Editor's note: In honor of the holidays, we asked our "MRB Talk" members to send us their HIM holiday wishes. From funny to serious, we hope that each one of your wishes is answered for you in the coming year. And to all of our readers, we hope you have a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year. Now, read on to find out what your colleagues are wishing for this holiday season, and, as always, if you aren't a member of the listserv but would like to be, feel free to e-mail me at akraynak@hcpro.com.
Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC), a 471-bed nonprofit hospital located in Pine Bluff, AR, is the fourth largest medical center in the state and serves 11 counties in south Arkansas. When I started working there in early November 2010, I quickly realized we had a number of opportunities to improve our HIM operations and efficiencies.
Patients may have easier access to laboratory results under an HHS proposed rule, "CLIA Program and HIPAA Privacy Rule: Patients' Access to Test Reports," released in September.
Q A patient signed an authorization form eight months ago, and her attorney is now submitting it to obtain a copy of her medical records. Is this authorization still valid, or do we need to get the patient to sign a new authorization?
