Walking the halls of the Orlando Convention Center at HIMSS14 this past week, I was aware of a great divide. As one approached the vendor booths, information systems in healthcare were portrayed as successful and benefit-laden. As one walked the aisles with hands-on providers, those same systems were seen as increasingly expensive, disruptive and barren. […]
There’s a reason why they are called vital signs. By looking at temperature, pulse, blood pressure and respiratory rate, physicians can assess the status and direction of a patient’s health. Although my practice days are over, I’m eager to check the vital signs of healthcare IT next week at HIMSS14. By most accounts, the patient […]
In conversation recently with a dear old friend, who also happens to be an outstanding IT project manager in a cutting-edge hospital system, I broached the subject of their transition to ICD-10. It was progressing well, she confided. In fact, they would be ready to start testing by mid-August! I was slack-jawed with surprise. Weren’t […]
It's go-time for ICD-10 testing - and ICD-10 testers. Half of the providers who responded to a recent ICD-10 readiness survey said they would begin their external testing in the first half of 2014. Still others are only at the internal testing phase or not yet testing at all. That means hospitals and health systems, […]
The next time your in-laws give you trouble - and you go to the hospital for it - your hospital staff should know exactly how to code that if they've completed the switch to ICD-10. Though some zany codes for ICD-9, like an injury by a spacecraft or one caused by a paintball gun, won't […]
The October 1, 2014, ICD-10 conversion deadline is 12-plus months away, so why does it feel like two minutes until midnight? Only in healthcare and government does such lead time convert to last-second, bug-eyed panic. Our anxiety will surely worsen before it improves. The months ahead will bring more hand-wringing and an increasing volume of […]
Healthcare IT Leaders recruiters will participate in a virtual job fair for health information management (HIM) talent from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The event is hosted by the American Health Information Management Association. HIM professionals will have the opportunity to upload a resume and chat online directly with Healthcare IT Leaders recruiters to […]
The need for ICD-10 coding experts may increase by as much as 40 percent over the next two years, according to a new report. The "State of H.I.M." survey of over 300 health information management professionals says coder demand will reach its peak between the third quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014, as […]
All healthcare providers must be on the ICD-10 codes by Oct. 2014, which means ICD-10 implementation experts are in high demand over the next 12 months. Even with the one-year extension of the ICD-10 deadline, hospitals and healthcare providers are in varied states of readiness, according to recent surveys, with fifteen months to go. Training […]