ADVANCE Perspective: HIM : EHRs/EMRs

After Electronic Conversion

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:51:00 GMT

Yesterday, I read the Nov. 23 article on HISTalk about a multi-group practice that went electronic, and then turned its defunct chart storage room into useful office space. The "before and after" photos were particularly striking. Pre-scanning, the room...(read more)

Veterans Health Care

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:00 GMT

No matter your stance on war, it's only right to honor and thank veterans who put their lives on the line for our country. Military personnel witness firsthand what most of us find too hard to watch through a camera lens, and it's bound to have an impact....(read more)

Movies and Medical Records

Lisa Algeo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:47:00 GMT

(Editor's note: The following blog was written by Mark McGraw, an associate editor on staff at ADVANCE .) It's movie night, and you're not interested in subtitles or surrealism. Maybe next week you'll go for the one with the "Winner: Best Foreign Language...(read more)

PHRs Go Overseas

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:26:00 GMT

If you've been following Jay's blog, " XY Files in and MT World ," recently, you know there have been some frightening reports of medical records being sold overseas. It's enough to make you hunker down in the States and demand your records stay local....(read more)

AHIMA 2009: The Next Generation

Cheryl McEvoy — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:22:00 GMT

My first day at the 2009 American Health Information and Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibit is off to a great start. I attended the Student Academy this morning, where Barbara Black, director of human resources, and Gwen Hughes, director...(read more)

On the Record

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:24:00 GMT

With all the prep for next week's American Health Information Management Association Convention and Exhibit and our HIM Team of the Year coverage (Yes, we have a winner!), I've been neglecting my Google Alerts. Well, I found some time this morning to...(read more)

“Cash for Clunkers” Hits Health Care

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:04:00 GMT

The government's "Cash for Clunkers" program was a clever idea--and a pretty successful one to boot. Dealerships swelled with drivers ready to trade in their rag-tag autos for a sleek new ride. Salespeople moved inventory, the environment got some smog...(read more)

What Makes You Tick? Part 2

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:47:00 GMT

The ADVANCE team likes to be inquisitive (it's part of our job, ya know). Sure, we've met you at conferences, chatted you up on the phone, but we want to know what really goes on in that head of yours. Thus, we introduced "What Makes HIM Professionals...(read more)

Documenting H1N1

Cheryl McEvoy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:44:00 GMT

For the past 2 months, I've been collecting entries for our 2009 HIM Team of the Year contest , and it can be...inundating. (Not that I wouldn't love to see a dozen more entries!) A copy for each judge, plus one for our files-it's a whole bunch of printing...(read more)

More Options for EHR Approval?

Cheryl McEvoy — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:50:00 GMT

Ever since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into law, members of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) have been crossing their fingers in hopes of being named the official EHR certification...(read more)

EHRs Unprepared for Genetic Information

Cheryl McEvoy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:13:00 GMT

[Guest post by Kelly Graham, from the ADVANCE for Administrators of the Laboratory blog, " ADVANCE Discourse: Lab "] Challenges for the use and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) are well documented, but this study in the journal Genetics...(read more)

A "Meaningful" Move

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:43:00 GMT

Yesterday, the HIT Policy Committee gathered for a second round of discussion about "meaningful use," a key criterion in determining eligibility for EHR incentives. Last month's meeting yielded a proposed definition, but the Policy Committee sent the...(read more)

Health Care Nation?

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:00 GMT

Theory: health care is going the way of the fast food industry. A bit counter-intuitive, I know, given the usual wars between those factions over nutrition facts, whole grains and "lighter" meal options. But I'm talking about the business model. More...(read more)

Retail Clinic Check-up

Lynn Jusinski — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:30:00 GMT

I'm what you might call "doctor phobic." I haven't had a check up since 2001, and that was required to get into college. After high school, I moved to the Philadelphia suburbs from quiet nook upstate in a rural area lovingly referred to as the "Polish...(read more)

Doctors Face Patient Scrutiny

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:42:00 GMT

For the past few weeks, I've had Michael Jackson's "Somebody's Watching Me" stuck in my head. I blame Geico for making it the theme song for its ubiquitous ad campaign. (Seriously, that bug-eyed bundle of money is everywhere .) But today, the ditty popped...(read more)