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).
Divisions between HIM and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) staff members are common. But in actuality, everyone needs to work together for the success of the whole. "It's not an us vs. them concept, it's a we concept,"
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (MHHS) in Houston includes nine acute care hospitals, one children's hospital, three long-term acute care hospitals, three specialty care hospitals, 21 regional affiliates, a home health agency, a retirement/nursing center, 10 ambulatory surgery centers, 21 imaging centers—and only one HIM department.
Prior to July 1, 2008, however, that was not the case. MHHS' medical records/HIM departments used to be facility- based. Each hospital had its own medical records department, its own coders, and its own vendors. But MHHS' leadership recognized that in an era when cost savings are a must, this model was not as efficient as it could be. A restructuring of the department was in order.
