Physician Practices and Information Management

HIM professionals offer value in changing practices

CHICAGO, August 5, 2008—The healthcare industry is evolving and electronic health records and coding for reimbursement are two areas of change where health information management (HIM) professionals bring a multitude of data management expertise to the new era of physician practices, according to an article published in the August issue of the Journal of AHIMA.

The article states these changes require specialized skills that are critical in today’s physician practices and points out HIM professionals are trained to manage information that impacts how smoothly and productively practices operate. Currently, HIM professionals are most visible in large practices, but upcoming governmental changes will increase the need for information management expertise in smaller groups.

This article discusses how HIM professionals can help physician practices document and assess workflow and transition prior to installing an electronic health records system, which could alleviate problems that arise from inadequate preparation.  Also discussed is how these professionals show practices the quickest return is in coding for reimbursement.

Physician Practices and Information Management covers other areas such as how the requests for coded data beyond reimbursement are growing; how pay-for-performance will require new types of data capture and reporting; and the possible disruption coming to data reporting with the switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10.

Read the complete article in the August issue of the Journal of AHIMA or online at journal.ahima.org.

About AHIMA

The American Health Information Management Association is America’s leading professional society whose mission is to “improve healthcare by advancing best practices and standards for health information management and [serve as] the trusted source for education, research and professional credentialing.” AHIMA represents more than 53,000 specially educated HIM professionals who serve healthcare and the public by managing, analyzing and utilizing data vital for health system management.