HIM Briefings

The need for qualified health information technology (HIT) professionals will increase substantially over the next five years as more hospitals migrate away from paper records and convert to EHRs, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study. As a result of this growing need, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), in conjunction with Northern Virginia Community College, ­AHIMA, and Pearson VUE, designed the HIT Pro exams as a means to verify the competency of HIT professionals.

Editor's note: There are a number of ways to get information into the hands of your facility's physicians. The following list offers several suggestions on how to train and engage your medical staff. This article was adapted from the October issue of CDI Journal, a quarterly publication for members of the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS). Additional information is available at www.acdis.org.

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.

As hospitals begin to develop more intensive training programs in preparation for ICD-10, coordinators may want to consider how different learning styles will impact the effectiveness of these training sessions. Education has to work for everyone and one size does not always fit all.

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.

The Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs are well under way at this point. The federal Medicare incentive program began issuing payments earlier this year, and many states have already done so as well for the Medicaid program.

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.

As the weather cools, the heat is on coders to properly report the high number of pneumonia cases they tend to see during the winter months.

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.