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ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals is thrilled to welcome you to HIM Insider: Blogs, part of our Healthcare POV: Blog and Forum Community from ADVANCE. Our blog community offers interactive blogs written by professionals in the HIM field and our editorial staff. We look forward to hearing more about the HIM field from your point of view. Blogs will discuss issues related to the field, current events and other fun and candid observations. We have provided a comment section so you can voice your opinions and submit feedback. Happy blogging!
LATEST POSTS FROM EACH BLOG
May 15, 2013 6:48 AM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

Earlier this week, Vermont legislature became the first legislative body in the nation to approve death-with-dignity legislation, with Gov. Peter Shumlin vowing to sign the bill into law.

In a press release issued by end-of-life choice advocacy group


 

(This sponsored blog was written by Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream.)

According to a recent survey conducted by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), an industry leader on the use of healthcare IT to improve the exchange of healthcare information, healthcare facilities as a whole are not on track for a smooth transition to ICD-10 Oct. 1, 2014. Close to 1,000 industry ...


 
May 3, 2013 1:43 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's note: This guest blog was written by Julie A. Dooling, RHIA, AHIMA Director, HIM Practice Excellence.)


People are powerless to control unexpected events. What we can control is our response.

When an unexpected event occurs in healthcare, instincts kick in, and professionals execute what they have learned through training.


 

(This sponsored blog was written by Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream.)

Many think ICD-10 is only a coding problem, but the true challenge of ICD-10 is the need for increasing specificity and granularity in documentation in order to receive optimal reimbursement, meet all reporting requirements, and most accurately reflect the level of care provided.

The term "clinical ...


 
April 30, 2013 2:19 PM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.)

With all of the talk regarding the sequester and budget cuts, I decided to focus on what the fiscal 2014 budget would mean to the 54 million+ Medicare beneficiaries, if the budget was passed in its current state. Currently, the 2014 proposed fiscal budget contains $4 trillion in cost savings, with almost $400 billion in Medicare spending ...


 
April 30, 2013 10:28 AM by Lisa Brzezicki of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Jill Hoffman, managing editor of Executive Insight.) 

At the third annual PharmEHR Summit April 17, leaders in the electronic health record (EHR) and pharmaceutical industries gathered to discuss the status of EHR adoption and potential collaboration between EHR and pharmaceutical companies.


 
April 8, 2013 2:31 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(This guest blog was written by Bill Sinn, marketing director, healthcare practice, Pitney Bowes Software.)

It's only three years since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Obama, and the industry is already seeing huge changes. For instance, the U.S. has expanded the number of citizens receiving preventative care, increased Medicaid payments for primary care ...


 

(This sponsored blog was written by Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream.)

With small and medium practices in mind, CMS has put together the following checklist of ICD-10 tasks, including estimated timeframes for each task. Depending on your organization, many of these tasks can be performed on a compressed timeline or performed ...


 
April 3, 2013 7:23 AM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Peter Tippett, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and vice president of the Innovation Incubator, Verizon.)

The long-awaited Final Rule implementing HITECH Act amendments to HIPAA simplifies outsourcing in health IT by requiring business associates to safeguard protected health information in the same manner ...


 
April 2, 2013 4:16 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

In a competitive job market you need an edge. ADVANCE has launched a new job board with tools and features that can help you stay a step ahead of those using standard search tools. ADVANCE has been in the healthcare employment business for almost 30 years giving us a loyal client base. When top healthcare employers have a tough position to fill, they turn to ADVANCE. ...


 
April 1, 2013 2:13 PM by Lisa Brzezicki of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Sondra Bruderer, MHA)

If you were to walk into almost any healthcare organization's business office, you would probably find that staff and Accounts Receivables (A/R) follow the traditional payer-centric model. There is typically the "Government Team" (Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare), the "Commercial Team" (Blues, UHC and Aetna), the "Self Pay Team," and other ...


3 comments  
March 28, 2013 12:15 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(This guest blog was written by Kayla M. Zirbes of The College of Saint Scholastica. Zirbes is an AHIMA student advisory council member and AHIMA Hill Day 2013 participant.)

As a member of the American Health Information Management Association's Student Advisory Council (SAC), I have benefited from many unique opportunities to become active within the health information management profession.

On ...


 

By Stephen McClure, marketing manager-content, HealthStream

As the healthcare industry draws closer to the go-live date, ICD-10 remains a polarizing topic among healthcare professionals. While some healthcare organizations are actively preparing for a strategic rollout, others are, more or less, bracing for impact.

In April 2012, CMS extended the ICD-10 implementation deadline to Oct. ...


 
March 18, 2013 2:17 PM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today in a press release that about 71 million Americans in private health insurance plans received coverage for at least one free preventive health care service, such as a mammogram or flu shot, in 2011 and 2012 because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Additionally, an estimated 34 million Americans in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage ...


 
March 15, 2013 10:25 AM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Frankie Rios, CISSP, VP information security and compliance, GNAX)

Cloud computing and storage is an undeniable migration path and IT strategy.

Overall spending on cloud technology is expected to reach an estimated $150 billion annually by 2014, according to a recent Gartner Group ...


1 comments  
March 15, 2013 8:29 AM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

This week, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) introduced The Personalize Your Care Act, bipartisan legislation that will provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage for voluntary consultations about advance-care planning every 5 years or in the event of a change in health status. The bill also provides grants to states to establish or expand Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) ...


 
March 14, 2013 2:47 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's note: This guest blog was written by Jordan Battani, managing director of CSC's Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices)

Healthcare reform in the U.S. is rapidly moving in the direction of making providers more accountable for both cost and quality performance. The term "accountable care" is used to describe the new environment. Groups of providers assume responsibility for care across ...


 
March 12, 2013 12:18 PM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(Editor's note: This guest blog was written by Russ Reese, AS, a development manager for M*Modal.)

Fifty years ago, when a transcriber sat at a typewriter and created a document from a blank sheet of ...


6 comments  
March 8, 2013 8:56 AM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced in an HHS press release that more states are moving forward to implement the healthcare law and establishing Health Insurance Marketplaces. HHS conditionally approved Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and West Virginia to operate State Partnership Marketplaces, which will be ready for open enrollment in October 2013.


 

By Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream

With so much uncertainty and overwhelming change associated with a transition to ICD-10, how could we ignore the potential risks involved?

The ...


1 comments  
March 6, 2013 6:47 AM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(This guest blog was written from HIMSS 2013 by Adrianne O'Brien of Executive Insight.)

As hospitals strive for increased patient engagement to improve outcomes and reduce readmissions, that engagement means more IT solutions, which means more opportunity for data breaches.

At the HIMSS conference on March 5, David Kennedy ...


 
March 6, 2013 6:36 AM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

(This guest blog was written from HIMSS 2013 by Adrianne O'Brien of Executive Insight.)

We're blogging from the annual HIMSS conference in New Orleans! A group of healthcare/hospital CIOs navigated the miles of exhibit space at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the 32,718 registered attendees to present a panel discussion on the findings of the 24th annual leadership survey. An interesting ...


 

By Lee Ann Bryant, associate product manager, HealthStream

Although nearly all healthcare providers are aware of the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline, studies show that most are unprepared for this transition. Recognizing that these changes require widespread education and planning initiatives beyond just the coding population, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ...


 
February 8, 2013 11:21 AM by Lisa Brzezicki of The Politics of Health Care

(Editor's Note: The guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.)

In somewhat unexpected news, there appears to be a serious crack in the healthcare law, one which may "price out" millions of families from healthcare coverage altogether. The issue recently came to light when confusing language in the new law appears to carve out lower income families who do not qualify for Medicaid, requiring ...


 
February 8, 2013 10:46 AM by Sharlene George of ADVANCE Perspective: HIM

In anticipation of the HIMSS 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition to be held March 3 to 7 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, ADVANCE interviewed Bonnie Cassidy, MPA, RHIA, FAHIMA, FHIMSS, senior director of HIM Innovation at Nuance and AHIMA approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer. Cassidy spent the majority of her career on the ...


1 comments  

ABOUT OUR BLOGS

In this blog, the ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals staff will discuss issues in the HI profession, current events in health care and offer their two cents for your enjoyment.

The Politics of Health Care covers the latest developments in health care policy and legislation.

We will explore how CDI impacts the transition to ICD-10 and the issues that clinicians will face. www.trusthcs.com

HIM & Heard: A blog echoing today's Health Information Management industry.  At a time of rapid technology growth and constant change, HIM professionals are as valued for their ability to learn as their experience to date.  Action taken at HIM level resonates in cash flow and compliance.  This blog provides a platform for thought on topics that matter most to these professionals and our nation's health care communities.

The blog will address various aspects of financial issues that may impact the healthcare industry as well as taxes that may impact companies and individuals as a result of the ongoing changes.

Learn the different ways to use training as the solution for the ICD-10 transition challenge.