Author: Zakoworotny, Cindy; Rutz, Cheryl; Zwingman-Bagley, Cheryl

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 1997

In 1994, Hartford Hospital began to prepare for a 1995 survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. In reviewing the hospital's policies, it was clear that they addressed the assignment of user IDs and passwords for a mainframe environment rather than a network....

Author: Le, Huan N.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2003

Medicare regulations, HIPAA compliance, and the threat of litigation have made it impossible to draft a one-page healthcare contract. Standard language alone now extends to up to four pages. It’s a good idea to hire an attorney for contract negotiations and drafting, but even then, you mi....

Author: Lower, Christi L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2019

How the New HIM Curricula Will Change Education, Future Employees


By Christi Lower, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA


The health information management (HIM) professional’s career pathway has changed as technology continues to impact providers’ ability to acquire, harness, and harvest he....

Author: Lower, Christi L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2019

How the New HIM Curricula Will Change Education, Future Employees


By Christi Lower, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA


The health information management (HIM) professional’s career pathway has changed as technology continues to impact providers’ ability to acquire, harness, and harvest he....

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: Featheringham, Meg

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2008

Laurie Rinehart-Thompson, JD, RHIA, CHP, didn’t plan on going into academia when she began her HIM career. “I absolutely love it, but I didn’t originally consider it,” she says of how she came to be assistant professor of clinical allied medicine at The Ohio State University.

Rinehar....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2011

Health information management (HIM) is the practice of collecting, assessing the completeness of, maintaining, and sharing (as authorized) patient information through paper-based and electronic means. It is practiced in provider, payer, research, and governmental settings, as well as in health....

Author: Spath, Patrice L.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2002

The Joint Commission has raised and revised its patient safety standards. Is your facility ready to meet them?
Safety in healthcare is not a new concept. Even before the American College of Surgeons formed the Hospital Standardization Program in 1917, healthcare facilities had safety pro....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2001

Beyond the endless speculation about how the recent federal election will affect Congress' lawmaking abilities, the narrow margins of victory illustrated an important point: individual votes have power. The 436 elected officials in Washington, DC, recognize this. This is AHIMA's-and y....

Author: Mangin, Wendy L

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2008

Managing patient records has become more complex for medical practices. Electronic health records, quality reporting, and coding and documentation compliance all affect how a practice manages its patient information.


While improved information holds great promise for patient c....

Author: Hersh, William R; Valerius, Joanne D

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2013

The disciplines of health information management (HIM) and biomedical and health informatics (informatics) have many historical differences, from the focus of their work to their academic roots. HIM has most often been seen as an operational profession, typically grouped among “allie....

Author: Eramo, Lisa A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2014

Leaders are innovative, strategic, and collaborative. Leaders are confident and creative problem solvers. They’ve worked hard to hone their knowledge and earn the respect of others. Leaders are known for their subject matter expertise, as well as their business savvy.


In he....

Author: Washington, Lydia

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: September 30, 2015

At AHIMA’s Annual Convention and Exhibit in New Orleans, LA this year, AHIMA rolled out the first of a suite of new products and services designed to support organizations and professionals who are starting the information governance (IG) journey. IG PulseRate™ is a free 25-question mini-a....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2016

In May the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released a Data Brief describing the state of interoperability among non-federal acute care hospitals in 2015.1 The report looks specifically at four “domains” of interoperability: the ability for health systems....

Author: Smith, Cheryl M.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2001

In today's healthcare environment, time is a vital resource. HIM department leaders work to develop skills and use tools to manage personnel, budgets, and projects, but few consider investing in the development of the skills needed to manage time. While time management may be a new c....

Author: Endicott, Melanie

Source: Journal of AHIMA - Coding Notes

Publication Date: November 2012

Injection and infusion coding is a challenging area, thanks to vast instructional notes, hierarchy rules, and payer-specific policies.


Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) defines the terms “injection” and “infusion” as:


Injection—delivers a dosage in one “shot,” r....

Author: Rollins, Gina

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2008

Specialty tracks and associate degrees offer professional fulfillment, career advancement, and better pay.

Laid-off when a manufacturing and shipping business closed, Cindy Higgins, RHIT, took advantage of retraining opportunities and entered the HIM field. She went on to comple....

Author: Welch, Julie J.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1998

Perhaps you are pondering the idea of going back to school. You may be filled with excitement at the prospect—or you may be asking yourself why you would want to do such a thing. Regardless of your level of education or job experience, lifelong learning can yield valuable rewards.....

Author: Wiggs Harris, Wylecia

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2019

By Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, chief executive officer


In a recent article in the New Yorker, historian Jill Lepore puts predictions about the future of work—and how it may be changed by automation and artificial intelligence—into perspective. While stoking these fears can con....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2004

In November 2003 the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) agreed to recommend that the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopt the ICD-10-CM and the ICD-10-PCS classification standards as replacement for the ICD-9-CM classification currently used in the US.

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: Metzger, Jane; Welebob, Emily; Del Beccaro, Mark; Spurr, Cindy

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2007

Certification of inpatient EHR products begins this year with an initial focus on orders and medication management.
Increasing the adoption of health IT such as electronic health records (EHRs) has been a major focus of improving healthcare quality and efficiency ever since the Inst....

Author: Siegel, Barbara

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2003

One of my favorite stories is “The Sense of a Goose,” a popular tale by an unknown author that is widely used in public presentations and circulated over the Internet. The story’s basic truths speak of sharing common direction, staying the course, taking turns, and supporting an....

Author: Abdelhak, Mervat N.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2005

Winter Team Talks were a resounding success. Nearly 400 members attended sessions in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Washington, DC, as well as online in a virtual team talk March 30. In frank and fruitful discussions, Team Talk participants considered strategies for achieving our preferr....

Author: Cassidy, Bonnie S.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2011

HIM professionals are front and center in leading the national effort to demonstrate the meaningful use of health IT. They have a key role in leading their organizations to successful compliance with the meaningful use program. How are you advancing your organization's successful adoption of E....