Having just witnessed nature wreak havoc with back-to-back hurricanes, I feel it’s important to take a few minutes to remind everyone of the importance of Plan B—the backup plan. Let’s look at some real examples of how HIM professionals can be proactive to prevent chaos when unexpected events occur.
My experience in ICD-10-CM documentation and coding integrity is that many physicians know in their heads what is wrong with their patients; however, they have not been taught to “think with ink” in describing their patients' illness in the EHR using ICD-10-CM’s language to ensure proper coding.
Access to protected health information (PHI) is one of the most important rights individuals and their personal representatives have under the privacy regulations, but this right is not absolute.
Maybe it’s the doctor who screams at you or publicly berates you when you come to him with a question that interrupts his busy day. The colleague who throws things when the job gets too stressful.
Patient care continues to move from the inpatient setting to outpatient. With this change, the challenge of securing comprehensive documentation that articulates the services rendered and the patient care provided now needs to extend across the care continuum.
