For many people, the new year brings the promise of a fresh start, which is one of the reasons why we often make New Year's resolutions. These resolutions date back to ancient Babylonian times, when people would make resolutions to gods during the vernal equinox. But for HIM professionals, a New Year's resolution often means establishing and abiding by organizational timelines, training your workforce, and updating technology.
So what's it like from the HIM professor's point of view? We catch up with 37-year professor Anita Hazelwood, RHIA, FAHIMA, program director of HIM at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
This article is based on the results of MRB's quarterly benchmark survey. This month, we chose to survey respondents on EHR implementation and challenges.
The July 2013 MRB article I wrote discussed the importance of competency and skills testing in the workplace relative to new and evolving roles in the HIM department. In this issue, we discuss "not knowing what you don't know." In other words, there is a significant knowledge gap about the importance of EDMS in EHRs.
It's a brave new world out there for business associates (BA). BAs needed to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule and the use and disclosure provisions of the Privacy Rule in February 2010 as a result of the HITECH Act. However, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) held off on any enforcement activities-that is, until recently.
Imagine a hospital as a sentient being that holds within it all things necessary to heal you from illness or injury. The HIM department, or medical records department, is this being's memory. Without it, there would be no continuum of patient care. Sometimes, it's the hospital's memory that serves to produce an otherwise overlooked diagnosis.
