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"Electronic Health Records Briefing" is a monthly newsletter that offers HIM supervisors, directors, and managers practical advice on legal concerns, testing and training, physician buy-in, return on investment, change management, and every other topic related to the electronic record transition. It includes sample tools, forms, and policies, advice from legal and technical experts, and lessons from your peers in the industry, all provided to help you clear out from under the mountain of paper records into the new electronic realm.

2007 | 2006 | 2005

Electronic Health Records Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Denver Health merges HIM and IT under one leader

  Making the vision of an EHR a reality often means having departments with overlapping missions work...

• Thoughtflow: The essential ingredient for physician adoption of technologies

  Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series on thoughtflow by Samuel R...

• Here's how to get ready for EHR implementation

  It seems as though everywhere you turn there is talk about EHRs, from President Bush's State of the...

Issue 11, November 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Update performance-based job descriptions

  Regardless of where you are in your EHR design, rollout, or implementation, you've probably found...

• BAAs not the only solution to controlling vendor access

  A billing company may request access to a hospital's EHR system so it can access the information...

• Military Health System spearheads mammoth EHR

  The Military Health System (MHS) has one of the nation's most advanced electronic health systems...

Issue 10, October 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HHS gives hospitals the green light to share EHRs

  Expanded safe harbors to Stark and anti-kickback effective this month Effective October 10...

• Cut/copy/paste/print: The good, the bad, and the ugly

  Proactively manage these functions and reduce risk As your facility migrates to an electronic...

• Create a PACS support team

  Although the digital world undoubtedly improves patient care, the thought of upgrading your...

• Prepare now to join the NHIN: Assess your internal capacity and get involved

  You have likely heard of a RHIO-a regional health information organization-commonly known to...

• New certification provides a crucial first step in choosing a product

  Until recently, there was no standard benchmark against which to measure EHR products. But in July...

Issue 9, September 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Wireless: A step into the future or recipe for disaster?

  One of the most overwhelming aspects of EHR conversion is the sheer number of choices you have to...

• Six steps to sales-pitch savvy: Navigate the vendor pitch

  More practices than ever are taking the electronic medical record (EMR) plunge, partially because...

• Improve satisfaction, boost revenue with e-visits

  Healthcare organizations that adopt technology that allows physicians to communicate with patients...

Issue 8, August 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Boil down business office access privileges from the get-go

  As hospitals and practices convert traditional paper processes to their electronic counterparts...

• Outline EHR user obligations

  Require your physicians to sign on the dotted line Although asking physicians to sign EHR user...

• How one informatics officer is pushing for paperless

  Few people could comprehend the workplace conversations of Reid Coleman, MD. It's not that he's...

• Small healthcare community sets the stage for nationwide information-sharing

  Anna Jaques Hospital, a 123-bed acute-care facility in Newburyport, MA, and its surrounding...

Issue 7, July 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Strategies for migration success

  Big hospitals with big IT budgets are at an advantage when it comes to going electronic. But their...

• All about access: How to manage the appropriate use of information

  One of the biggest challenges facilities face with the impending EHR is the inherent risk that...

• Look before you leap into the RHIO pond

  With the entire industry buzzing about interoperability, a national health information network, and...

Issue 6, June 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Cover your bases with a policy on hybrid record management

  It's unlikely that you'll flip a switch and instantly plunge into a world without paper. Instead...

• Hold your software vendors accountable now for ICD-10

  There's no doubt that the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS (procedure coding system) transition will fall...

• Don't fall into the training gap-prepare staff now

  The value of HIT and the importance of engaging clinicians in its development are healthcare...

Issue 5, May 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Set policy to prepare for downtime, both emergency and scheduled

  Last year, Hurricane Katrina showed the healthcare industry that natural disasters don't take mercy...

• Whip warranty woes: Don't tackle provisions without legal help

  Warranties, contracts, and indemnification provisions exist to protect you, the EHR buyer, during...

• Get compliant: Pair EHR, HIPAA security at your facility

  It's natural to worry that your EHR might not comply with HIPAA as you select, build, secure, and...

Issue 4, April 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Pay for performance on the horizon

  Efforts still lack a national focus; EHRs vital to success More than 700 attendees gathered in...

• Satisfy users with single sign-on

  How to balance cost, security when picking a solution The transition to EHR may eventually...

• Prepare your coders now for a future in auditing

  Coding software solutions transform a traditional profession EHRs are transforming the way...

• How to combat computerized coding confusion

  Use these four tips to find the right coding software vendor ProVation Medical, Inc., in...

• Q&A: Expert advice on electronic record access, storage requirements, audits

  Editor’s note: Cheryl Servais, MPH, RHIA, vice president, compliance and privacy officer at...

Issue 3, March 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Follow the leader: IHS paves the way

  If you haven’t already visited the Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian...

• Five more steps to conquer CPOE

  How seven hospital executives avoided mistakes Editor’s note: This is the second article...

• Eliminate e-mail exasperation-sift through spam successfully in three steps

  You’ll have more luck receiving the e-mails you actually want by Rod Piechowski If...

Issue 2, February 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bring order to CPOE

  Editor’s note: This is part one in a two-part series. This month, we cover the first five...

• Select the right scanner

  Strategies to buy your scanner with confidence It’s 4 a.m., and a patient who has...

• Draft a mobile-device policy to alleviate risk

  Mobile devices such as laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), and tablet personal...

Issue 1, January 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Combat reluctant clinician buy-in

  Physician buy-in may be the EHR catch phrase of the decade, but nurses are the ones who hold the...

• Follow these five fool-proof EHR system selection strategies

  Be up-front about your needs and do your homework With more than 100 EHR solutions available...

• Leavitt awards contracts to lay NHIN groundwork; states continue initiative

  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt in November 2005 awarded...