The American Health Information Management Association provides guidelines of elements to be included in a health care organization’s policies of a coding compliance plan. (“Coding Compliance: Practical Strategies for Success,” ahima.org, 1998). The compliance plan should include a code of conduct. By establishing a code of conduct, the organization establishes a commitment to ethical and accurate coding practices that will follow all regulatory guidelines set forth. The coding compliance plan should include an up to date set of policies and procedure. Policies and Procedures should be maintained updated at all times. Education and training must be made available and required by staff at all levels of the organization. More importantly, make …show more content…
sure that all coding staff is properly educated and trained. Coding staff should also be required to receive continuing education and training on new released policies and procedures. Communication of changes should be effective to all departments when regulatory changes are made and required to be established. Auditing and monitoring internal coding practices should be part of the coding compliance plan. By auditing and monitoring on a regular basis, the organization can assure that all coding practices are consistent with all coding rules and regulations. The Health Information Management Departments should monitor specific data set parameters and compare adopted coding practices to regional, state, and national norms. Variations in monitored data should be investigated promptly to prevent further errors, fraud, or abuse. Data Monitoring for Compliance by the Health Information Management Department is vital for an effective coding compliance plan. Disciplinary and corrective actions are the final parts of an effective coding compliance plan if AHIMA guidelines are followed and implemented. Disciplinary actions should be taken upon anyone and everyone that violates compliance policies and procedures regardless of status within the organization. Once disciplinary actions are taken, corrective actions should be implemented and adopted by the compliance officer and compliance committee to insure that the same violation of the policies and procedures does not occur in the future. B(2). Every Health Information Management professional is obligated to conduct every task with ethical values, ethical principles, and ethical guidelines. The American Health Information Management Association list a code of ethics that should be adopted by every HIM professional. There are several points listed in the AHIMA code of conduct that should be adopted and included in every organizations compliance plan, but not used to cover all situations that can occur. The AHIMA code of ethics standards list several guidelines that serve seven purposes: - The first purpose is to promote high standards of practice of all organizational Health Information Management professionals. - Second is to identify core values on which the Health Information Management mission is based. - Summarize broad ethical principles that reflect core values.
- Establishes a set of ethical principles to guide decision making and actions. - Establish a framework for professional behavior and responsibilities when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise. - Provides ethical principles by which the general public can hold the Health Information Management professional accountable. - Mentors practitioners new to the field of Health Information Management professional’s mission, values, and ethical principles. The AHIMA code of ethics is to be used by AHIMA member who choose to implement the code of ethics as a framework to policies and procedures. There are eleven principles that AHIMA members should follow. (“Code of Ethics 2011 Ethical Principles,” ahima.org, October 2, 2011). AHIMA lists the following ethical principles for every AHIMA members and Certificants. 1. Advocate, uphold and defend confidentiality and disclosure of information. 2. Put service, welfare and health of general public before self and conduct oneself in a manner which will bring honor to self, peers, and the health information management profession. 3. Preserve, protect, and secure personal health information in any
form. 4. Report and refuse to participate in any unethical practices and procedures. 5. Advance health information management knowledge by furthering education, research, publications, and research. 6. Strengthen professional workforce by recruiting and mentoring students, peers, and colleagues. 7. Represent the Health Information Management profession to the public in a positive manner. 8. Perform honorably health information management responsibilities. 9. Be truthful and accurate with one’s credentials, education, and experience. 10. Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration in situations supporting health information practice. 11. Respect others. The violation of the AHIMA code of ethics does not imply legal actions or violation of the law. The AHIMA code of ethics is not specific as to which values and principles are most important. Furthermore, AHIMA does not specify which principles outweigh others in conflicting instances. (“The Use of the Code,” ahima.org, October 2, 2011).
How would you like to keep track of your personal health information record in your computer at home? The electronic data exchange was one of the goals of the government to improve the delivery and competence of the U.S. healthcare system. To achieve this plan, the U.S. Congress passed a regulation that will direct its implementation. The Department of Health and Human Services is the branch of the government that was assigned to oversee the HIPAA rules. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a national public law in the United States that was created to improve health insurability, prevent insurance abuse and to protect the privacy and security of a person’s health information.
Health Information Management (HIM) professional: Will expect that the healthcare providers are honest, accurate in their diagnoses, and the charges are legal, fair, and correspond to services rendered on the given day. All inaccuracies must be corrected as soon as discovered to inspire confidence in the HIM professional, the facility, and all the organization’s employees. All stakeholders depend upon the HIM professional to maintain the accuracy, privacy and security of the patient’s medical charts, and thereby secure the reputation of the facility and welfare of the patients.
Health care workers must put their service to clients before their own interests. They will work in a way that brings honor to the Health Information Management profession. They are also required to work in a way that is flattering of a HIM specialist. They take credit for their work and ensure it follows the code of ethics. Professional
Grace, P. J. (2014). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice. (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
According to the American Health Information Management Association, Health information is the data related to a person’s medical history, including symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, and outcomes. Health information records include patient histories, lab results, x-rays, clinical information, and notes. The data can be analyzed to see how a patient’s health might have changed. I took interest in Health Information Management when it was brought to my attention by a doctor. He told me that is a very interesting field and it is in high demand as they have more jobs than people to fill them. I went home, researched it and now here I am making my entry into the field.
Parse, R. R., Bournes, D. A., Barrett, E. A. M., Malinski, V. M., & Phillips, J. R. (1999). A better way: 10 things health professionals can do to move toward a more personal and meaningful system. On Call, 2 (8), 14-17.
While examining the ethical impact of how health care professionals should discharge their duties to their profession, the community, and patients,
Martin, B. (2002). Promoting a balance between personal health and professional responsibility. Chart, 99(5), 4-5.
The future of healthcare is ever changing, and with that comes change management, which brings individuals on board with that change. According to Vora (2013), the change management model includes first, determine the need for change. Second, prepare and plan for the change. Third, implement the change. Finally, sustain the change (Carroll, 2015). As a leader, I feel that it is my obligation to not only continue with my education, but to aid others in furthering their education and
Most organisations begin the method of establishing organisational ethical projects by introducing codes of conducts. It helps to generate public trust and improve
The American Health Information Management Association is a body of health information professionals that majorly concerns itself with the improvement of the quality of medical records (Harman 104). These health data records are vital for the purposes of monitoring the progress of patients, performance improvements and for improving outcomes.
The key ingredients of ethical codes are integrity, respect for others, and show commitment to the community needs as well as the needs of the church and seek help when to feel the need to talk to someone.
healthcare industry. Ethical behaviors, which are considered actions that are the right thing to do,
As a future healthcare leader, I will start by collecting data on the health of the community that my organization serves. I will develop a five-step program to contribute to public health efforts within my organization. My five-step program towards public health will involve monitoring, diagnosing and investigating, informing and educating, partnering, and researching. I will monitor the health indicators of my community and be aware of health needs and disparities. I will seek to identify hazards through research and analysis and diagnose root causes. Once root causes are recognized, improvement is possible. It is
5. Apply your code of ethics to a written policy and procedure manual identifying the major rules for operating your business.