For The Record e-Newsletter


September 2014	Connect with us		Sign up \| Archive \| Advertise

Reality TV comes in all shapes and sizes, from series that spotlight cutting coupons and baking cupcakes to ones focused on truck driving and searching for a new home.

In light of this cultural dearth, it’s not hard to imagine some desperate network executive taking a chance on a series chronicling a health care organization’s battle to keep its data safe. If that was to come to fruition, the new fall season—as illustrated in this month’s E-News Exclusive—should feature plenty of drama.

— Lee DeOrio, editor

The HIPAA Fall Lineup: Realities, Hopes, and Fears
By Stephen Cobb

A new round of HIPAA audits is expected this fall, but hopefully this is not news to you or your organization. And hopefully you won’t be surprised to see multiple headlines this fall announcing multimillion-dollar fines imposed by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). There have been several hints that these are in the pipeline, notably the comment made by Jerome B. Meites, a chief regional civil rights counsel at Health and Human Services: “The past 12 months of enforcement will likely pale in comparison to the next 12 months.”

Frankly, nobody should be surprised that the OCR, the agency charged with getting organizations to meet privacy and security requirements that have been in place for many years, is getting a little ticked off at this point. Reading between the lines, you get the impression some folks at the OCR think all health care organizations have had enough time to become fully compliant—by “all” they mean covered entities and, thanks to the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, business associates.

Full Story »

Practice Insight and AIMSVAR Resellers Take Aim at Easing the ICD-10 Transition

EDI software developer and claims processing provider Practice Insight and the majority of members in the Association of Independent Medical Software Value Added Resellers (AIMSVAR) have aligned to help support providers with legacy practice management systems seeking to make the transition to ICD-10. The AIMSVAR organization has created a committee of resellers who are working with Practice Insight to deliver ICD-9 to ICD-10 solutions.

“The challenges associated with the transition to ICD-10 are significant, especially for providers’ practice management systems that have been sunset,” says Practice Insight CEO Houston Johnson. “Because our know-how can assist our resellers in their efforts to ease this financially critical transition for providers, it’s a win-win-win situation.”

Read more »

E-News Exclusive

Recruit, Retain, Rejoice

The Friends and Family Plan for Online Records

CAC’s Effect on Accuracy Rates

The Bottom Line on Telehealth

Patient Portals Remain Health Care’s Enigma

Ice Bucket Challenge Offers
Health Care Marketing Lessons

Ask the Expert

AHIMA Conference Preview

Industry Insight

Tech & Tools

Patient Portals Remain
Health Care’s Enigma
Despite consumers’ affinity for doing everything online, patient portals struggle to gain adoption, CIO.com reports.

Ice Bucket Challenge Offers
Health Care Marketing Lessons
The viral campaign provides keys to using social media that health care nonprofits can apply to their own fundraising efforts, according to Modern Healthcare.

The nation's top employers and recruiters of HIM talent advertise in For The Record magazine and post their job openings on AlliedHealthCareers.com. Check out the most recent opportunities that have been submitted by employers across the country!

Coding Manager
Cheyenne Medical Center, Wyoming, US
HIS Coding Manager and HIS CDI Manager
St Vincent's Medical Center, Connecticut, US
Traveling Coders
M*Modal, New Jersey, US
Coder
Wilson Memorial Hospital, Sidney, Ohio, US

Sun-sational AHIMA Conference Set for San Diego
By Heather Hogstrom

AHIMA’s 86th Annual Convention & Exhibit, “Leading the Way to Health Intelligence,” will take place September 27 to October 2 in San Diego. While in the city, attendees can take advantage of the dining, entertainment, culture, and beaches that sunny San Diego has to offer. For example, animal lovers may want to explore SeaWorld San Diego or the San Diego Zoo, home to some of the few giant pandas in the United States.

Foodies may enjoy San Diego’s famous craft beer from local breweries; the abundance of fresh seafood this coastal city provides, including its signature fish taco; and authentic Mexican food, thanks to its proximity to the border. And curious HIM professionals can take this opportunity to go on AHIMA’s educational site visits to local health care facilities, such as the Palomar Medical and BACTES Sharecare/RealAge, to see how other institutions function. Attendees can also participate in AHIMA’s newly offered yoga sessions or network at its 60s- and 70s-themed Appreciation Celebration featuring a live performance by KC & The Sunshine Band.

Full Story »

Practitioner Engagement Solution
PointClickCare, a cloud-based software provider for senior care, has announced the release of its Practitioner Engagement solution, which supports full integration with the PointClickCare EHR platform. Accessible through Web browsers and iOS mobile devices, the secure application improves access to information, streamlines communications, and automates error-prone, time-consuming paper-based processes. Key features include PointClickCare Secure Conversations, which allows clinical staff to contact practitioners via HIPAA-compliant text messages; Mobile Patient Charts, which allows practitioners to access a patient chart anytime from anywhere; and Mobile Order Signatures, which allows practitioners to view and electronically sign orders with a touch of a button instead of providing a paper signature. Learn more »

Financial Management Explorer
Health Catalyst’s Financial Management Explorer provides users of the company's Late-Binding Enterprise Data Warehouse and Analytics Platform a single source for key clinical, operational, and financial measures. The app automates the process of collecting and combining data from numerous sources to obtain a view of current performance, and provides significant data visibility and the democratization of critical information. The guided navigation and intuitive user interface enable managers to drill down into clinical processes to uncover cost-reduction opportunities and drivers of variation. Embedded logic quantifies each potential opportunity, making prioritization of improvement targets more straightforward. And flexible reporting views allow for quick drill down into the dimensions of clinical program, payer, provider, and hospital location. Financial Management Explorer quantifies improvement opportunities and captures traditional financial performance measures. Learn more »

Physical Therapy Pal
Physical therapists can prescribe exercises for patients and deliver interactive therapy exercise instructions using Physical Therapy Pal (PT PAL), a clinical HIPAA-compliant mobile app. PT PAL offers guided rehabilitation at home and provides visibility into patient regimen adherence and the ability to monitor and modify therapy prescriptions remotely. The app ensures patient exercises and instructions aren't lost or thrown away. Taking physical therapy communications to new levels of evidence-based medicine, PT PAL allows patients to stay on target with their exercises and helps clinicians keep track of their compliance and progress. Benefits of PT PAL include enhanced patient engagement, which is linked directly to outcomes; visibility into compliance; and reimbursement. Learn more »

Have a coding or transcription question? Get an expert answer by sending an e-mail to edit@gvpub.com.

This month’s selection:
Is there a history code for Shaken Baby Syndrome? I work in a long term care facility and have residents who are in their teens now and were shaken as babies. I code the long-term effects, but would also like to document that they were shaken babies.

Keri Regan, RHIA
Bayside, New York

Response:
There is a code for it: 995.55; however, it was designed for the acute episode and as far as I can tell from all references it is not to be used for a "history of." The questioner is correct in assigning codes for late effect of cerebral trauma and whatever specific effects there were, but not on the mechanism. V15.41 is the closest for "history of physical abuse."

— Robert S. Gold, MD, is CEO of DCBA, Inc.

For The Record's online gift shop features a wide variety of items for HIM professionals for any occasion. Whether you are searching for products to give friends or colleagues, hand out to clients, or wear yourself, finding the right gifts is easy and affordable at For The Record's online gift shop. Choose from t-shirts, journals, clocks, buttons, mouse pads, and much more! Check out our secure online shop today or call toll-free 877-809-1659 for easy and fast ordering.

For The Record's AHIMA Conference Digital Supplement

ICD-10 Coding Success:
The Devil is in the Details
PCS codes present unique challenges