HIM Briefings

Q: I was recently hired for a position at a long-term care facility. Upon getting acclimated, I learned that the facility has completed handwritten logs for every fax that was sent out since 2003. This document is referred to as the HIPAA fax log and contains the date the fax was sent, to whom it was sent, by whom it was sent, the number of pages, and whether a cover sheet with confidentiality statement was included. I would like to do away with this form since fax machines can generate their own logs. However, if this is a necessary process then I would like to follow official guidelines and update the facility's policies and procedures accordingly. Does the HIPAA Privacy or Security Rule require these logs? If so, what information must we include?

While it can be challenging to define your organization's legal health record (LHR), one health system in Denver is proving that collaboration and perseverance can lead to an effective LHR and EHR.

Coding and documentation should tell a patient's complete story. With the greater specificity in ICD-10, organizations should be better able to capture these stories, and the respiratory codes, listed in Chapter 10: Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00?J99), are no exception.

More than ever before, HIM is being recognized as an enterprise profession important to ambulatory, acute, and postacute settings. A good example of the transformation is HIM's involvement in CMS' risk adjustment and Hierarchical Condition Category coding system.

The new ICD-10 implementation date is less than a year away, and CMS is gearing up its end-to-end testing process in preparation.

With so much information available online, it has become common for professionals to use social media to network and conduct job searches.

Although numerous privacy and security laws apply to healthcare entities, HIPAA rules and requirements tend to receive the most emphasis?and generate the most angst. The terms HIPAA-compliant vendor, HIPAA cop, and HIPAA disciplinary action are anathema to experienced and serious privacy and information security professionals. HIPAA, as has been noted, represents the floor of requirements intended to protect the privacy and security of patient information. More stringent privacy requirements have existed at the state and national levels for several years before the HIPAA Privacy Rule was implemented (e.g., state medical records laws and requirements). Notably, many organizations implement policies and procedures that are more stringent than that required by HIPAA. Some of this is due to misinformation or misunderstanding of the HIPAA rules.