Editor's note: As part of our yearlong celebration of MRB's 25th year, we wanted to take a look back at article excerpts from years past. In some ways, things haven't changed much-getting physicians to complete documentation in a timely manner is still a challenge-but in others, it is clear that HIM has come a long way.
I promised in a previous “Standards of the month”column that I would address Joint Commission standard MM.04.01.01 (orders for medication are clear and accurate), as this standard made it onto the 2010 top 10 list of standards with which hospitals were noncompliant. In fact, 30% of hospitals failed to comply with it.
After 10 years, the requirements for signatures on lab requisitions are still in flux; CMS published the latest change to the lab signature requirements in the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule published in the Federal Register November 29, 2010.
As part of our yearlong celebration of MRB’s 25th birthday, this month we are featuring an interview with the newsletter’s founder, Jennifer Cofer Flanagan. Flanagan is also the founder of Opus Communications (now HCPro) and previously served as president of AHIMA (formerly the American Medical Record Association), as well as director of communications and professional practices for the organization. She is currently on the board of trustees for the North Shore Medical Center based in Salem, MA.
The last thing you need is more to do, but when it comes to preparing your HIM department for EHR go-live, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
