Author: Downing, Katherine

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: June 2014

The purpose of AHIMA’s new Breach Management Toolkit is to provide a comprehensive collection of resources and best practices to help healthcare organizations and health information management (HIM) professionals navigate their way through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Breach Notification Rule and the overall breach management process. The toolkit is intended to raise awareness of the importance and responsibility of everyone within the organization to report HIPAA breaches to the appropriate designated personnel, as well as provide breach prevention education and training.

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: May 2014

This Practice Brief explores the complexity of patient identification integrity, including how organizations can manage patient identification systems from front end data capture to back end quality control as an ongoing process and carry local quality operations into health information exchange efforts. It urges industry stakeholders to recognize that now is a critical time to address accuracy in patient identification systems.

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA toolkit

Publication Date: May 2014

This toolkit provides many of the necessary tools and documents necessary for a successful implementation. It will be helpful to those who wish to plan and prepare for the implementation of CAC in ambulatory (including physician), acute care inpatient, or outpatient hospital settings.

Author: Sherek, Penny D; Gray, Emmlee

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2014

The healthcare industry has made, and will continue to make, immense advancements with technology and therefore impact the practice of medicine. Consumer-centric healthcare and the way in which providers communicate with patients go hand-in-hand with the use of technology. One concentrate....

Author: Patten, Melinda; Profitt, Karen; Lucci, Susan

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2014

IN TODAY’S HEALTHCARE reform landscape, collaboration and care coordination have emerged as key pillars in the quest to improve the cost, quality, and access to healthcare in the US. As a result, organizations across the nation are entering formal and informal alliances designed to broade....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2014

Covered entities should already have in place the mechanisms for limiting PHI under minimum necessary policies and procedures. This Practice Brief provides guidance to assist organizations in complying with the 2013 HITECH-HIPAA Omnibus Rule’s new disclosure restriction requirements.

Author: McNabb, Joanne; Rhodes, Harry B.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2014

A Massachusetts man who was turned down for a job discovered that there was a false diagnosis of severe depression in his medical record. He ultimately learned that the information had been entered by a psychiatrist who was submitting fraudulent bills to insurers.


Elsewher....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA toolkit

Publication Date: March 2014

This toolkit addresses planning, implementing, and maintaining a breach management process. It includes tools for goal setting, prioritizing developmental steps, determining roles and responsibilities, monitoring risk factors, and mitigation solutions.

Author: Walsh, Tom; Miaoulis, William M

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: March 2014

In a perfect world, access controls alone would ensure the privacy and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). However, the complexities of today’s healthcare environment make it extremely challenging to limit access to the minimum information necessary that members of the workforce require in order to perform their jobs.

Author: Kadlec, Lesley

Source: AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2014

In an effort to begin to answer basic questions related to the state of information governance (IG) in healthcare, AHIMA invited several different types of organizations from across the country to participate in a case study analysis. 


Below are the results of....

Author: Kadlec, Lesley

Source: AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2014

In an effort to begin to answer basic questions related to the state of information governance (IG) in healthcare, AHIMA invited several different types of organizations from across the country to participate in a case study analysis. 


Below are the results of the de-id....

Author: Kadlec, Lesley

Source: AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2014

In an effort to begin to answer basic questions related to the state of information governance (IG) in healthcare, AHIMA invited several different types of organizations from across the country to participate in a case study analysis. 


Below are the results of the....

Author: Kadlec, Lesley

Source: AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2014

In an effort to begin to answer basic questions related to the state of information governance (IG) in healthcare, AHIMA invited several different types of organizations from across the country to participate in a case study analysis. 


Below are the results of....

Author: Downing, Kathy; Wiedemann, Lou Ann

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: February 2014

Innovative approaches to health information management (HIM) led Kansas City, MO-based Truman Medical Centers to become the 2013 AHIMA Grace Award recipient, announced at AHIMA’s 85th Annual Convention and Exhibit in Atlanta, GA, on October 28th before thousands of HIM professionals.

Author: Miaoulis, William M

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: January 2014

This practice brief provides an overview of information security, including some of the background and basic concepts involved in securing the privacy of health information. Included are key roles and responsibilities as well as a list of specific policies and procedures that should be considered when developing an organizational security program. References, a checklist, and assistance in developing policies and procedure are also provided to assist readers in the actual development of a security program.

Author: Crump, Dawn

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2014

Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program began as a three-year, three-state pilot program in 2005 and went nationwide in 2009. The American Hospital Association (AHA) began tracking data collection in January 2010 and since then, according to AHA, the RAC program has recouped $2.....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: January 2014

This Practice Brief will educate readers on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the PPE. The desired outcome is to expand options for PPEs and increase support of the PPE throughout the healthcare industry. Providing additional options and increasing practitioner support of the PPE will result in creating a stronger and better prepared generation of new HIM professionals.

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA toolkit

Publication Date: January 2014

The content in this toolkit has been updated. More recent information is available here.

Author: Hofman, Judi; Rose, Angela Dinh

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: January 2014

This practice brief provides a general overview of the laws and regulations impacting the timely and appropriate release of PHI.

Author: Plettenberg, Cheryl A; Smith, LaShunda Blanding; Hart-Hester, Susan

Source: Educational Perspectives in Health Informatics and Information Management

Publication Date: December 2013

Introduction


Adoption of health information technology (HIT) was one of the major policy priorities of the federal stimulus package contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with more than $19 billion in federal spending allocated for widespread implementati....

Author: Evans, Brian

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Editor's note: This update supplants the May 2004 practice brief "Securing Wireless Technology for Healthcare"

Overview


Wireless local area network (WLAN) environments have evolved from simple, unmanaged stand-alone access points (APs) to organizationally managed system....

Author: Rihanek, Theresa; Lopez, Doreen

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

This practice brief supersedes the July 2011 practice brief "Understanding Governmental Audits."


Today, armed with enhanced fraud and abuse laws, the federal government has launched new audits that organizations and providers must contend with on a regular basis. Recent additions....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Editor’s Note: This update supersedes the July 2010 practice brief “Automated Coding Workflow and CAC Practice Guidance.”


Over the past decade, clinical coding has become more complex due to:


The expansion of prospective payment systems to multipl....

Author: Walsh, Tom

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Editor’s note: This update replaces the January 2011 practice brief “Security Risk Analysis and Management: An Overview.”


Managing risks is an essential step in operating any business. It’s impossible to eliminate all threats; however, healthcare organizati....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

This practice brief has been updated. See the latest version here.

Author: Walsh, Tom

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Editor’s note: This update supplants the March 2011 practice brief “Security Audits of Electronic Health Information (Updated).”


In a perfect world, access controls alone would ensure the privacy and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). How....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

This 2013 practice brief version has been retired and is retained here for historical purposes. Read the 2016 updated version of this Practice Brief here.



The Privacy Rule portion of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 defines a "business....

Author: Landsbach, Grant; Just, Beth Haenke

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2013

In recent years health information exchange (HIE) has emerged as a trusted model for sharing patient information across hospitals and health systems to drive improved care coordination and, ultimately, quality and outcomes. The result of the convergence of advanced health information techn....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

I. What is E-Discovery?



E-discovery is defined as the pretrial legal process used to describe the method by which parties will obtain and review electronically stored information. The 2006 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) served to place electronically stored information (....

Author: Downing, Kathy; Odia, Godwin

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Editor’s note: This update supplants the 2009 practice brief “Redisclosure of Patient Health Information.”


Redisclosure is the act of sharing or releasing health information that was received from another source (e.g., external facility or provider) and made part....

Author: Kadlec, Lesley

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2013

Prior to the widespread implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), problem lists were usually maintained by physicians through a simple documentation tool in the paper record, such as a "front sheet" or by copying a diagnosis list to a specified area within the paper chart and pla....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: November 2013

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

Editor's note: This update supersedes the August 2011 practice brief "Retention and Destruction of Health Information."



Health information management professionals traditionally have performed retention and destruction functions using all media, including paper, images, optic....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief attachment

Publication Date: October 2013

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief attachment

Publication Date: October 2013

The EHR has changed certain concepts and terms related to signatures. In the past, HIM professionals identified the act of signing an entry as authentication. However, this definition has evolved.


In EHRs, authentication is the security process of verifying a user’s identity....

Author: Dooling, Julie A

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: October 2013

Many hospitals and physician practices in the Oklahoma City area have been actively involved in adopting and building an electronic health record (EHR) infrastructure to qualify and attest to the “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program. Moore Medical Center (MMC), a 45-bed commu....

Author: McLendon, Kelly; Rose, Angela Dinh

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

Editor's note: This update supplants the February 2011 practice brief "Notice of Privacy Practices."


Timely, accurate, and complete health information must be collected, maintained, and made available to members of an individual's healthcare team so that members of the team can a....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

Editor's note: This practice brief supersedes the October 2011 practice brief "Sanction Guidelines for Privacy and Security Violations."


The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule requires healthcare providers, health plans, and other HIPAA covered entities (CEs) to notify individuals whe....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

This practice brief has been updated. See the latest version here. This version is made available for historical purposes only.

Author: Downing, Kathy; Lucci, Susan; Lerch, Diane M

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

Editor's note: This update replaces the November 2010 practice brief "HIPAA Privacy and Security Training."


On January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the long-awaited Health Insurance Portability and Accoun....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: October 2013

This practice brief has been updated. See the latest version here. This version is made available for historical purposes only.

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2013

On August 24, 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164 Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information; Interim Final Rule to implement the breach notification provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Cl....

Author: Noreen, Neysa

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2013

During the planning stages of a new electronic health record (EHR) implementation at Children's Hospitals and Clinics, Minnesota's PACE clinic, discussions began regarding what needed to be done with the legacy EHR's historical data. Discussions moved quickly to migrating the data from the....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2013

Introduction


Many technologies exist to assist with better clinical documentation and speech recognition technology (SRT) is one solution. Since SRT uses mathematic probabilities, the technology can be complicated. The goals of its use in healthcare today, however, are clear: Increase....

Author: Cinquegrani, Kelly

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2013

In order to take full advantage of health information technology, data, and analysis, an organization needs a standardization of protocols and its health IT systems must be built to support specific processes. FirstLight Health System (FLHS) has learned this first-hand over the last severa....

Author: AHIMA

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: September 2013

This practice brief has been updated. See the latest version here. This version is made available for historical purposes only. This update supersedes the January 2010 practice brief "Understanding Publicly Available Healthcare Data."



Healthcare organizations increasingly ar....

Author: Schmidt, Peg; Downing, Kathy

Source: AHIMA practice brief

Publication Date: August 2013

Editor's note: This update supplants the 2002 practice brief  "Release of Information for Marketing or Fund-raising Purposes."


Since its original compliance date in 2003, the HIPAA privacy rule required covered entities (CEs) to adhere to certain standards relative to the use....

Author: Manger, Barbara J.; Kirk, Kathleen M

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2013

Educators are facing challenging times in placing students in professional practice experience sites (PPE). These challenges are brought on by changes in the health industry work settings and demands, as well as the change in student demographics and personal commitments. Faculty in the he....

Author: AHIMA Work Group

Source: AHIMA practice brief | Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: August 2013

Editor’s note: This update replaces the 2007 practice brief “Guidelines for EHR Documentation to Prevent Fraud.”


Electronic documentation tools offer many features that are designed to increase both the quality and the utility of clinical documentation, enhancin....

Author: Schachter, Abigail; Rein, Alison L.; Sabharwal, Raj

Source: External healthcare industry report | U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for HIT

Publication Date: August 2013

This issue brief describes current challenges encountered when using electronic data for quality measurement and improvement, and shares promising strategies and tactics deployed by Beacon Communities.