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: 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: 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

Publication Date: October 2017

Contemporary Americans are not as nomadic as our prehistoric ancestors were—we aren’t subject to the whims of the food chain, following herds of bison across the Great Plains. When we travel we take cross-country road trips and flights for the fun of it, or in search of higher-....

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: 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: 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: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: January 2017

While the healthcare industry plays “wait and see” with regard to what a Trump Administration means for the regulatory landscape of the last eight years, the events of this past year offer a few hints as to what we might expect in 2017.


Two major pieces of legislation passed....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: December 2016

When people ask Davi Trotti, MA, RHIA, what it was like to live onboard the hospital ship Africa Mercy, she tells them “During the week I live in Europe and on the weekends I live in Africa.”


That’s because for three years, Trotti was the only person with a health information....

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: 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: 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: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2017

Two professional dancers can separately practice their portion of a couples routine all they want—but when it comes to creating an artful performance, the two must share a symbiotic relationship in order to succeed. Each individual must bring their respective portion of the dance to....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2017

Between 2015 and 2016, information governance (IG) went from being an esoteric concept to a new way of life for some healthcare professionals. In 2015, AHIMA recruited 11 healthcare organizations, including vendors, hospitals, physician practices, and regional health information organizat....

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: 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: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2019

By Mary Butler


On the most widely used job search websites, listings for clinical documentation improvement (CDI) specialists typically look something like this:



Description: The clinical documentation improvement specialist provides support of clinical docume....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2019

In Search of the EHR’s Designated Record Set


By Mary Butler


When Rita Bowen, MA, RHIA, CHPS, CHPC, SSGB, broke her elbow while attending an AHIMA event in Baltimore threeyears ago, she soldiered on through the event but summoned her primary care physician for a tele....

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: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2019

Evaluating Whether EHRs are Meeting the Needs of Value-Based Care


By Mary Butler


The “meaningful use” Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program successfully brought the vast majority of healthcare providers into the computer age and transitioned the ind....

Author: Butler, Mary

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2019

By Mary Butler


Retail healthcare is having another “moment” with the recent announcements that both Amazon and Walmart are rolling out primary care clinics with consumer convenience in mind.


Amazon’s entry to the market, Amazon Care, is a “vir....

Author: Butler, Rhonda R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2008

A recurring theme in the ongoing ICD-10 implementation debate has been the need for a crosswalk between the old and new code sets to help the industry make the transition. The lack of an “official” mapping between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/-PCS has long been seen as a major challe....

Author: Butler, Rhonda R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2007

In healthcare, diagnosis and procedure codes and their attached descriptions are the currency for many critical data transactions. Healthcare organizations rely heavily on coded data to govern reimbursement, monitor the health of the population, track trends in disease and treatment, and....

Author: Butler, Rhonda R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2009

Like the rest of us, MS-DRGs have to transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS. The conversion is off to a good start, with a preliminary version already available. The project offered an early test of the General Equivalence Mappings and provides a conversion process for other applications.

In m....

Author: Butler, Rhonda R.; Mills, Ronald E

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: April 2009

Starting October 1, 2013, healthcare claims will be submitted to payers using ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes and ICD-10-PCS procedure codes. Some payers such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are converting their reimbursement systems to use ICD-10 codes directly. However, som....

Author: Butler, Rhonda R.; Mills, Ronald E; Averill, Richard F.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2011

Automation is a major help in converting to the ICD-10 code set, but it is not a magical solution. In fact, skipping a human review of converted systems exposes an organization to legal and financial risk.

People who are secondary users of coded medical records-who see only the resul....

Author: Butterfield, Blair

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2012

Physician practices have made great strides in the last several years toward adopting EHRs, but even in the era of the HITECH Act and the “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program, a large percentage of practices continue to drag their feet. Cost is certainly a factor for many practices, as is t....

Author: Buttner, Patty

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

Publication Date: February 2015

On January 1, 2015, the updates to the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) went into effect. The updates include 276 new codes, including three new Category II codes and 39 new Category III codes. There are a total of 129 revised codes and 137 deleted codes....

Author: Byrd, Katherine

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2001

Suppose you were asked to do something unethical on the job. What if you were asked by your supervisor to hide delinquent charts just prior to a Joint Commission survey? What would you do?

As a profession, HIM professionals understand our moral obligation to the patient to p....

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: Cain, Jeannine Pugh; Clack, Lesley; Flanigan, Jill; Houser, Shannon H.; Kadlec, Lesley; VanSlyke, Daniel; Zeglen, Margie

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2017

Health informatics and information management (HIIM) is a rapidly changing profession. Core competencies of fundamental AHIMA certifications, such as the RHIA or RHIT, create a strong foundation for pursuing employment in a variety of high-demand positions. Today’s fast-paced technology l....

Author: Calhoun, Mona; Rudman, William J.; Watzlaf, Valerie J.M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2012

In collaboration with members and academic stakeholders, AHIMA proposes Reality 2016, a four-point plan for the future.

Author: Callan, Kathy; Fuller, Jan C.; Galterio, Louis; Just, Beth Haenke; Reich, Kimberly A. Baldwin-Stried ; Steigerwald, Christine; Turner-Combs, Mary Lou; Wolf, Sheldon H; Dooling, Julie A; Kirby, Annessa; Rhodes, Harry B.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2014

Editor’s note: This article is part one of a two-part series analyzing the current state of health information exchange organizations and their operational models.


Health information exchange (HIE) continues to be an embryonic domain—a swirling array of various pu....

Author: Callan, Kathy; Fuller, Jan C.; Galterio, Louis; Just, Beth Haenke; Reich, Kimberly A. Baldwin-Stried ; Steigerwald, Christine; Turner-Combs, Mary Lou; Wolf, Sheldon H; Dooling, Julie A; Kirby, Annessa; Rhodes, Harry B.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2014

Editor’s note: This article is part two of a two-part series analyzing the current state of health information exchange organizations and their operational models.


The question facing the healthcare industry is “will health information exchange organizations (HIOs....

Author: Campbell, Angela; D'Amato, Cheryl; Rugg, Donna

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2016

Editor’s Note: This Practice Brief is an update of the March 2010 version, which replaced the November 2007 Practice Brief “Planning for Present on Admission.”


Section 5001(c) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 requires hospitals to report patient primary and....

Author: Campbell, Angela; Houser, Shannon H.; Paulson, Dawn; Ryznar, Barbara; Smith, Clarice Pittillo; Woebkenberg, Jami; Hernandez, Sandra MSMIS, RHIA, CPHI, CCS, CHC; Pirie-St. Pierre, Mari RHIA, CPHI; Plimpton, Julie MSHI, RHIA, CPHI

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2018

Editor’s Note: This Practice Brief supersedes the September 2014 Practice Brief “Defining the Basics of Health Informatics for HIM Professionals.”


Data, data everywhere! We are living in the age of “Big Data” and healthcare informat....

Author: Campbell, James R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2019

Author: Campbell, James R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2019

Data Mapping of Clinical Terminologies, Classifications, and Ontologies


By James R. Campbell, MD, FACP, FACMI


Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from Chapter 17 of Healthcare Code Sets, Terminologies, and Classification Systems, Fourth Edition, published by A....

Author: Campbell, Keith E.; Giannangelo, Kathy

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2007

Health IT is bogged down in a quagmire of unaligned classification and terminology systems. New recommendations from AHIMA and AMIA help point to the way out.

The healthcare industry is looking to IT to reduce costs, assess quality of care, and deliver services more effici....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2013

[dih-fahy-ning] [helth] [in-fer-mat-iks]


adjective, noun, noun


1. An educator’s in-depth look at what informatics is and what it can do for HIM professionals



In the movie Annie Hall, Woody Allen finds himself in a movie theater line in....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2013

Imagine having a friend who can identify the name of a song after hearing one or two notes, or an acquaintance who can identify a film from a single "still" frame taken from the movie. If this sounds familiar, maybe it's because of the way it reminds you of how a physician thinks about the....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2014

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2010, 35 million patients were discharged from non-federal short-stay hospitals in America.1 Vitally important not only to those discharges—but to every discharge that takes place—is whether important information about the pa....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2009

Lean thinking is the efficient use of staff, resources, and technology to provide the highest level of service possible to the ultimate healthcare customer: the patient.

In today’s volatile healthcare environment, health information managers are being asked to do more with less....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2005

Linking PHRs and provider Web sites can connect consumers to relevant and reliable health information online. HIM professionals can help.
Each day more and more consumers are using the Internet to locate Web-based healthcare information. This activity has led to the rise of a new field o....

Author: Campbell, Robert James

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2013

A 75-year-old man sits uncomfortably on an examination table as his physician informs him that he needs to get a colonoscopy. The patient, an ex-cop, barks at the physician, “Why after all these years do I need to get a colonoscopy?” The physician coolly responds, “With a....

Author: Campbell, Robert James; Brantley, Jeffrey

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2011

HIM professionals need more than tools to manage information, they need tools to help manage the stress and anxiety a state of constant change can bring. "Mindfulness" offers a way to reduce anxiety and keep focused.

During times of change, people may react with fear, ange....

Author: Campbell, Susan E

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2016

Information for general health information managers about the standards development framework and process—with a focus on mobile health For Patient and Self Care

Author: Campbell, Thea

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2003

The pressure on all healthcare organizations for improved financial performance continued to grow in 2003. Many healthcare organizations experienced a financial loss in the first quarter of 2003, and disproportionate reimbursement-to-expenditure ratios in healthcare are straining all organizat....

Author: Camp, Michelle; Comfort, Angie; Endicott, Melanie; Howard, Artis; Kozee, Renee; Munive, Roberta; Novelli, Staci

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2014

Whether it is a first job or a career change, finding that first health information management (HIM) job following graduation is one of the biggest challenges that new graduates face. While some may find that breaking into the HIM industry takes time and persistence, it is a career choice that....

Author: Cange, John R

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2016

To prevent a problem, however, requires that you understand the potential causes of the problem—and this understanding requires data. A complete understanding requires a complete dataset. In the case of HAIs, the ideal dataset would contain data concerning every type of HAI from ever....

Author: Cannon, Jay; Lucci, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2010

Mixing transcription and templates for physician documentation offers a practical way forward in organizations transitioning to electronic records.

One of the biggest roadblocks to successful adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems concerns physician documentation; specifi....

Author: Cannon, Jeanne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2003

HIPAA compliance might be one of the biggest challenges of the decade for covered entities—and not only because of all the new requirements. Simply reading and interpreting the regulations has proven to be a monumental task. So how can a HIPAA team leader make staff enthusiastic about lea....

Author: Carey, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2019

By Susan Carey, MHI, RHIT, PMP, FAHIMA


Outsourcing, whether delegating work to companies within the US or to other countries (offshore outsourcing), has become a strategic consideration and business model in many areas of the healthcare industry, including healthcare IT, health in....

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: 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: Carnrite, Michael; Sumner, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2012

For decades Medical transcription has been an important fixture of the health information management (HIM) department. Compiling, managing, and retaining transcribed documents as a subset of the entire patient medical record is a foundational role for HIM professionals. And while the electron....

Author: Carnrite, Michael; Sumner, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2012

The latest data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report that Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) have reached more than $5 billion. Medical transcription has played a role in providers’ attainment of these incen....

Author: Carolan, Katie

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2011

HIM professionals can help move their organizations' ICD-10-CM/PCS transitions off the back burner by working with their systems' vendors to establish upgrade schedules, training, and transition staffing.

The ramp-up to ICD-10-CM/PCS has been slow...at best. Focused on implement....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2009

Reporting quality measures may become an easier and more fruitful task as technology’s ability to glean data from physician documentation matures.




Healthcare organizations have been asked to report quality measures since the 1990s. The activity wen....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2003

Spending a lot of time with the IT department lately? As HIM processes become automated and demand increasingly sophisticated technology, HIM professionals are making IT professionals their closest allies.
Whether you’re acquiring an electronic master patient index, implementing a t....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2002

Employers find data valuable, but still seek other measures. In this article, experts assess the uneasy relationship between the business community, healthcare organizations, and accreditation.
Stirring in the healthcare arena is an alphabet soup of accrediting bodies. There’s the....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2006

When Allyn Mavity, RHIT, became HIM director for Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center in Richmond, KY, 30 years ago, the notion that one day medical records would become electronic never entered her mind. But healthcare delivery and HIM have changed over the decades. When faced with a burgeon....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2006

Changing practice and new opportunities are sending HIM professionals back to school in degree-granting programs. The benefits begin immediately.
They do it to meet the demands of a changing workplace, move up the management ladder, or pursue new avenues in the field. Some do it for pers....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2003

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2007

Leaders from HIEs forming at the state level talk about their organizations’ unique potential and unique challenges.
Just as healthcare is local, the solutions for sharing patient data are often local, also. However, there is growing interest in the role of networki....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2004

The HIPAA privacy rule implementation is a year in the past. So what are privacy officers doing with all their spare time?
In the long, hectic months leading up to April 2003, privacy officers were preparing their organizations for the implementation of the HIPAA privacy rule. Not only w....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2004

As the bar rises for coding, healthcare organizations require more education from coders—and they are willing to deliver it, too.
The bar has always been high for mdical coding, but recent years have seen it boosted higher. As a result, healthcare organizations need more from code....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2005

David Brailer and industry experts comment on ONC’s busy year and tell the Journal what they expect in the one to come.
Late in 2004 the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) requested input from the healthcare industry on how best to develop an....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2005

EHR systems are costly to purchase, complex to evaluate, and require expertise to implement. So why are small physician practices buying more of them than ever before?
There are plenty of good reasons why EHRs have been scarce in small and medium-sized physician practices. Enormous cost....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2002

Collecting the data is just the beginning. Data quality managers turn patient care data into the information needed for research, quality reviews, and future planning. And it's a job for which HIM professionals are ideally suited.
An obstetrics department resident wants to know how many p....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2007

E-prescribing has long been a dream for many healthcare organizations. However, a pilot study on e-prescribing's effects on long-term care shows that it can easily become a reality for the industry.
A pilot project to study the effects of e-prescrib....

Author: Carol, Ruth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2006

EHRs demonstrated their promise during Hurricane Katrina. But the storm's greatest lesson for HIM is the necessity of contingency planning for health information.
By now we've heard numerous stories about the piles of pulp that used to be patient medical records and the shelves of mildewe....

Author: Carpenter, Jennifer E.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2000

You've been preparing for months. Everyone in your facility is on pins and needles. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has come to your facility. Your boss expects you to make sure everything under your control goes smoothly.

And then it happens. You a....

Author: Carpenter, Jennifer E.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1999

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) created the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) as a standardized performance measurement system. It measures the quality of healthcare received through managed care plans. The measurement system lets healthcare cons....