(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 ...

  (Editor's Note: This guest blog was written from AHIMA 2012 by Harry B. Rhodes, MBA, RHIA, CHPS, CPHIMS, FAHIMA, who is AHIMA director of HIM solutions.) The goal of Meaningful Use Stage 2 is improved data reuse through standardized, structured, and interoperable exchange of discrete and timely patient information designed to improve the ...

Let me preface this by saying, April Fool's! Yeah, it ruins the fun, but it also saves me the guilt if someone were to actually use the tips below. If you're looking for serious advice, check out ''HITECH's Highway to Hell'' for cautionary words about electronic health record implementation. But before you do, read on for some foolhardy ...

Yes, readers of the HIM world, it was 1 year ago today that President Obama took that fateful pen to paper and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), paving the way for electronic health records (EHRs) and all the perks and headaches associated with them. The push for EHRs is part of the Health Information Technology for ...

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 is lined with overflowing shelves; post-scanning, it's a cavernous space with a ...