Author: Piselli, Caroline

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2005

What’s your plan for implementing ICD-10? A new study asked this question to 500 healthcare managers and executives. Here are the highlights, with recommendations from those who have been there.

If it’s sometimes unwelcome to hear, it’s true all the same: w....

Author: Amatayakul, Margret

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2002

If you are thinking about HIPAA’s privacy compliance date of April 14, 2003, think again! Privacy compliance is about ongoing learning: education, training, and awareness (ETA).

While it is true that the final privacy rule only calls for work force training on hire and when th....

Author: Burrington-Brown, Jill

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2007

HIM is becoming more automated and electronic every year. The basic skill set of the HIM professional has changed dramatically. The acronyms abound, from HL7 and CCHIT to HIEs. It can be hard to keep up with all the latest developments. Test your EHR IQ by answering the following questions....

Author: Amatayakul, Margret; Waymack, Pam

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2002

The HIPAA privacy rule provides individuals the right to request access to and amendment of their protected health information maintained in a designated record set (DRS). To ensure that the DRS is completely identified but excludes information that does not pertain, covered entities should ad....

Author: Bedrosian, Dan; McCoy, Michael J.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2006

The RFP is a time-honored rite of vendor selection. But it has its drawbacks, and alternative strategies can offer advantages.
In the fast-changing world of health IT, vendor selection would seem to be a rare well-established procedure. But the traditional selection process has its pitfa....

Author: Stearns, Mike; Fuller, Jan C.

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

Publication Date: November 2014

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and SNOMED CT are similar in that both systems have alphanumeric codes associated with clinical concepts. But the systems differ in their purpose and structure, and are best used in different ways in healthcare. For starters, ICD is a cla....

Author: Rode, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 18, 2012

Just when the Department of Health and Human Services will announce its final decision on a delay for ICD-10-CM/PCS compliance is the question on many minds lately.


While a firm announcement date has not been determined, AHIMA’s Advocacy and Policy st....

Author: Dennis, Jill Callahan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2008

The privacy rule is just six, but gaps in its coverage have already widened. Now some organizations are recommending that the rule—or something like it—expand to cover any organization that handles personal health information in any form.



Six years ago....

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: Sanvik, Gina

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2018

Untitled Document




Many ICD-10-CM codes were added throughout code category L97, Non-pressure chronic ulcer of the lower limb, not elsewhere classified, and subcategory L98.4, Non-pressure chronic ulcer of the skin, not elsewhere classified, to provide....

Author: Soule, Dan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2001

Clinical data repository (CDR) technology may have dropped off your radar screen,  but new developments are giving a second generation of CDRs a renewed role. This article offers an overview of the latest developments and a look at how CDRs can benefit healthcare.


....

Author: Heubusch, Kevin

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2012

There are few surprises in CMS's proposed rule on stage 2 of the meaningful use program. The provisions generally reflect the recommendations of the Health IT Policy Committee made last year, and in the case of the intended change to the timeline, an announcement was made last December.
....

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: Karl, Ellen Shakespeare

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2012

Most of us are just now getting used to the sea of acronyms associated with the initiatives enacted by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). But HIE is a difficult one. Is it a noun or a verb? This question has created some confusion in the industry, especially for those on the outside....

Author: AHIMA

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2018

It’s not at all uncommon for organizations to change their names several times before landing on one that captures their presence in the past, the present, and the future—especially if they are technology-focused. Take NCR Corp., which today sells every....

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: Endicott, Melanie

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: September 10, 2014

When educating physicians about ICD-10-PCS, the most important factor to be pointed out is that ICD-10-PCS will NOT be replacing CPT. Physicians will still need to report their services using CPT/HCPCS codes. However, physicians need to be aware of the nuances associated with ICD-10-P....

Author: Sheehan, Martina

Source: Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 01, 2013

While many healthcare coders are already training arduously to master the new ICD-10-CM/PCS code set, some experts predict other sectors of healthcare may find themselves unprepared and in a pinch when the new system replaces ICD-9-CM on October 1 of next year. Who in t....

Author: Gordon, Lynne Thomas

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2017

HIM professionals are great planners. We love a well-defined process, a policy, a workflow. These are useful tools and they help us in the routines of daily work. When we’re planning our association’s direction, the big picture strategy is no less important. Accordingly, AHIMA....

Author: Wendicke, Annemarie

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2016

Healthcare is striving for meaningful health data—something well noted in many recent industry articles and presentations. But how will the cultivation of meaningful data be accomplished in the healthcare industry’s complex environment?


Healthcare data comes from....

Author: Hedges, Ron

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: December 18, 2015

This is the last Legal e-Speaking post of 2015. I thought I would use it to predict what 2016 might bring in litigation and beyond. When looking ahead to the next year, there are many possible things that HIM professionals should keep an eye out for, but five stand out to m....

Author: Hedges, Ron

Source: AHIMA blog post | Journal of AHIMA - website

Publication Date: July 22, 2016

In this blog I talk about legal consequences. I usually provide current examples of what those consequences might be under a specific set of facts. Here, instead, I want to highlight a litigation-related event that readers might experience in the future—or perhaps already have: a depo....

Author: Amatayakul, Margret

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2004

The HIPAA security rule includes a requirement for audit controls and to monitor and manage ongoing security for a variety of processes. But the requirement for internal audit was changed to “information security activity review,” and there is no other specific reference to auditin....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 1998

Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

President Clinton established the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in May 1995 to ensure an independent, open, and comprehensive examination of health concerns related to Gulf War service....

Author: Prophet, Sue

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: July 1998

In 1990 and 1991, nearly 700,000 members of the US armed forces served in the Persian Gulf. Since their return home, thousands of these veterans have reported illnesses they believe are related to their service in the Gulf. Due to the nature of these illnesses, there has been considerable deb....