overview of the major components of the e....

Author:

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Government subcommittee hearings on the development of electronic signatures ended inconclusively this fall, with requests for more input and a sense that the necessary technology may not have evolved.

Following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA)....

Author: Smith, Cheryl M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Q: What is the difference between confidential and nonconfidential health information?

Q: Can a healthcare facility release health information for marketing purposes?

Q: What form must a subpoena duces tecum take in order to be valid?

Cheryl Smith is an AHIMA practice....

Author: Hughes, Gwen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2001

Having become increasingly familiar with the term knowledge management (KM) this past year, I believe that KM offers HIM professionals a host of career opportunities. But what is KM? And what makes KM a possible career choice for many HIM professionals?
Knowledge Management Defined
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