The Healthcare Cauldrons in Washington: HIM Issues Abound in Federal Bills and Initiatives 
Rode, Dan
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
This season Washington is like a healthcare cauldron, boiling away with bills and initiatives. This column provides a taste of a few that have come to the surface for HIM.
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Converting MS-DRGs to ICD-10-CM/PCS: Methods Used, Lessons Learned
Butler, Rhonda
AHIMA Journal article
11/2/09
MS-DRGs have to transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS. The project offered an early test of the General Equivalence Mappings and provides a conversion process for other applications.
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Genomics and HIM: Three Areas of Increasing Intersection
Feero, W. Gregory; Holden, Selma; Fuller, Barbara
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
It is clear that genomic information will play an increasing role in healthcare delivery, and HIM professionals need to be at the table as issues surrounding the intersection between genomics, personalized medicine, and health IT are debated.
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Coding in Critical Access Hospitals
Kostick, Karen M
AHIMA Journal - Coding Notes
11/2/09
This article looks at federal rural health policy initiatives, coding, reimbursement methodology, and quality improvement initiatives for critical access hospitals.
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FY 2010 Changes to the Hospital IPPS
DeVault, Kathy
AHIMA Journal - Coding Notes
11/2/09
The changes to MS-DRGs and the complication and comorbidity (CC) and major complication and comorbidity (MCC) lists are relatively small, but CMS continues to move its pay-for-performance efforts forward.
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An Awe-Inspiring Year: AHIMA’s 2009 Achievements
Rulon, Vera
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
AHIMA President's Message
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Building an EHR Learning Community
Kloss, Linda L
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
Inside look from AHIMA's Executive Vice President/CEO
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Medical Device Deliberations: Data Issues to Consider When Purchasing and Implementing New Devices
Acker, Beth
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
As organizations transition to electronic health records, they should address several key points when considering new medical devices and the processes for integrating and storing the data they produce.
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Plan B: A Practical Approach to Downtime Planning in Medical Practices
Fahrenholz, Cheryl Gregg; Smith, Lance J; Tucker, Kyle; Warner, Diana
AHIMA Journal article
11/2/09
All health IT systems experience downtimes, whether planned or unplanned. Well-vetted and communicated policies and procedures keep practices running and their patient information intact.
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75 Years of HIM Education: Remembering Our Legacy, Celebrating Our Future
Maki, Shirley Eichenwald
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
While the challenges and opportunities in both HIM education and practice continue, we should pause on the occasion of our profession’s 75th anniversary as an academic discipline to remember our legacy and celebrate our future.
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Dispute Resolution: Planning for Disputed Information in EHRS and PHRS
Washington, Lydia; Katsh, Ethan; Sondheimer, Norman
AHIMA Journal article
11/2/09
Healthcare providers receive relatively few patient requests to correct or change information in their records In part because patients have poor access to this information. EHRs, PHRs, and other initiatives may change all that. Is healthcare ready?
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Communicating Security Efforts: Informing Consumers of Data Protection Programs Helps Build Trust
Parmigiani, John
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
As healthcare moves into an enhanced electronic environment, providers need to reassure their customers they are doing everything reasonable to safeguard their information from inappropriate access, use, and disclosure.
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Fear Factor: Ambiguities in State Law Leave Some Providers Hesitant to Adopt EHRs
Dimick, Chris
AHIMA Journal column
11/2/09
Although the federal government has stepped in to give healthcare a push into the digital age, some providers remain hesitant, spooked by antiquated and ambiguous state laws that still identify paper records as the legal standard.
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Exposing Double Identity at Patient Registration
Dimick, Chris
AHIMA Journal, Web extra
11/2/09
Keeping the organization’s master patient index clean leads some HIM departments all the way back to patient registration, where they collaborate to prevent errors before care starts.
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Transitioning ICD-10-CM/PCS Data Management Processes
AHIMA e-HIM Workgroup on the Transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS
AHIMA Practice Brief, AHIMA E-HIM Task Force Report, AHIMA Journal
10/2/09
This practice brief outlines the technical differences of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS and the mapping tools that facilities can use with their implementations.
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The Standards Value Chain: Where Health IT Standards Come From
Marshall, Glen F
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
This article presents an overview of how standards are created, refined, tested, and implemented.
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Tackling ARRA’s Privacy Provisions: How One Organization Is Addressing the New Requirements
Wieland, LaVonne R
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
HealthEast Care System in Saint Paul, MN, began tackling ARRA’s privacy provisions by raising awareness, leveraging its HIPAA compliance task force, determining the planning that can begin now, and identifying the questions that still need answering.
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Reassessing Privacy and Security Compliance: ARRA Provisions Require Organizations Re-examine Procedures and Training
Rode, Dan
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
Recent federal laws and regulations in the areas of privacy, confidentiality, and security will require healthcare entities to dust off old regulations, review processes and programs, and train and retrain employees and HIPAA business associates.
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Enabling the Health IT Transformation: Education and Diversity Key to Healthcare’s IT Evolution
Rulon, Vera
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
AHIMA President's Message
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Planning Organizational Transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS
AHIMA e-HIM Workgroup on the Transition to ICD-10-CM/PCS
AHIMA Practice Brief, AHIMA E-HIM Task Force Report, AHIMA Journal
10/2/09
The upgrade to ICD-10-CM/PCS provides an exceptional opportunity to revolutionize the way health data are used, and if organizations have not begun their planning efforts they should consider initiating them immediately.
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Integrating ARRA: Leveraging Current Compliance Efforts to Meet the New Privacy Provisions
Nunn, Sandra
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
HIM managers have little time to lose to comply with the HITECH privacy and security provisions. The new breach notification measures, discussed in this article, are in effect now and require full compliance by February.
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The Consumer View of PHRs: Observational Study Finds Most Value PHRs, but Issues Remain
Kelso, Loya; Walker, Ruth
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
This article presents the results of an observational study attempting to determine the likelihood that people would complete a PHR, the level of effort they believed they would make to create an accurate PHR, and how people thought they would use a PHR.
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Reducing Healthcare Disparities: How HIM WorkForce Diversity Helps
Stewart, Rachelle; Garvin, Jennifer Hornung
AHIMA Journal article
10/2/09
HIM professionals can play an important role in reducing disparities in care that result from race and ethnicity. One practical step is by increasing the diversity of the HIM workforce.
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ARRA and the HIM Workforce
Rollins, Genna
AHIMA Journal article
10/2/09
The success of health IT will hinge on how well it is planned and managed. Provisions in the stimulus bill that promote professional support and fund training offer exceptional opportunities to HIM programs, individuals, and the profession.
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HIM Enters an Era of “Powerful Possibilities”
Kloss, Linda L
AHIMA Journal column
10/2/09
Inside look from AHIMA's Executive Vice President/CEO
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