I changed my mind about pursuing radiology and am currently working toward admission to the Health Information Management Technology (HI13) Associate of Applied Science Degree program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. This blog post is an assignment for HIMT 1100: Introduction to Health Information Technology.
As health information management (HIM) has evolved remarkably in recent years, the HIM managerial role has also changed. The increased use and reliance on technology, more significant numbers of employees working remotely, a higher level of employee stress, and the ever-changing industry as a whole all contribute to more challenges and difficulties for HIM managers (Lacy, 2010).
Managing remote workers is a challenge HIM managers face now and will continue to face in the future. Despite many concerns about remote medical coding, data now shows increased employee morale and productivity by about 20 percent. Data also indicates that remote workers are also saving money by over $380,000 per year. The healthcare industry is now considering permanent remote HIM staffing a possibility due to such facts and the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. Management now considers how and when employees should return to work safely and how working remotely permanently would function (Friedman, 2020).
The growing use of telehealth is another challenge for HIM management, especially with even more increasing use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges include maintaining a secure environment while also maintaining privacy and integrity. Additional concerns involve ensuring care providers practice within their scope while also meeting their local and state legal requirements regardless of the patient’s location. A plethora of payer coding guidelines exist that must be followed. Healthcare entities must decide who documents the patient data and how it can and should be shared (Lusk, n.d.).
HIM managers must continue to have many skills, including analytical skills and data manipulation. They also need the ability to manage an HIM team located off-site, including coders, indexers, transcriptionists, and scanners. They must be knowledgeable in data CHALLENGES HIM MANAGERS FACE TODAY 3 governance, security, and privacy in an ever-changing technology environment and be increasingly aware of data breaches and unnecessary access. They need to demonstrate problem-solving and working as a team player, including working closely with IT staff (University of Wisconsin HIMT, 2015).
The whole healthcare facility will have under-empowered and poor-performing employees with low morale if managers and leaders do not lead productively and effectively. HIM managers often feel the administration does not appreciate them, and they do not feel like they receive enough training. They are commonly given promotions with almost or no management training. With such a dynamic environment, all employees should receive ongoing training. Creating programs that also focus on management training will help leadership succeed (Lacy, 2010).
References
Friedman, B. (2020, Sept. 4). COVID’s Impact on the Future of HIM: Coding, CDI, and ROI. Journal of AHIMA. https://journal.ahima.org/covids-impact-on-the-future-of-him-coding-cdi-and-roi/
Lacy, L. (2010, Sept.). Management Made Easy: 6 Challenges HIM Managers Face and Effective Coping Strategies. AHIMA. http://bok.ahima.org/doc?oid=106000#.X82SS7NOmMo
Lusk, K. (n.d.). Telehealth: For HIM Professionals, Challenges Worth Meeting. HealthTech Magazines. https://www.healthtechmagazines.com/telehealth-for-him-professionals-challenges-worth-meeting/
University of Wisconsin HIMT. (2015, July 23). Health Information Manager Shares the Joys and Challenges of Leading UW Health’s HIM Department. https://himt.wisconsin.edu/experience-uw-himt/health-information-manager-leads-uw-health-him/
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