Achieving Administrative Simplification
By Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, chief executive officer
WHO DOESN’T APPRECIATE the things
that simplify our lives? Whether we find
ways to shorten our commutes to work
or clear the clutter out of our homes and
offices, simplification gives us the time
we need to pursue the things that give
us the most pleasure—time with family,
friends, and community; time to plant our
gardens; or time to go to the theater or
walk in the woods.
For healthcare professionals, simplification can mean reducing the burden of administrative duties so there is more time
to tend to the needs of patients and enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness
of care.
A May 2010 Health Affairs survey titled
“Saving Billions of Dollars—and Physicians’ Time—by Streamlining Billing
Practices” found that nearly 12 percent of
physicians’ revenue is spent covering the
costs of excessive administrative complexity. The study found that simplifying
these systems could save four hours of
professional time per physician and five
hours of support staff time every week—
time that could be better spent on patient
care.
Achieving Simplification
Simplification is an underlying theme of
this month’s cover story “Simplification
at Last?” which describes the two sets
of mandatory HIPAA operating rules that
providers, payers, and clearinghouses
must implement by the end of this year.
The rules are intended to reduce ambigu-ities in interpretation of HIPAA transaction
standards and simplify work processes
for HIM professionals and the healthcare
industry as a whole.
AHIMA played a significant role in these
changes, leading a coalition devoted to
requiring a single set of operating guides
instead of the myriad guides in exis-
tence. This requirement became part of
the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Through
AHIMA’s steadfast leadership, the ICD
classifications chosen for the first version
of the transactions will be modernized in
2013.
A Review of Metadata, Ethics
Other features in this issue include “
Metadata and Meaningful Use,” which examines the status of stage 2 requirements
for meaningful use and the proposed
inclusion of metadata tagging in the
meaningful use program. Although HIM
professionals and others acknowledge
the benefits, there is concern that more
needs to be done to establish metadata
standards before they can be applied.
“Ethics Update” describes changes to
AHIMA’s Code of Ethics introduced late
last year. In an interview, chair of the
2011 AHIMA Professional Ethics Committee Dana C. Mc Way explains the process of reviewing, updating, and ratifying
the code to ensure it remains current. I
encourage all AHIMA members to familiarize themselves with the code and its
importance as a guide to maintaining the
highest ethical standards.
As HIM professionals, we must grapple with increasingly difficult and complex issues. Finding ways to simplify the
adoption and implementation of health
IT should be an integral part of our jobs.
Albert Einstein once said, “Any intelligent
fool can make things bigger, more complex... It takes a touch of genius—and a
lot of courage—to move in the opposite
direction.” These are words we all can
take to heart. ¢
