HIM Briefings

Also known as the "mega rules," the omnibus final rules are clarifications and finalizations of the HIPAA rules of 2003, the HITECH rules of 2008, and the incorporation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) rules into the Privacy and ­Security rules. These are not sweeping changes, as many ­describe, but clarifications. In most cases, what are now final rules are best practices that organizations should already be following.

We've been on quite a ride since the start of the ­Recovery Auditor (RA) demonstration project.

HIM directors can always do more to gear up for the super transition into ICD-10 next year. In fact, one way you can begin preparing is to pinpoint specific elements in ICD-9 that already exist in the record and will be documentation and coding musts once the new code set arrives.

Managing coders is challenging enough when you work with them face to face. Manage them when they are off-site, though, and you've got a whole new set of challenges. You may rarely have the chance to shake their hand, see them smile, or read their body language in meetings. Are they productive? Are they happy? If you can't reach them, do you know what's going on?

As an HIM director, you are responsible for the ­integrity of your patients' records-even when your hospital shuts down certain wings of the facility or closes its doors entirely.

This article is based on the results of HCPro's annual MRB salary survey. Data in this article represent the responses of 292 HIM professionals from hospitals in the following categories:

In this column, we often discuss challenges with EHR systems. Sometimes these relate to technical problems, other times they are process related, and occasionally-as we'll be doing in this issue-we talk about the need for effective "people management."