HIM Transitions : EHRs

HI&T Week

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:36:00 GMT

November is not only the start of the holiday season, but also the time of year when HIM professionals celebrate Health Information and Technology (HI&T) Week. This is our week to pat ourselves on the back and celebrate the achievements made during...(read more)

HIT Jobs in High Demand

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:08:00 GMT

The introductory course I teach in health information technology (HIT) gives students the basics on health information. This week I did a lecture on the diversity of career options available in HIT. Students coming into the program are usually familiar...(read more)

Wal-Mart and the Electronic Medical Record

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:21:00 GMT

I attended a workshop this past week on the implementation of the electronic medical record (EMR). The cost of implementation of an EMR can be out of reach for many rural hospitals and small physician practices. One vendor is filling the gap for physician...(read more)

What the Inauguration Means to Me

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:13:00 GMT

The inauguration of Barack Obama is a historic event that has generated excitement across the country. I watched the pre-inaugural events this weekend and our nation has high expectations of this president. The problems that our country faces are mind blogging. The economic collapse, housing crisis, banking crisis and two wars are all issues that Americans expect the new president to solve.

Whenever a new president takes office, we are filled with hope for the future. Obama's campaign strategy was build around change and hope for the future. He made promises to the American people that helped get him elected. He promised healthcare reform, access to healthcare for all Americans and to end the war in Iraq just to name a few.

As I think about what Obama's inauguration means to me as a health information professional, the transformation of the healthcare system will play a major part. We all know that our healthcare system is in need of major reform. Those of us who work in healthcare see our emergency rooms being used as primary care by those Americans that don't have access to affordable healthcare. We see emergency rooms not staffed to handle the number of patients that seek treatment. We see shrinking revenue for hospitals and other providers that care for patients. We see the administrative and health information costs associated with a paper driven system that add to the cost of providing healthcare. Obama has stated that he plans to invest in health information technology to reduce the cost of healthcare. For health information professionals, this is an issue near and dear to our heart. We all know how cumbersome a paper based system can be.

I have to admit that I am skeptical that health information technology will be a priority in the Obama administration. With the current economic crisis, I don't think that this is a commitment the new president can make. Most Americans are more concerned about other issues to push Obama on this issue. Health information professionals will have to push for major reform to make this dream a reality.

Construction Continues

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:22:00 GMT

Last week I discussed the progress I have made with developing online courses for the community college. The Introduction to the Electronic Medical Record will be offered this fall and the Coding and Billing course will not be offered into the spring semester. At this point, all of my focus is on completing the Electronic Medical Record course.

This week I made a lot of progress with the course. I decided to create only four modules to cover the 16 weeks in the semester. The objectives for each module have been completed along with student expectations. The four modules will include computer terminology associated with the electronic medical record, HIPAA privacy and security, electronic record standards and practical applications of the electronic medical record. Within each module students will be required to complete research assignments on the electronic medical record. One of the assignments will require the students to research companies who offer electronic medical record software. Students must research four companies and provide an analysis of the company and the product. Another assignment requires the student to play the role of the office manager in charge of HIPAA education. The student will be required to create a PowerPoint presentation to staff on HIPAA privacy and security.

The discussion board is almost complete and this will encourage students to engage each other in stimulating conversation. I have created scenarios on the discussion board that will require the students to put their critical thinking caps on. The discussion board scenarios are based on the information within the modules and textbook. I have not decided how many points the discussion board will be worth. I want the students to really have a meaningful conversation and not just comments like "I agree with you." I am working on the criteria for receiving full points to the discussion board. This way the student will know exactly what is expected of them.

Overall, I have made significant progress with the course. I hope to have all the work completed in the course within the next 2 weeks.

Construction of Online Courses

Carol Dantzler-Harris, MEd, RHIA, CPC — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:35:00 GMT

Over the last few weeks, I have been working on developing two online courses for the community college where I teach in the medical assisting program. The two courses under construction are Coding and Insurance and introduction to the Electronic Medical Record. Since the last article, I have made significant progress.

The coding and insurance course will provide students with the basics of CPT coding. The coding course will be an 18-week course that will provide an overview of the CPT coding system and reimbursement. I decided to approach each week in modules that will cover the major sections of the CPT manual. Each module will consist of lecture notes, practice exercises and assignments that correlate to the section of the CPT manual. Students will also be active in the discussion board with postings of real life coding scenarios. Students will be tested at the end of each module. This way I can work with them on any weak areas before they proceed to the next module.

So far I have developed the skeleton of the modules. I have to go back and enter the major content of each module. The overall course objectives have been developed and general information about the course have been placed on Blackboard. The textbook has been selected and the course schedule has been written around the school calendar.

The Electronic Medical Record course will center around a computerized version of electronic medical record training software. The students will be able to simulate the basics of an electronic medical record using this software. Students will be able to enter patient demographics, insurance, medications and schedule appointments. So far, I am working on developing modules for certain areas of the software that we will cover. The modules will also include lecture notes, assignments and the discussion board. The students will have to complete projects within each module that requires research on the issues surrounding the electronic medical record.

My goal is to have both courses completed by the first week in August. Stay tuned for another update next week.