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Medical Records Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Survey shows A/R days too high, but most managers comfortable

  More than 25% of HIM managers who responded to the most recent MRB benchmarking survey have an...

• Squeezed by filing fiascos?

  The HIM department at St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC), a 668-bed facility in Milwaukee, handles...

• Understanding and benefiting from the generational differences of your staff

  Have you noticed that your younger staff members are more likely to question projects and tasks and...

Issue 11, November 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• 2004 Work Plan expands on and overlaps those of past years

  This year's Work Plan, issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on October 1, has fewer...

• Tormented by transcription turnaround times? Learn from one Maine facility's

  Can your transcriptionists turn around emergency department dictation in six hours? How about...

• When is ROI without authorization acceptable?

  Editor's note: The following discussion took place on "MRB_Talk," the talk group that is part of...

• Give credit where credit is due to . . .

  Medical decision-making (MDM) is the most important and valuable part of the evaluation and...

Issue 10, October 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• It's any time night or day: Do you know where your records are?

  Go beyond the norm to protect record integrity and prevent loss When cases that hinge on...

• Electronic records collaborative gets cross-country input on standards

  On July 1, Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked...

• Use available data to choose focused reviews

  Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from HCPro, Inc.'s newest guide for HIM directors...

Issue 9, September 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Do new ICD-9 codes point to signs of ICD-10 implementation?

  With only 79 new ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes and 24 new V codes published in the August 1 final rule...

• Doctors aren't the only providers with documentation deficits

  In HIM and compliance circles, we're always discussing the lack of thorough documentation by...

Issue 8, August 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New standards more broad-require creativity, allow flexibility

  After a two-and-a-half-year reformatting process, the JCAHO released new standards on June 16 that...

• Michigan group seeks to simplify electronic record exchange

  Slowly but surely, electronic medical records (EMRs) are coming to hospitals across the country...

• Whether paper or electronic, don't lead your physicians

  Hospitals and physician practices face numerous questions and concerns when it comes to adequately...

• Using plain, old vanilla documentation? Lack of specificity can hurt you and you

  "Vanilla" documentation using vague terminology leads to inadequate validation of the patient's...

Issue 7, July 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Make sure your documentation templates are helping, not hurting

  Documentation templates can be silver bullets or smoking guns, Georgette Gustin, CPC, CCS-P, CHC, a...

• Survey results: Hospitals satisfied with release of information function

  Privacy, turnaround time listed as greatest concerns Editor's note: The following results are...

• HIPAA myths dispelled for better compliance

  "Just because five lawyers give you five different answers doesn't mean the [Health Insurance...

• Addressing your chargemaster update process

  The two hospitals and several ambulatory settings of the William Beaumont Hospital system in...

Issue 6, June 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Disclosure accounting processes: Manual to fully computerized

  The HIPAA final privacy rule requires facilities to account for all disclosures of protected health...

• Use good communication skills to improve physician relations

  You communicate in many ways other than speaking, and that can dramatically affect your...

• Medical meaning or good grammar? Make a distinction

  Your dictated, signed reports are all done and ready to go into the record. But, then a doctor...

• Size, location matters: Salary survey shows region, number of beds play big role

  The size of your hospital can make a big difference in your salary, job requirements, and...

Issue 5, May 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Field report: What happened during three recent JCAHO surveys

  Does it seem as though you're always either planning for your next JCAHO survey or recovering from...

• Salary survey shows increase in pay, decrease in credentials

  Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series. Figures represent the responses of...

• Get the most out of employee evaluations

  Annual employee evaluations are a requirement for JCAHO-accredited facilities. But if you're only...

Issue 4, April 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• PA facility manages ups and downs of bringing ROI in-house

  In 2001, Tamara R. Keen, RHIA, director of medical records at Washington (PA) Hospital, was not...

• Facilities reap rewards of e-signatures

  Editor's note: Part one of a two-part series. Next month we'll discuss the costs of implementing...

• Facilities use policies, forms, and education to prepare for HIPAA's new complai

  At Granville Medical Center in Oxford, NC, Brenda W. Tuck, RHIT, CCS, director of HIM, is ready for...

Issue 3, March 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare for CMS to move quickly in outlier investigations

  Questionable outlier payments to California-based Tenet Healthcare have led the Centers for...

• MI hospital raves about EMR, sees quick return on investment

  At Hurley Medical Center, the electronic medical record (EMR) system, achieved through document...

• Facilities find diagnosis/code list helpful for communication, education, billin

  Although Medicare eliminated the physician attestation statement requirement seven years ago...

• Put procedures in place to use modifier -52 correctly

  Modifiers continue to play an integral role in correct outpatient coding and continue to confuse...

• Low anterior resection or low pelvic anastomosis?

  Surgeons have been performing colorectal resections for years. We all underwent training...

Issue 2, February 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Consider integration, redisclosure, and privacy protection when inheriting rec

  In these days of buy-outs, consolidation, and reorganization, you may find yourself inheriting...

• Survey shows medical necessity a sticky issue for most facilities

  Editor’s note: Figures represent the responses of 123 hospitals in the following...

• Templates allow for charting by exception, faster documentation

  HIM professionals are always looking for ways to make physician documentation easier and...

Issue 1, January 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Documentation affects the surgeon more than you think

  By Robert S. Gold, MD I often hear from surgeons, “I’m paid a global fee no matter...

• Kentucky HIM director reorganizes to improve teamwork and cross training

  An annual market survey about a year ago inspired Georgena Brackett, RHIA, LCSW, director of HIM...

• Planning allows hospital to emerge from computer crisis unscathed

  9/11 prompted crucial preparationWhen the computer network at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical...

• Report shows hospitals’ costs exceed DRG reimbursement

  Medicare inpatient reimbursements have failed to keep pace with the rate of hospital cost...