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.
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.
For years the demand for coders has exceeded supply, and for many possible reasons. This may be because coders do not think that salaries are commensurate with the knowledge, expectations, and stress. And coders often move on to other positions and do not make a career of coding.
Motivating staff to produce more when recognition of superior performance is limited or nonexistent is difficult. Remember that incentives need not be financial; they can be monetary or non-monetary, individual- or team-based. Organizations may offer them regularly or sporadically based on variable or consistent criteria.
The Affordable Health Care for America Act, passed in late March, may leave many HIM directors scratching their heads. After all, sweeping reform must mean change is coming, but what will it look like?
Despite the numerous jokes on the subject, physician illegibility is no laughing matter, and Kaweah Delta Medical Center knows it. That’s why, after The Joint Commission found problems with the facility’s physician legibility, Kaweah Delta developed a plan to address the problem.
Although The Joint Commission has not focused on the ongoing record review (ORR) process during surveys and hospitals have not received recommendations for improvement in this area, ORR is still vital to the success of any survey. ORR can also be useful for clarifications when a hospital feels a recommendation isn’t substantiated.
Is your EHR meaningful use–compliant? Healthcare providers may soon be able to find out for sure. Earlier this spring, HHS released the proposed rule for establishing certification programs for health information technology (HIT). The rule describes the creation of a certification program for EHRs, as mandated by the HITECH Act. (The rule is published in the March 10 Federal Register.)
Upcoming EHR meaningful use subsidies may give many hospitals the additional incentive necessary to push toward a largely paperless existence. Some facilities may be adopting their first electronic systems at this time. Others currently operating in a hybrid environment are likely looking to increase their EHR technologies to meet soon-to-be-finalized meaningful use measures.
What is work flow? One of the most common questions I am asked when doing EHR implementation consulting is, "Can you define what work flow is?" I think part of the reason people ask me that question is because of the emphasis I put on the importance of work flow as part of any basic automation initiative. Good work flow support can make the difference between a successful project and one that fails, because it can make or break staffing-level projections due to being designed well (efficient work flow) or poorly (thus the "worry" flow).
