It's almost that time of year again, when holidays abound and people's lives tend to get even more hectic than normal. As a manager, it means planning holiday parties, dealing with requests for time off, and a myriad of other tasks.
Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, FACHE, FHFMA, took on a new role in June: She became the interim CEO of AHIMA. In the past she has also served twice on the AHIMA board of directors, in addition to a term as president of the organization. Dunn was kind enough to take a few minutes from her busy schedule to speak with us about her role and the future of AHIMA, and to offer some advice for those in the field.
As we begin to close out the year, it seems to be a good time to reflect on some of the challenging standards hospitals faced in Joint Commission surveys during 2011.
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?