Author: Head, Erin

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2019

By Erin Head, MBA, RHIA, CHDA, CCS, CHTS-TR


Picture it: No more fax machines by 2020. That means no fax machines by next year.


Ambitious as this timeline may seem, it’s actually the challenge set forth by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Adminis....

Author: Hay, Christian

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2014

Originally designed to shorten long wait times at the grocery store checkout, UPCs—the black and white bars and numbers printed on nearly all consumer items—are now expanding into healthcare with the promise of improving medical device use and raising the quality and safety of....

Author: Hawkins, Fanny

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2002

Is clinical documentation significantly different before and after implementing the electronic health record (EHR)?
Believing that the development and implementation of an EHR strategy is required for success, Baylor College of Medicine sought to answer this question. This article present....

Author: Haugen, Mary Beth; Richardson, Amy

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2016

Consider the following fictional, and perhaps all-too-familiar, conversation between health information management (HIM) department staff and health information technology (IT) staff:


Chief Information Officer (CIO) to HIM Director: “Were you aware that last month we implem....

Author: Haugen, Mary Beth; Pelot, Jeff

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2018

By Mary Beth Haugen, MS, RHIA, and Jeff Pelot, MS

A successful decommissioning project depends upon collaboration, leadership, and retention practices based on an enterprise approach to information governance and management. For organizations that have not established retention policies, be....

Author: Haugen, Mary Beth; Dascher, Paula; Manor, Barbara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2017

Editor’s Note: This article is a follow-up to the piece “Bridging HIM’s Disconnect with IT” that appeared in the March 2016 Journal of AHIMA.


As healthcare organizations move toward value-based models, health information management (HIM) and informatio....

Author: Haugen, Mary Beth

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2015

Data integrity is at risk any time inaccurate information is entered into the patient health record, starting with the creation of the encounter in the registration process and continuing through the entire information lifecycle. Errors in the patient record can affect patient safety, cli....

Author: Haugen, Mary Beth

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: June 2014

Challenging the status quo can seem risky. But for Kootenai Health and Medical Center, it was the right approach to solving the ICD-10-PCS for outpatient conundrum—to code or not to code these services.


Based in Coeur d’Alene, ID, Kootenai Health includes a 254-be....

Author: Haugen, Heather

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2014

With warm weather comes allergy season and possibly hundreds of patients visiting a physician who have similar symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment recommendations. Challenged by the documentation processes in the electronic health record (EHR) and starved for time, the physician may resort....

Author: Hart-O'Connor, Sheila

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2012

A new update to AHIMA's Code of Ethics addresses recent changes in technology, healthcare, and association management-and the accompanying complexity of competing interests and obligations they can bring.

All who hold AHIMA's credentials are responsible for performing their rol....

Author: Hartman, Kathy; Phillips, Shannon Connor; Sornberger, Lyman

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2012

How one organization is improving documentation and quality of care through innovation and transformation.

Author: Harris, Shelly; Kelly, Jeannie

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

Publication Date: October 2015

As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Probe and Educate Initiative draws to a close and the 2016 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rules are released for comment, questions remain for the healthcare industry regarding expectations for selecting pati....

Author: Harman, Laurinda B.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2000

What would you do if asked to do something on the job you suspected might be unethical? HIM professionals encounter these situations often. Our author takes us back to the original code of ethics and shows us how its principles can still apply today.
Today's HIM professionals operate in....

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: Harker, Kathy

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2006

Northwest Health System followed a smooth launch of a coding product with something a little more ambitious—a beta version of a document management system.
In April 2005 Northwest Health System in Springdale, AR, implemented Web-based coding to boost productivity. The system....

Author: Harford, Joseph P.; Rizzo, Karen

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2006

One of the many challenges of the HIPAA age is handling the millions of outdated computers and associated peripheral devices. Once a back-burner issue, computer disposal is now front and center in the healthcare industry. The need to secure a health organization’s network goes well beyon....

Author: Harford, Joseph P.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2003

None of these methods of disposal address healthcare organizations’ environmental or legal responsibilities. But how do you know if your organization is legally positioned to handle disposal of computer equipment? This article will address these concerns.

What Is Legal?
<....

Author: Hardin, J. Michael; Miller, Phyllis; Whelan, Anita; Bellile, Susan K.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1999

As we face a new century, both the national and global economies are undergoing forces and changes of epic proportion. As the economy changes, some experts believe, Americans will see the emergence of a “knowledge economy” in which information is a valuable resource. Those who succeed in this....

Author: Harding, Ann; Stuart-Buttle, Charlie

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1998

Produced and maintained by Britain's National Health Service, the Read Codes are a comprehensive, controlled clinical vocabulary. Here's a look at how the codes evolved, their use in the NHS, and the continual process of aligning the system with the needs of its users.
<....

Author: Hapner, Peggy

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: May 2001

As HIM professionals already know, data quality-one of the basic tenets of compliance-depends on comprehensive documentation and accurate code assignments. Because coding plays a major role in payment, reporting data accurately, managing data flow and data collection, and training st....

Author: Hanson, Susan P.; Schutzengel, Ray E.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2004

HIM professionals are center stage as pioneering physician practices realize the benefits of the EHR. At Main Street Pediatrics in Bridgeport, CT, the EHR has become a “stethoscope”—a necessary tool in the practice of medicine.
The electronic health record (EHR) is a dr....

Author: Hanson, Susan P.; Hanson, Raymond J. Jr.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2005

On opposite sides of the globe, India and the US spell the future of health information management the same: EHR.
The numbers are staggering and hard to absorb by US standards—the Indian healthcare system delivers care to a population of more than 1 billion people. With acceleratin....

Author: Hanson, Susan P.; Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2006

With the right planning, health IT and nationwide health data exchange can deter healthcare fraud.
Fraud is a significant drain on the US healthcare system. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that 3 percent of the nation's annual healthcare outlay--$51 billion--was....

Author: Hanson, Susan P.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2005

In order for the nation’s health IT strategy to succeed, small physician practices must adopt electronic health records (EHRs). The transition of the paper-based small physician practice to the digital world will require a fundamental understanding of the practice and the deployment and....

Author: Hansen, Abby

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

Publication Date: September 2018

By Abby Hansen, MHA, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that suicide rates have increased by more than 30 percent since 1999. In 2014, suicides accounted for 42,773 deaths in the United States; 2015....

Author: Hansen, Abby

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2019

By Abby Hansen, MHA, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P


As always, the new year has brought the annual round of updates to code sets and coding procedures, including the newly released Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) update for 2019. The final rule for calendar year (CY)....

Author: Hanna, Joette

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2002

The government has turned its attention to coding compliance. Do you have an effective program in place? Use the steps in this article to build a coding compliance program that protects your organization.


Coding compliance has become an integral part of every HIM department
....

Author: Hanken, Mary Alice

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 1998

The federal legislation for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the need in healthcare for security of confidential data have come together to heighten the interest in security standards for electronic health information systems. Th....

Author: Hammond, William Edward; McCourt, Brian

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2007

Early efforts to create health data standards were led primarily by vendors, with support from providers. Vendors were right to take the reins on these standards, as most addressed technical issues related to interfacing best-of-breed systems or transmitting transaction data for reimburse....

Author: Hammond, William Edward; Jaffe, Charles; Kush, Rebecca Daniels

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2009

Two standards developing organizations—CDISC and HL7—demonstrate that collaboration, while challenging, delivers benefits to standards developers, end users, and ultimately patients.

Technical standards are essential to improving healthcare. For health IT to reduce medic....

Author: Hammerman, Julia

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2018

By Hammerman, RHIA, CPHQ


The ever-increasing complexity of healthcare is driving the need for coding quality and compliance programs. Given the transition to ICD-10, advancements in treatments and procedures, a move to quality reporting....

Author: Hammen, Cheryl

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2001

In today’s competitive market, physician profiling has become a way to provide consumers with a "snapshot" of a physician. It is also used in determining physician participation in various managed care contracts through identification of variations in physician practice pa....

Author: Hammen, Cheryl

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2001

Auditing coding and DRG accuracy has become an important component in the daily operation of the HIM department. Many providers are choosing to contract with external coding consultants to perform this task. This can be an appropriate solution as long as the vendor meets the necessary....

Author: Hammen, Cheryl

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2000

The objective of the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) fiscal year 1999 audit was to determine whether medical fee-for-service claims complied with Medicare rules and regulations. The OIG examined claims for accurate documentation and coding, medical necessity, and to ensure that c....

Author: Halpert, Aviva M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2008

An HIM department’s disaster management plan is an iterative process with four identifiable phases that cycle continuously: plan development, back-up, recovery, and interim management. The first part of this series in the April 2008 issue provided an overview of plan development, data ba....

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: Halpert, Aviva M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2008

Disaster management for an HIM department is an iterative process with four identifiable phases that cycle continuously: plan development, back-up, recovery, and interim management. In subsequent iterations of the cycle, plan re-evaluation replaces plan development.

Regardless of wh....

Author: Hall, Terri

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2005

The Billings Area Indian Health Service (IHS) began implementing an electronic health record (EHR) about three years ago, beginning with the Crow Acute Care Hospital and its Wind River outpatient clinics. This article outlines the steps the organization took to reach “go live.”

Author: Hall, Teresa M

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2008

It can be tempting for providers to reach for paper, especially when things get hectic. Planning and support help keep the hybrid record from getting more hybrid than it has to be.

Providers who are comfortable with the paper chart system can have a very difficult time letting go of....

Author: Hall, Debra; Siegel, Barbara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2005

Tracking case outcomes helps improve care and create efficiency. But without universal reporting standards, the workload for hospitals is heavy and the data lacks uniformity.
There are only so many hours in a day. Take the case of New Jersey hospitals.

The Leapfrog Group rates....

Author: Halamandaris, Val J.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2000

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, home health care was the fastest growing healthcare segment in the United States. Although Medicare cutbacks enacted under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 have left many home health providers struggling to survive under restricted reimbursements,....

Author: Haines, Pamela T.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 1999

Operation PAR, Inc., in St. Petersburg, FL, is an integrated substance abuse/mental health delivery system that includes substance abuse programs and a recently acquired psychiatric hospital. It includes inpatient, residential, and outpatient programs for both juvenile and adult client....

Author: Haines, Pamela T.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2005

HIPAA’s privacy rule has heightened awareness about confidentiality of healthcare information among the general public. However, pockets of confusion still exist. Misunderstandings between healthcare providers and law enforcement officials (LEOs) abound about the laws governing protected....

Author: Haines, Pamela T.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2004

According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 22 million Americans age 12 and older were classified with substance dependence or abuse; that is 9.4 percent of the total US population. A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (....

Author: Haines, Pamela T.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2004

If you are writing business associate agreements for a healthcare provider these days, you have probably discovered there are often no magic words or formulas that will produce an agreement. Although sample forms available from various sources may be helpful, generally no two business associat....

Author: Haik, William E

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

Publication Date: February 2015

It is a well known fact that ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes impact hospital reimbursement and compliance. But there is an additional code that often flies under the radar—the discharge status code. Inaccurate discharge status code assignments for Medicare post-acute care transfers....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2006

When new IT systems come online, the time couldn’t be better to assess and improve clinical documentation.

Electronic health record system implementations offer a perfect opportunity to assess and improve an organization’s clinical documentation. The renewed attention is ne....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2004

Financial executives are reviewing IT proposals with keener eyes thanever before. Here’s what they’re looking for.
Ask financial executives Mike Vaci and Nina Hayes what things go through their minds when they’re approached with proposals to invest in capital projects s....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2000

HIM professionals may not be totally ready for a paperless environment—but then again, neither is anyone else.
Linda Fischer Smith remembers well the days (after all, they were just a couple of years ago) when she and her colleagues in the health information management area at Kais....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2007

Nebraska’s small population is spread across vast distances on the Great Plains. It might not sound like the kind of state that would produce pioneering health data exchange networks. Yet that’s what is happening as a cluster of regional and potentially statewide health information exchan....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2006

In July the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) announced the first certified ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) products for office-based physicians and providers. Certified products meet baseline levels of functionality, interoperability, and securi....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2002

HIM professionals are stepping up to the newly created role of privacy officer in many organizations. But privacy officers have been around for years in other industries. What can we learn from them about positioning this role?


Banking and financial services, telecommunications....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2005

HIM leaders share how they welcome change, pursue new skills, and take some risks,
always seeking to help their colleagues and their organizations advance.
Mary Beth McCoy, RHIA, knows what it means to bring leadership to a changing HIM environment. As director of HIM and informati....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2005

With one eye on strategy and one on operations, HIM managers not only have the opportunity to facilitate change, they also have the responsibility.
Awareness of senior-level strategy combined with detailed organizational knowledge can give HIM managers keen eyesight. For Mary Staub, RHIA....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2002

Many healthcare facilities are exploring document imaging solutions and enjoying the benefits of increased accessibility and faster workflows. The transition requires significant planning, however. In this article, learn how several healthcare organizations implemented document imaging systems....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2006

In the past several years, the concept of the regional health information organization (RHIO) has taken root, as dozens of information-sharing initiatives have been founded across the US. While no more than a handful of RHIOs are actively sharing clinical and other data, dozens could be onl....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2000

Across the Internet, commercial services are developing online consumer health records. How do these work? What are the implications for HIM professionals? This article takes a look.

Like a sudden gust of wind whipping across a prairie frontier, a new phenomenon is emerging in hea....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2007

How can an organization protect patient information during a disaster? Perhaps the most dramatic real-life example in recent years was Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans in August 2005. The experience of the HIM professionals at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, just acro....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2005

The PHR represents more than a consumer-managed health history. It’s a new way to see the consumer’s role in healthcare.
Sheryl Rose, RHIT, an assistant manager of HIM at Valley Hospital Medical Center in Spokane, WA, recently switched physicians. Following her first appointme....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2002

As clinical coding technology advances, coding professionals’ responsibilities and work environments are changing. Some coders are working from home, while others are taking on quality assurance roles. In all cases, a willingness to embrace change is a must.

Ask Pat Biesboer, R....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2003

Is your clinic or medical group thinking about implementing an EHR? Plan for plenty of changes—in staffing, processes, and the delivery of care. Here, learn how a variety of clinics weathered the conversion.

When the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, planned to open a new hospital....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2001

Personal health records online are flourishing, but every setup is different. Here’s a look at how organizations and patients are managing personal health records.
Last spring Eugene Ernest “Ernie” Somera found out that he had elevated blood sugars, a sign that he was slid....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2002

You've got the skills and education to take on the privacy officer position, but what will it entail? Learn how three chief privacy officers manage their new responsibilities and what they've found most challenging.
It's 9:15 a.m. on a Thursday morning in late January, and Deborah Thoma....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2001

Michal Williams, RHIA, is excited about what's going on at Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) these days. As director of HIM for the 230-physician group practice in Silicon Valley, she plays a key role in managing the development of a relatively new mode of communication that is begi....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2007

What if health payers and others adopted agreed-upon standards to enable electronic access to eligibility and benefits data? Wouldn’t that make it easier for providers to verify patient insurance coverage and submit cleaner claims?

That’s the goal behind a nationwide initia....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2001

Healthcare leaders say there’s no time to waste on serious compliance work, and HIM professionals will be at the heart of the action in this area.
Eunice Little isn’t nervous about HIPAA. After all, she and her colleagues at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles are in the small m....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2003

What’s the best way to select a technology vendor? For HIM professionals, IS education and collaboration yield the best results.
The vendor evaluation and selection process starts with education, according to Tracy Hickey, MBA, RHIA, and relies on the input of a multidisciplinary te....

Author: Hagland, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2004

New technologies are enhancing the ability to protect patient information. But there’s more to successful implementation than just what’s inside the box.

Melanie Schattauer, RHIA, Jack Obert, and their colleagues at Mercy St. John’s Health System in Springfield, M....

Author: Haas, Mark

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2011

Since 2007 Massachusetts General Hospital has been working toward a do-it-yourself model for records requests. Not only does the organization save time and money when patients fulfill their own requests, the model also aligns with the emerging philosophy of patient-centered care, wher....

Author: Guyton, Odell

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2001

Ensuring the success of your compliance program means keeping your eye on more than billing and coding. The author highlights some issues on the horizon for compliance officers.


As a compliance officer of your healthcare organization, you've established your formal....

Author: Gurrieri, Joseph J; Milligan, Cassie; Strafer, Paul

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 2015

The ultimate goal of most CDI programs is to improve the quality of patient care through more accurate and complete clinical documentation. A potential increase in revenue is, of course, a positive byproduct of doing so—which makes sense. If organizations can demonstrate severity of illne....

Author: Gurrieri, Joseph J; Karban, Karen M

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2013

HIM professionals know the facts about ICD-10-CM/PCS. Achieving readiness is the number one IT concern among hospital and physician group executives.1 But there are costs to achieving a high level of preparedness—which some studies show can range in the millions of dollars for large....

Author: Gudea, Sorin

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2005

MPI quality relies on the sophisticated algorithms that drive patient lookup. As health information exchange gains momentum, accurate and complete record matching will be more critical than ever.
Record matching has been around since the dawn of the database, but much has changed since.....

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: Grzybowski, Darice; Fox, Leslie Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 1996

Project Rationale and History

We dream of a world where all medical record forms are complete and legible, neatly and proportionately designed, easily converted into electronic format, and efficient for those who document in them; contain clear identification data; and meet all legal, ac....