About the Book
The Practical Guide to Release of Information: ROI in a HITECH World, Second Edition Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, CHPS, FACHE
Ben Burton, JD, MBA, RHIA, CHP, CHC
Release of information (ROI) is a complex but core health information management (HIM) function in hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare facilities. Concern about identity theft, the protection of special information and populations, and an increasingly transient patient population make preparing and sharing copies of medical records a complex but critical task--especially because HIM professionals must also ensure the process is compliant, efficient, and accurate. The complexity of ROI is compounded by the many federal laws and even more stringent state laws; the many variations and myriad of legal issues involved are difficult to sort through and even more difficult to put into practice.
The Practical Guide to Release of Information: ROI in a HITECH World, Second Edition, provides an in-depth look at release of information from a legal, technological, and cost-effectiveness standpoint. This definitive guide discusses regulations that affect ROI, how to design an effective ROI department, the role of ROI in a legal environment, and technological applications for ROI. It addresses practical management issues related to quality control, backlog, turnaround times, and productivity. It also provides relevant policies and procedures, job descriptions, tracking logs, and more.
Features include:
Information on recent regulatory changes affecting ROI
ROI specialist job descriptions, productivity expectations, cost analysis and copy charges, cross training, and other information needed to increase the efficiency of your department
Role of new technologies and efficiencies in ROI
Easy-to-understand analysis of the role that ROI plays in subpoenas, depositions, and court appearances
Strategies for safeguarding against lawsuits
Breakdown of state regulations regarding ROI
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: What Is Release of Information?
Chapter 2: Release of Information: The Process
Chapter 3: A Blueprint for Establishing Release of Information Services
Chapter 4: Resources Necessary for Release of Information
Chapter 5: Why We Need to Know about Costs Associated with Release of Information
Chapter 6: Case Study: Bringing ROI In-House
Chapter 7: Release of Information Challenges
Chapter 8: Anatomy of the Copy Cost Lawsuit
Chapter 9: Patient Portals and ROI in Physician Practices
Chapter 10: E-Discovery
Chapter 11: Federal Preemption of State Release of Information Laws
Chapter 12: The HIPAA Omnibus Rule and the HITECH Act
Appendix
Who should read this book?
HIM director
HIM manager
Privacy officer
Compliance manager
ROI managers
ROI specialists
Physician office managers
About the Author :
Rose T. Dunn, MBA, RHIA, CPA, CHPS, FACHE, is a past president of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and recipient of AHIMA's 1997 Distinguished Member Award. She is chief operating officer of First Class Solutions, Inc., of St. Louis. Her consulting firm, First Class Solutions, focuses primarily on HIM-related services, including coding support, coding audits, and operations improvement. Dunn also serves as an expert witness for release of information lawsuits (ROI) and advisor to organizations on ROI issues.
Dunn is active in several professional associations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Healthcare Finance Management Association (HFMA), and AHIMA. She also holds fellowship status in ACHE, AHIMA, and HFMA and is certified in healthcare privacy and security.
Ben Burton, JD, MBA, RHIA, CHP, CHC, is an instructor in the Health Information Administration Program at Stephens College, a part-time consultant with First Class Solutions, Inc., and the Health Information/Compliance Director with InterMed, P.A., a large multi-specialty physician practice. He has presented on various healthcare compliance and privacy/security topics, as well as authored/co-authored several AHIMA practice briefs. Ben is currently a Director of MeHIMA's Board of Directors.
