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Medical Records Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Combat PAC confusion

  A sharper focus on outpatient procedures by official watchdogs during the past few years led to big...

• Take this seven-step approach to ongoing records review

  Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, SD, had a system in place for...

• Look beyond HIPAA when establishing policies

  E-mail can be an effective tool for communicating with those inside and outside of your...

• Help staff make alternative office arrangements work

  The healthcare construction market exceeds $17 billion, and that rate of development inevitably...

Issue 11, November 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ensure a seamless transition to new codes with staff tips, practice cases

  This year's ICD-9-CM codes are unlike those from recent years. There is more of a focus on the...

• The time is now to make sure your emergency plan is up to date

  If there is one positive outcome for HIM professionals that came out of the devastation caused by...

• Look again at Web-based doctor-patient communication

  Ask HIM directors what they think of using e-mail for doctor-patient communication and you'll...

• Spread the word about tracking disclosures of PHI

  Patients have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of their protected health...

• Provide charts, online tools to help staff

  The JCAHO requires organizations to develop lists of both acceptable and prohibited abbreviations...

• HIM in the news

  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt in September selected...

Issue 10, October 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Write off illegibility problems with 'STAR' actions, electronic signatures

  Think legibility is the least of the problems on your facility's radar? Think again. The JCAHO...

• Team up to prevent claims denials

  The number of claims denials in the gastrointestinal (GI) department at Roper St. Francis...

• Don't neglect forms management during EHR prep

  A healthcare system that doesn't rely on paper medical records is a holy grail of sorts for many...

• Use personal code words to better manage disclosures

  Happy patients are good for business. And although part of keeping them happy is protecting the...

Issue 9, September 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Final IPPS rule chock full of changes

  Despite letters signed by 125 representatives and 61 senators asking CMS not to expand the...

• AZ facility shares lessons learned from electronic archiving project

  When the board of directors for Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center in Safford, AZ, mandated that...

• Remote work, no certification for transcriptionists

  Transcription touches on the challenges facing all aspects of healthcare-privacy, new technology...

Issue 8, August 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get your piece of the budget pie

  Winning approval for your projects and budget requests can depend on your ability to listen...

• How Kansas facility cut its backlogs

  Increasing beds from 66 to 81 at Newton (KS) Medical Center in 2004 led to routine but unwelcome...

• CMS targets postacute care in IPPS proposed rule

  Many providers are up in arms about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposal to...

• Three tips for improved chargemaster-HIM relationships

  Q: I'm a fairly new chargemaster coordinator in a small hospital where everyone knows everyone...

Issue 7, July 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prep, scan, index your way to successful document management

  Three facilities offer advice, pitfalls to avoid Providers are turning to document management...

• Training without draining: Avoid redundancy in employee education

  A star coder at your facility gives notice, leaving you with three weeks to recruit, interview, and...

• Medical necessity compliance still a problem

  If there’s one area of compliance the government will watch for years to come, it’s...

• Comply with unapproved abbreviations requirement

  Despite the fact that the JCAHO’s National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) to create an unapproved...

Issue 6, June 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Security standards are in the building--or are they?

  The April 20 security standards deadline may have come and gone, but that doesn't mean providers...

• JCAHO addresses H&Ps in FAQs

  Authentication of history and physicals (H&P) and pre-induction assessment for sedation and...

• Seeking experienced, credentialed, educated directors

  Almost half (48%) of the HIM directors who participated in this year’s MRB salary survey earn...

• Transcription tangos with new technologies

  Technology is driving changes to the healthcare industry, which raises the critical question--what...

Issue 5, May 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Update policies in response to physician extender growth

  The number of physician assistant (PA) positions is set to grow 49% by 2012, according to the U.S...

• Survey: Computer-assisted coding not on the horizon-yet

  Editor's note: Survey results are based on 150 responses in the following categories: Small...

Issue 4, April 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Medicare reform an 'amazing change,' but could be a bumpy road

  Medicare carrier reform offers "a major, sweeping reform that has been a while in coming," says...

• JCAHO visits could increase

  In the future, the JCAHO may come calling more often. The organization has hinted at annual...

• AL hospital turns around delinquent record rate

  Between January 2003 and October 2004, the delinquent record rate at Carraway Methodist Medical...

• Transition management a new, growing trend

  Picture it: Incomplete records are stacked everywhere, some in permanent files, some on the floor...

Issue 3, March 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bush pushes for paperless with $125 million, information requests

  Electronic health records (EHR) could cut medical costs by as much as 20%, President Bush declared...

• JCAHO loosens compliance limits for inappropriate abbreviations

  In the January MRB, we reported that the JCAHO moved to 100% compliance regarding all clinician use...

• Updated billing with the UB-04 planned for 2007

  The National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC) began work to replace the UB-92 four years ago. The...

Issue 2, February 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Delinquent records trouble spot

  Survey shows 9% cited by JCAHO in this area Editor's note: Survey results are based on 306...

• Meet medical necessity requirements

  If you're concerned about the effect medical necessity is having on your facility's reimbursement...

• Analyze impact of OPPS final rule on your facility

  The 2005 OPPS final rule included approximately 82 new APCs, created some new codes and...

Issue 1, January 1, 2005 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• EHR developments keep coming

  Developments related to electronic records and health information technology (HIT) continue...

• Inpatient psych PPS final rule: Blended payment until 2007

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finally published the long-awaited final...

• PHI 'treasure hunt' reinforces privacy, security needs

  A simple checklist of potential privacy and security violations of protected health information...

• Electronic records allows referring MDS to follow up

  Referring physicians used to tell William Schmidt, MD, PhD, medical director of Children's Hospital...