So who are health information professionals? We are credentialed professionals who manage individual health records as well as aggregate data. We carry expertise in health care databases, medical classification systems, flow of clinical information, medico-legal issues, uses of health information, and data security systems. Our common purpose is to provide reliable and valid information that drives the healthcare industry. We are specialists in administrating information systems, managing medical records, coding information for reimbursement and research. We are uniquely qualified to:
- Provide expertise on compliance issues and the integration of clinical documentation and coding with the billing process.
- Provide assistance and function as a key resource/project manager for the development, transition, and maintenance of an electronic health record
- Assist with implementation and function as a key resource on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) including information system security issues and privacy.
- Develop, implement and monitor health information department policy and procedures and job descriptions.
- Provide training and orientation to health information personnel on functions of the department and facility staff on documentation.
- Develop and maintain health information systems and processes that meet regulatory requirements (both state and federal), professional practice standards, legal standards, and management/corporate policy.
- Establish a process for systematically reviewing documentation on an ongoing basis for both quality and quantity of documentation.
- Complete documentation/medical record audits and monitoring with an ability to assess the quality of documentation.
- Recommend corrective actions for findings on medical record audits/monitoring.
- Initiate clinical record systems and indexes.
- Assist with forms development and forms analysis/flow.
- Support compliance process of facility/organization.
- Support quality assurance/quality improvement process of the facility/organization.
- Train staff on quality assurance/quality improvement process related to health information management and appropriate methods for the collection of data.
- Provide resources to the facility on health information, documentation, regulations, standards of practice, etc.
Not only do we have diverse roles we work throughout the continuum of care. So if you are thinking of an exciting new career this is the place to come!
Back in January, the Allen School Online Blog featured a post called, “Move Your Money – Beat the Greedy Banksters”. In that post, I outlined options for people disgusted with their treatment by big Wall Street banks who survived the economic collapse thanks to taxpayer bailouts only to jack up credit card interest and withhold loans for school and small business. In essence, I advocated for others to do as I and many others had; “voting with our feet” by closing accounts held with Citi, Chase, BofA and other biggies and reopening them with local community banks and credit unions. At the time, many doubted this small action would have any significant impact on the “too big to fail” crew on Wall Street. Follow me past the jump to see just how successful this idea has been. Continue reading… 
With a promising future in a growth field, most Allen School students are not fretting over their long term employment prospects. Yet the overall poor state of employment in the US driven by the recession has left many without any solid prospects in the near term. While most will wait it out, some have taken to a different type of “prospecting” – panning for gold in California. 
Students of Allen School Online ought to be very proud of themselves for being at the forefront of change in the medical industry. The next decade will usher in radical changes in the way medical billing and coding are performed. The inevitable transition from paper-based procedures to electronic medical filing will allow you to be one of those who “remembers the old way we used to do this”.