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Issue 12, December 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Consider speech recognition to boost your bottom line

  If you could save your hospital $4 million, reduce your costs by 30%, and decrease the time it...

• Educate staff about provision of care requirements

  Editor's note: This column is a continuation of our series of articles about The Joint Commission's...

• Recognize coders' worth during times of regulatory changes

  Although coders are among those most responsible for a hospital's financial health and quality...

• AHIMA's blueprint for HIM education of the future sparks discussion, fuels debate among current professionals

  A generation ago, concepts such as EMRs, personal health records, and computer-assisted coding were...

• Acute kidney disease: The crossroads of ICD-9-CM and medical literature

  Dear colleagues: Under Medicare Severity DRGs (MS-DRG), defining acute kidney disease...

Issue 11, November 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• MRB subscribers tell their Joint Commission survey stories

  Hospitals prepare year-round for a Joint Commission survey using audits, mock tracers, education...

• Capture the POA up-front using concurrent coding

  As you enter the first few months of present-on-admission (POA) implementation and queries pile up...

• Welcome the emergence of personal health records

  Although polls suggest that many individuals do maintain some form of a personal health record...

• Understand how coding affects your physician profile

  Dear colleagues: I've written about healthcare quality concepts before. I've discussed physician...

Issue 10, October 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS moves forward with MS-DRGs for 2008

  If you thought that CMS wouldn't be brave enough to enforce its highly anticipated Medicare...

• Consider operational aspects of the POA indicator

  The present-on-admission (POA) indicator identifies whether a patient had a certain condition prior...

• MRB chats with readers about incomplete record strategies

  No facility is exempt from incomplete records. But just because your facility may have a high...

• Comply with patient ethics, rights, and responsibilities

  Editor's note: This column is a continuation of our series of articles about the Joint Commission...

• Changing seasons means changing times for DRG severity and quality improvement

  Dear colleagues: The fall season is under way, and change is in the air. For some of us, this...

Issue 9, September 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Work-flow assessment helps one facility implement document imaging

  Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series about work-flow assessment. Trying to...

• Ensure compliance, develop a plan of attack before the recovery audit contractor knocks on your door

  If your hospital doesn't already have a plan for how it will address the recovery audit contractor...

• Comply with patient consents, refusal of care

  Editor's note: This is the second article in Clark's series on Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO...

• Collaboration equals success when implementing the NPI

  Eleven months in advance of the National Provider Identifier (NPI) effective date, our chief...

• The truth lies in the details of breathing difficulties

  Throughout medical school, internship, residency, and fellowships, you hear about the same diseases...

Issue 8, August 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get acquainted with the proposed revised CC list

  Editor's note: This article went to press before the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS...

• Spread the word about NPI data dissemination

  For those who have been waiting for CMS' plan for National Provider Identifier (NPI) data...

• Convey and capture patients' rights

  Editor's note: This column is a continuation of Clark's series of articles about Joint Commission...

• Ensure medical professionalism by meeting, exceeding documentation requirements

  Dear colleagues, Today's medical literature frequently addresses the topic of medical...

Issue 7, July 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HIM directors up the ante

  Although HIM director salaries haven't risen significantly during the past year, the number of...

• The present-on-admission writing has been on the wall

  Facilities have been aware that the present-on-admission (POA) indicator was coming down the pike...

• Ensure that coders are capturing the new Physician Quality Reporting Initiatives

  Although hospitals are accustomed to reporting quality measures, the concept is new to physicians...

• Conduct mock patient tracers to avoid surprises during unannounced surveys

  Looking at the big picture can sometimes offer more insight into a particular process. This may be...

• One facility starts its own clinical documentation improvement process

  It was 1999 and long before DRGs and quality measures became healthcare buzzwords nationwide. It...

• There are no excuses when it comes to the present-on-admission indicator

  Dear colleagues, Hospitals are going nuts with the upcoming implementation of the present...

Issue 6, June 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS proposes switch to MS-DRGs in 2008

  In its proposed rule updating the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for fiscal...

• Privacy officer role expanding beyond HIPAA privacy

  The role of the privacy officer has evolved over the past four years, according to an April report...

• Know what to expect during a CMS survey

  Regulatory organizations such as CMS can be a thorn in the side of any HIM director, but knowing...

• Increase efficiency, ensure compliance with a more organized medical record

  During a 2005 Joint Commission survey, Bon Secours Saint Mary's Hospital in Richmond, VA, realized...

• Understand how proposed IPPS changes will affect you

  Dear colleagues, On April 13, Medicare proposed the greatest overhaul of hospital DRGs since the...

Issue 5, May 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Work with coders, IT now to prepare for ICD-10

  Although the healthcare industry has been waiting for ICD-10 for several years and has seen related...

• Understanding needs, preparing for change essential to overcoming EHR obstacles

  With the many benefits of transitioning to an electronic health record (EHR) come obstacles. And...

• Address summary lists, verbal/telephone orders, and availability of information

  Editor's note: Over the past nine months, Clark has reviewed The Joint Commission information...

• Your documentation, your M&M profile

  by Robert S. Gold, MD, and Darrell A. Campbell Jr., MD, chair of the American College of Surgeons...

Issue 4, April 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Groups call for NPI contingency period

  Providers will not be ready for the May 23 national provider identifier (NPI) compliance date...

• CHW looks to improve quality, scorecards with documentation improvement program

  Hospitals today receive grades or scorecards based on the quality of care they provide and publicly...

• Watch point-of-care documentation to comply with IM.6.30

  Editor's note: In the coming months, Jean S. Clark, RHIA, will review Joint Commission information...

• Take a multifaceted approach to complying with IM.6.10

  Information management standard IM.6.10, which requires hospitals to have complete and accurate...

Issue 3, March 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Organizations look to existing work force to take on CDI efforts

  Editor's note: The following article reports on the results of two HCPro, Inc., surveys that asked...

• Find creative ways to boost morale, increase awareness and understanding

  You can only give the same PowerPoint presentation so many times. With all of the training staff...

• Organization uses speech recognition to boost transcription productivity

  When Maine Medical Center in Portland found that growing demands, recruitment challenges, and...

• Ten tips to help prepare for an unannounced survey

  Even though organizations should ideally be prepared at all times, there are many specific ways in...

• Pay attention to details when documenting diabetes

  We are learning that our documentation in the medical record in the office, nursing home, and...

Issue 2, February 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Survey: Still a lot of work ahead for facilities implementing EHRs

  More facilities have begun the transition to electronic health records (EHR), according to the...

• HIPAA update: 2007 developments likely to include NPI deadline

  Aside from the publication of the final enforcement rule in February and the ongoing reports of...

• Review related policies and procedures, conduct ongoing record reviews

  Editor's note: In the coming months, Jean S. Clark, RHIA, will review the JCAHO information...

• Develop a plan now for NPI exchange

  When the national provider identifier (NPI) final rule discusses making NPIs available to health...

• Develop competency assessments to meet accreditation requirements

  When it comes to assessing employee competency, simply watching your staff at work won't always...

Issue 1, January 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospital improves CDI by placing documentation specialists under HIM

  When Maine Medical Center in Portland hired a consultant almost four years ago to review its coding...

• ORR makeover: How one hospital revamped its process and got physicians to review

  When Marjorie Blundon, MBA, wanted to overhaul Massachusetts General Hospital's approach to ongoing...

• Look closer at your organization's amendment policy on legal health records

  An amendment is typically the correction of a finalized entry in a medical record that has been...