The 2010 HIM director and manager salary survey

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

The annual MRB salary survey for HIM directors and managers has come to a close and the results are in. Read on to find out what more than 1,000 of your peers had to say regarding their salaries, the various factors that affect compensation, and the effects of the down economy.

The times they are a-changing: HIM in an EHR world

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

EHR implementation is a “big, hairy animal,” according to Meg McElroy, RHIA, MBA, HIM and medical staff services director at Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee. McElroy has been working toward having a fully electronic record for years. “It’s so expensive, and how do you just get it done?” she says.

Business ethics and the EHR

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

Those of us who work in clinical settings are familiar with situations involving medical ethics when it comes to patient care. End-of-life decisions, resource utilization vs. quality of outcomes, genetic testing, pro-life issues, and other hot topics create endless ethical and moral discussions. And don’t forget to mix in a little government healthcare policy and discussion on rationing of healthcare and on whether healthcare is a right or a privilege.

HIPAA refresher: Privacy and consent for care, ROI

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

Test staff knowledge of HIPAA with these questions.

History and physicals continue to be a challenge

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

There is good news, but also a little bad news, about history and physical (H&P) reports coming out of changes for 2010.

Prevent RAC DRG validation and complex coding denials

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

Medically unnecessary services and incorrectly coded items had the highest amounts of RAC overpayments collected in the demonstration project, according to CMS.

Ten questions for ICD-10 implementation

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

The transition to ICD-10 is not in any way the kind of transition we made from ICD-8 to ICD-9, nor is it a simple matter of training coders and implementing a revised encoding system. This will probably be one of the biggest transitions hospitals and HIM directors and coders have seen in many years.

Document all elements of disease for cancer patients

July 1, 2010
HIM Briefings

As physicians, we are quite aware of the severity of illness of the cancer patients we treat. However, we frequently are not cognizant of the elements of their diseases that need documentation or clarification in the medical record to accurately portray the complexity of those patients. I’d like to discuss some of the issues that surgeons, oncologists, family physicians, and pediatricians might face that need some attention in documentation.