May 20, 2012
I was trained to think of coding as a downstream process to care that is of little clinical significance. But, as I learned during the course of the week; I was dead wrong. Rather than simply polishing the chart, those downstream processes are intended to strengthen it. And, with the rapid evolution of MU and value care, the focus on clinical documentation integrity is moving upstream, directly to the provider.
I also found that getting the diagnosis correct, whether for coding, clinical care, quality improvement, or value-based payment is straight-forward but not at all simple.
May 16, 2012 Mark Hagland
Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Drex DeFord, in his closing keynote address to the HCI Executive Summit, last week shared with Summit attendees his philosophy of leadership. Refreshingly, DeFord, the current chairman of the CHIME board of directors, believes that CIOs need to get—and stay—outside their comfort zones.
May 15, 2012 Gabriel Perna
Just like a conductor’s score brings together the pieces of an orchestra, information systems bring together the pieces of an accountable care organization (ACO). Many providers, like Banner Health, are beginning to learn that more proven clinical technologies included in an ACO make for a better “score.”
May 11, 2012 Pete Rivera
Well I was sure that there would be major adjustments to be made when I left the military after 21 years. I guess the biggest cultural change came down to the uniform. In the military you always know who is in charge by all the “ornaments” in the uniform. The more the colors and “bling,” the higher up the food chain they are, especially the Army-they are all about the bling!
