HIMemo

Health Information Managers' Workload To Increase Under Reform

The passage of health reform likely will increase the volume of work for health information management departments. Relevant reform provisions cover electronic health record adoption by small health care providers and new HIPAA rules for HHS. Read more here.

Health Reform Brings Changes, More Work for HIM

After an eventful week on Capitol Hill, HIM directors are likely wondering how health reform will affect them. HIM departments will need to update their processes and increase their efficiency to keep up with patient volume increases.

Learn more here.

OCR announces security conference

OCR and the NIST Computer Security Division will host a conference geared toward security best practices in May.

The “Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security” conference will be held May 11-12 at the Cohen Building Auditorium in Washington, DC.

The conference will provide a forum to discuss the current HIT security landscape, as well as practical strategies, tips, and techniques for implementing the requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule, according a notice on the OCR Web site.

Visit the conference Web site for more information and to register.

[ via HIPAA Weekly Advisor ]

CMS to expand ICD-9 code processing

On March 5, CMS issued a transmittal to implement processing of more ICD-9 codes (diagnosis and procedure) on institutional claims, effective January 1, 2011.

View the transmittal.

HIMSS in Atlanta and online

The HIMSS annual convention going on this week in Atlanta is a 30,000-person blowout of epic proportions (and, yes, there was snow there but not in Boston), with many industry announcements, product launches, and meetings and sessions large and small. Learn more here.

Audio Feature: Live from HIMSS: The Evolution of Information

At the annual HIMSS conference in Atlanta, Brian A. Yeaman, MD, chief medical informatics officer at Norman (OK) Regional Health System, discusses combining evidence-based medicine and decision support in EMRs.

Commentary: Access-Privacy Balance Could Prove Elusive for Hospitals

There were audible grumbles from the experts in the room when talk turned to interoperability and privacy at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives 2010 CIO forum held in Atlanta, GA, on Sunday. It's a new era in terms of what systems can do, said Paul Tang, MD, vice president and CIO of Palo Alto (CA) Medical Foundation. And without access we put patients at risk. But will privacy concerns stand in the way of systems that can talk to each other across hospitals and other healthcare organizations?

Health Info Management Leaders Push to Elevate the Healthcare CIO

Healthcare CIOs are excited about what is undoubtedly a hot time in the health IT world, the flames fanned in part by health reform, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and its HITECH provision, which promises millions in stimulus money for those organizations that achieve meaningful use of healthcare technology, such as EHRs and CPOE in the coming years. But amidst that excitement is the nagging concern that—despite the fact that CIOs and other healthcare technology leaders have the expertise to help their organizations prepare for change—CIOs still aren't getting the recognition they deserve or the accompanying seat at the C-suite table.

Learn more here.