American Health Information Management Association. Position Statement. Issue: roles of health information managers and coders in patient-focused care.
Patient-focused care is a new model of care delivery organized around the patient instead of the hospital structure. Care is provided by multi-disciplinary teams of healthcare workers on the patient care unit. As many services as possible are brought to the patient, rather than taking the patient to a decentralized department. Successful models have demonstrated increased operational efficiency and greater levels of satisfaction among patients, physicians, and staff members. Administrative tasks done in a variety of departments may be assigned to a member of the care team. Such tasks may include patient registration; insurance verification and financial arrangements; and medical record assembly, analysis, abstracting, and coding. Given the different educational levels and prior training administrative team members may have, careful consideration must be given to assignment of the medical record abstracting and coding functions. The quality of clinical data submitted by all providers in the US is critically important to the future of the nation's healthcare system. Under prospective payment systems, the accuracy of clinical data abstracting and coding has a significant impact on healthcare facilities. But the need for accurate clinical data goes beyond payment systems. As more and more clinical data are being captured and maintained in databases across the country, for uses that may be yet unknown, it is essential that such data be collected consistently and accurately. To assure the quality and validity of health information, only trained, experienced coders should abstract and code the data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
D008497:Medical Record Administrators / Q000592:standards*; D008499:Medical Records; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011361:Professional Competence; D012952:Societies; D014481:United States