Well, my feet hurt, my brain hurts and I can barely keep my eyes open at this point, but it was all well worth it. My first day at the AHIMA 2009 conference did not disappoint. Busy is an understatement, and I even got a bit of a cardio workout in-with all the walking to and from the various meetings and sessions. This place is huge! After a ...

Anytime someone mentions this year's American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention and Exhibit, I immediately think of the song, ''I Heard it Through the Grapevine,'' because, well, the event's being held in Grapevine, TX. Problem is, I only know that single line of lyrics, and as a child of the late ‘80s, I more often ...

Here are some of the happenings in the world of medical transcription as of late: MedQuist/AHDI Settlement Update According to the AHDI website, the free program offerings for eligible members of the MedQuist settlement class are anticipated to become available in mid-July 2009.  Eligible participants will receive a notification letter by ...

In a strange case of Internet harassment involving personal health information (PHI), a woman finds herself facing a year in prison for what a judge called ''egregious'' behavior, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Rhonda Wong-Fernandez was sent immediately to jail and will spend the next 12 months there. Wong-Fernandez, whom the ...

An emergency department (ED) in a facility in Western Sydney, Australia, banned the use of its EHR, going back to paper and pen, after struggling with downtime on the system. While a North South Wales (NSW) opposition health spokeswoman claimed that government is ''putting lives at risk'' with the system, the NSW government denied the claim, with ...

Recently the Boston Globe has been reporting on problems arising when Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center sent insurance claims data (i.e., billing codes) to Google Health PHR as a means of summarizing patients' medical condition. As it turned out, this practice resulted in at least one patient discovering that his personal health record ...

When you look at the signs, it should've been obvious. Wal-Mart started health care clinics in 2006, using eClinicalWorks software as EHRs for its 30 clinics. Last fall, Wal-Mart teamed up with personal health record (PHR) provider Dossia to offer some employees PHRs. Now, Wal-Mart, through its Sam's Club division, will proffer up EHRs, according ...

Medical transcription providers should be educating themselves on how the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus bill, is changing the way HIPAA regulations will apply to business associates. Up to this point, business ...

By now, most of us have heard a few of the details in the economic stimulus package signed by the president Feb. 17. You'll have $13 extra stuffed in your paychecks each week starting April Fool's Day, and money will go toward green initiatives. Did you know that the stimulus will also affect HIPAA? The Wisconsin Technology Network offers up a ...

As I watched this week's first official presidential press conference, the thing that stood out to me (well, after the outrage at all the political posturing and stonewalling that are getting the stimulus plan nowhere) was a comment that reminded me of Pres. Obama's gung ho stance on EMRs. Mainly, I guess my feeling about this subject has been ...