Author: Zernich, Gordon; DeVitt, Bill

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2002

HIM directors who are staying ahead of the curve can understand the effect that several megatrends will have on the transcription industry. These trends include increased volumes, use of third-party transcription services, new technology and increased expectations, standardized billing, and sh....

Author: Zernich, Gordon

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2001

The enactment of the Cancer Registries Amendment Act in 1992 and the passage of similar state laws require healthcare facilities and state and national registries to gather information on certain diseases from patient medical records. The information is also used to identify geographic "ho....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2003

The 1970s brought a new name for the Association and a new credential name. The decade also witnessed landmark privacy legislation, and medical record practitioners discovered a need to understand the language of technology as well as that of medicine.

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: November 2012

Today, healthcare organizations are investing in information technology (IT) at unprecedented rates. And IT is generating more data-of all kinds-than ever before. What’s needed now, says Linda Kloss, RHIA, FAHIMA, is for healthcare organizations to invest in ways to manage, control, and under....

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: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2005

Diane Premeau, MBA, RHIA, has advice for HIM professionals who are thinking about getting involved in regional health information projects: “Invite yourself,” she says. “They will move forward with or without HIM in the implementation, so be part of the solution in some capac....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1998

Back in elementary school, a new lunch box and a pencil were all you needed on the first day of school. In the age of Internet-based education, however, the hardware requirements are a little more involved—but the classroom is still there.

A handful of accredited....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2001

Donna Bowers, JD, RHIA, knows that implementing HIPAA is an imposing assignment. But she's keeping her cool.

"Everyone needs to calm down about HIPAA," says Bowers, who is vice president of Baylor University Medical Center and responsible for HIPAA implementation systemwid....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2002

Like many HIM professionals specializing in information security, Kimberly Lawrence, MS, RHIT, spends most of her time designing and reviewing policies. But she relishes the part of her job that calls on her to be creative, too.


“We’re always trying to come up with be....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1999

During his work day, Mark Barnard, ART, performs functions similar to HIM professionals in other settings: processes medical records, enters data, and responds to requests for information. But for Barnard, there also is an important difference. Namely, the people whose health informati....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1998

Medical records director, research analyst, marketing expert—all these titles have applied, at some time, to Jean Corley, RRA. But her favorite role is as an "agent of change"—and she's assumed many titles in its pursuit.

Corley says that one of her pro....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 1999

Considerable attention has been paid to the development of organizationwide information security policies—especially what they should contain and how they should be put in place. But enforcing these policies isn't always easy. We asked four information security experts to give us....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2001

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a smorgasbord of accreditation options develop in all care settings. This list offers a sampling of the many accreditation organizations existing today.



Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)-accredits am....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2003

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2004

Assistant professor Nadinia Davis, MBA, CIA, CPA, RHIA, FAHIMA, does all of the daily work expected of an educator: teaching, grading, and advising students. But she’s also thinking about education’s “big picture” and how HIM fits into it.

Davis’s long....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2009

Keeping an organization’s revenue cycle running smoothly is no small feat. But Patsy Hathorn’s team at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, MS, volunteered to take it on. Now the team is seeing results.

Hathorn, RHIA, who is director of clinical resource managem....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2008

As a professor at Temple University, Margaret (“Maggie”) Foley, PhD, RHIA, CCS, has to have an eye for details. But she also has an eye on the big picture—specifically on ICD-10 and the benefits it could offer to healthcare.

Before she became a professor, Foley was....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2003

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 1998

HIM professionals who work in long term care settings are well acquainted with the Minimum Data Set 2.0 (MDS). Since 1990, it has been part of the standardized assessments that nursing homes participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs must complete. Starting this summer, updated submis....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2007

From the classroom to the community, Ruth Walker, MIS, RHIA, CPHQ, is in the business of educating people. At work, she teaches HIM students and recruits new ones. And in her spare time, she helps her fellow HIM professionals take the personal health record (PHR) lesson to their communiti....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 1998

Healthcare restructuring is happening everywhere these days—and Barbara Siegel, ART, knows this firsthand. She has helped to implement a hospitalwide reorganization that has affected nearly all of the facility's 3000 employees.

Siegel, director of medical records at T....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 1998

It started as a simple benchmarking project. But when Patricia Rhodes, RRA, Carol Keller, MPA, and their team finished, the project had taken them across the country, opened up lines of communication with staff members at nine other facilities, and helped them improve their....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 1999

In implementing a computer-based patient record (CPR), an organization must address these questions: How can we integrate what the product does with our own strategic vision? And how can we justify the cost of installing a system?

While it is not widely used, the evolu....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2003

“I could have retired by now, but I don't regret having any of these experiences.” —Richard Jeske, RHIT, HIM supervisor,
Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage, AK
HIM supervisor Richard Jeske, RHIT, hasn’t spent his entire career working in health information ma....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2001

HIM professionals need to know the correct and legal way to do things to keep their departments and organizations running smoothly. Jan Van Dyne, JD, RHIA, needs to know the correct and legal way to do things to advise clients-healthcare organizations of all types and sizes-to keep th....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2000

Consumers go to healthcare Web sites to get information, keep track of their health, or connect with others. Behind the scenes at one such site, Barbara Demster, MS, RHIA, is working to make sure everything is legal.

Demster is corporate compliance officer for Healtheon/ W....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2002

"You don't need to be a computer programmer to do [data management]. You need to know how to manage data. The rest will fall into place." --Lorraine Tully, director of HIM, HealthMarket, on getting started in data management
Understanding the big picture: that's what Lorraine Tully, RHIT, beli....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2000

For many people, working with artificial intelligence may sound like something out of a science fiction movie. But for Amy Davis, RHIA, it's just part of the job.

Davis is coding specialist and knowledge engineer at DocCode.com, a company based in Jacksonville, FL. Davis's....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2003

“Find a job that really holds your interest and one that will challenge you. If you’re not challenged daily, there’s something wrong.” —Judy Sample, RHIT, CCS, knowledge engineer
at Inference Systems International, Inc.
Combining her interests in coding and tec....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2006

"The information is there, but is it correct?" asks Wilson. "Can the systems talk to each other, and are they truly speaking the same language?"

In her work as a data analyst and team lead for the 3M Healthcare Data Dictionary at 3M Health Information Systems, Wi....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2005

The electronic health record (EHR) is making inroads in healthcare organizations, and many HIM professionals say they are ready. More than 40 percent of respondents to a new survey indicate that their organizations are extensively or partially implementing an EHR, and almost 70 percent say the....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2000

How ready are healthcare organizations to put the proposed security regulations connected to HIPAA into effect? What are the next steps-or, in some cases, first steps-HIM professionals should take? Our panel of experts offers some advice.

So you thought preparing for Y2K was a lot o....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2000

While most HIM professionals are acquainted with participating in a facility's Joint Commission accreditation processes, a small but significant number work in facilities that are also accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Though the organizations have....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2002

“Privacy and security are big issues for consumers. Many e-health sites are not covered by HIPAA, so even though they think they don’t need privacy and security, we need to make them aware of it. We need to work with organizations to make sure data collected by health sites or by In....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2007

When Abby Cooper, MHIM, RHIA, became a college instructor, she expected to teach, grade, and advise students. What she didn’t expect was that for many students, she’d come to represent the HIM profession. “You have to spend a lot of time selling the program and the profession,” says Coope....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2004

“It's important to have a network of colleagues at different organizations -- to have people you can call and ask, 'How are you doing this?'"     —Julie Bryant
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Julie Bryant, RHIA, was in college, she started to hear the buzz about....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2002

Is your hospital getting ready for the Joint Commission’s core measures project? Some hospitals are already transmitting the necessary data as part of the pilot project. Here’s how they are handling the challenges and deriving benefits.
If you’re an HIM director, you prob....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2004

As an information security manager, Karen Czirr, MS, RHIA, CHP, learns by doing. She also learns by teaching.

Czirr, who works at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, welcomes the chance to improve her knowledge, and she says teaching others is a great way....

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: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2001

When users of the Medscape or CBS HealthWatch Web sites have questions or concerns about their privacy, they can send e-mail to an address like privacy@medscapeinc.com. At the message's receiving end is likely to be Lynne Shoemaker, RHIA.

"I'm a clearinghouse for questio....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2006

Director of HIM and hospital privacy officer Cindy Pugliese, RHIA, has a number of roles in her job description. But her role goes beyond her job title. At her facility, Pugliese sees herself as an advocate for the legal health record.

Pugliese believes that as an HIM professional, sh....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2001

Navigating the regulations and standards related to long-term care could make anyone feel like they are lost in a maze. But in her most recent position, Mary Sidelnik, RHIA, has been able to help those interested in long-term care in the state of Texas find their way out.

Sidelnik most....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 1998

HIM professionals agree that applying the principles of information security is important in a hospital setting. But as Sharon Johnson, RRA, knows, those principles can be applied in many situations--including settings under construction. Since spring 1997, Johnson has been ....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 1998

As the Net surfers of today become the long term care consumers of tomorrow, the long term care industry faces new challenges. Patients and their families are growing increasingly interested in information that will help them make more informed decisions about healthcare. A....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1998

If you want to be an agent of change, sometimes you must first change your own life. That's a lesson Debra Harris, MA, RRA, has learned.

Harris, director of health information services at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, WA, began the process when she decided that continui....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2008

When Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston has a tough health information-related issue to solve, chances are Deborah Adair, MPH, MS, RHIA, and her team are already working on it.

Director of health information services and privacy officer at MGH (part of the Partners Health....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2009

As a member of AHIMA’s E-Health Task Force in 1999–2000 and an early facilitator of AHIMA’s e-Health Community of Practice, Lynda Mitchell, RHIA, CPHQ, could see that the Internet had great potential for healthcare and communication. A decade later, the potential has become r....

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: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2005

As director of HIM and chief privacy officer at Group Health Cooperative (GHC), Sheila Green-Shook, MHA, RHIA, CHP, is well versed in the intricacies of developing policy and procedure specific to health information. She is also deeply involved in GHC’s electronic health record (EHR) imp....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2006

As privacy officer with TRICARE Management Activity (TMA), the Department of Defenses office that manages the militarys worldwide healthcare program, TRICARE, Sam Jenkins, CHE, takes his role seriously.

What we do in privacy and security is extremely important, not only to our health....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

HIM professionals think of classification systems such as ICD-9-CM as tools for everyday use. But these familiar systems are evolving and changing rapidly—as Donna Pickett, RRA, is well aware.

Pickett is medical systems administrator for the Office of Data Standards, ....

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2004

From CE requirements to membership dues to the future of education and ethical practices, participants in the October 2003 House of Delegates meeting discussed issues that affect all members. This article looks at the highlights of the day’s work.
New Standards for CE Maintenance

Author: Zender, Anne

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2004

In 2010 will HIM professionals be working in a paperless environment in the context of a robust national health information infrastructure? According to a panel of experts, public and private entities are taking steps to move closer to this goal. Leading decision makers and public policy exper....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.; Scichilone, Rita A

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: October 1999

Physician offices face the challenge of submitting correct coding information through the billing process. Ensuring timely reimbursement at the highest level for which services were provided, correct coding also proves there are no fraudulent activities occurring at the facility. Performing a....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.; Schraffenberger, Lou Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2006

Editor's note: This article is an expanded version of the article "ICD-9-CM Coding Changes for Fiscal Year 2007" published in the September 2006 edition of the Journal of AHIMA.
Hematology Issues

Lymphatic and Hematopoietic Tissues
New codes were approved to uniquely....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.; Schraffenberger, Lou Ann

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

Publication Date: September 2006

The ICD-9-CM coding changes for fiscal year 2007 were released in the April 25, 2006, Federal Register (available at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a060425c.html). Additional code changes were included in the final rule released in August. Changes go into effect with discharges occurring on....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2002

The ICD-9-CM coding changes and DRG changes for fiscal year 2003 include 106 new diagnosis codes, 41 new V codes, 16 new E codes, 25 new procedure codes, and 19 invalid diagnosis codes. Released in the August 1, 2002, Federal Register, these changes went into effect October 1, 2002, with disch....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2014

ICD-10-CM provides greater specificity in coding injuries than ICD-9-CM. While many of the coding guidelines for injuries remain the same as ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM does include some new features, such as seventh characters.

Chapter 19 Overview


Chapter 19 is titled "In....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: April 2000

Implementing the processes for CPT modifier usage in the outpatient hospital setting has been a topic on everyone's "to do" list since HCFA announced the change. There are many variables in executing this change, such as updating or changing computer systems, training staff, and developing chan....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: April 2002

Recently, a group of coders participated in a survey about their day-to-day experiences as remote, or at-home coders. The survey asked a series of questions related to the positives and negatives of coding at home versus coding in the more traditional office setting. Below is a summary of the....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: March 2004

Transvenous intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a relatively new procedure used to treat complications of severe liver disease such as bleeding esophageal varices. This extensive procedure is typically performed by interventional radiologists and involves the placement of a stent in the....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: February 2010

ICD-10-PCS has a completely different structure than ICD-9-CM. Each ICD-10-PCS code consists of individual values rather than lists of fixed codes and text descriptions, with each value containing a unique definition. The objective of the procedure is identified in the third character, the roo....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: October 2010

Root Operations That Always Involve a Device, Involve Examination Only, or Define Other Objectives

The medical and surgical procedure section of ICD-10-PCS contains most (but not all) procedures typically coded and reported in the hospital inpatient setting. There are 31 root operatio....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: March 2010

Root Operations that Take Out Some or All of a Body Part

The medical and surgical procedure section of ICD-10-PCS contains most, but not all, procedures typically reported in the hospital inpatient setting. As with all codes in ICD-10-PCS, the medical and surgical procedure codes contain....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2003

New ICD-9-CM codes and DRG changes for fiscal year 2004 were released in the August 1, 2003, Federal Register. These changes went into effect October 1, 2003, with discharges occurring on or after that date. There were 104 new diagnosis codes and 10 new procedure codes. Due to code expansions,....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: February 2009

Although the ICD-10-CM/PCS final rule sets an implementation deadline of October 2013, facilities should start preparing now for the new code set. All facilities reporting ICD-9-CM codes for diagnoses must transition to ICD-10-CM for diagnosis reporting.

ICD-10-CM implementation will....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: January 2011

Note: This article has been updated.  The updated version is available here.

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

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

Publication Date: March 2007

New codes for generalized pain, central pain syndrome, and postoperative pain were approved for ICD-9-CM in FY 2007 and went into effect October 1, 2006. Previously codes for pain were found in the body system chapters and the symptom chapters. A new category was created in the nervous sys....

Author: Zeisset, Ann M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2001

For those reporting ICD-9-CM codes for all diagnoses coding, and hospitals reporting ICD-9-CM volume III for procedures, fall is the time to review and implement the changes and revisions for fiscal year 2002.

The ICD-9-CM coding changes for fiscal year 2002 were released in the Augus....

Author: Zeiour, Collette; Twiggs, Mariela

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2015

With more than 1,000 large breaches of protected health information (PHI) on record, it’s not surprising that PHI disclosure management is currently top of mind for healthcare leaders.1 Many of these breaches have cost organizations between $1 million and $5 million in penalties, not to m....

Author: Zeglen, Margaret

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 1997

Exhibit 1: Steps to Selecting a Performance Measurement System

Measurement goals. The first step towards selecting a performance measurement system is to consider your organization's mission and strategic plan for improving performance. Determine your organization's priorities for measurem....

Author: Zeglen, Margaret

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 1997

Introduction


In January 1997, the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations approved new requirements for participation in the accreditation process for hospitals and long term care facilities. The requirements apply to performanc....

Author: Zegan, Jacquie CCS, RCC

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2018

Untitled Document





Valid ICD-10-CM/PCS (ICD-10) codes have been required for claims reporting since October 1, 2015. But ICD-10 diagnosis coding to the correct level of specificity—a more recent requirement—continues to be a problem for many in th....

Author: Zarybnicky, Rosalie; Coltrin, Kaelyn; Colwell, Holly; Lam, Donna

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2001

Best practices are the result of professionals developing practical ways to improve processes and quality. Medicare peer review organization and state Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP) organizer PRO-West recognized this when it looked to state hospitals for methods to improve do....

Author: Zarick, Deborah; Abda, Renee

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: September 16, 2016

This article is published in sponsorship with Berkeley Research Group (BRG).


Uncertainty and fear permeated physicians’ offices leading up to October 1, 2015. The transition to ICD-10-CM was reminiscent of the Y2K scare. A new coding set would replace the existing ICD-9-CM cl....