Case Studies: Interim HIM Management
A mid-sized Florida hospital, located in a resort community, encountered a
series of Health
Information Management (HIM) department issues, which combined, were wreaking
havoc on
the entire organization’s workflow. For eight months, the Director of HIM
position had been open.
The hospital had a backlog of 14,000 incomplete charts and an announced Joint
Commission
review approaching. The hospital needed a partner that could quickly come on
board and bring
both experienced staffing resources and proven processes to turn the struggling
HIM department
around and get things back to normal.
Once contacted, Precyse Solutions immediately provided an Interim Director
of HIM, who set to
work with the hospital’s leadership team to conduct a baseline assessment of the
HIM department’s
workflow and identify and prioritize the areas of greatest concern. The looming
Joint Commission
review and the substantial backlog of charts in assembly & analysis became the
primary focus of
the Director’s initial efforts. Since the hospital is situated in a resort town
with very few experienced
HIM professionals residing in the area, the Interim Director of HIM recommended
that the hospital
secure another vendor partner to help prepare for Joint Commission and to
immediately eliminate
the chart backlog.
The hospital’s CFO handled the second vendor evaluation process and selected
Precyse Solutions
for two main reasons: the depth of talent on the Precyse team and Precyse’s
ability to quickly
assemble a project team to resolve the issues. Within a week of vendor
selection, Precyse had
an on-site team in place.
The Precyse team worked on-site for 12 straight weeks, first tackling the
assembly portion of the
chart backlog. Once the charts were organized, the Precyse team formed working
relationships
with members of the medical staff and set up a process for securing signatures
and missing
documentation. In addition, special work areas and hours were set up for
physicians to complete
charts within the department. The feedback loop from HIM to the physician was
short, thereby
accelerating the workflow process. The physicians appreciated the organized
approach established
by Precyse and cooperated fully. In the end, the HIM department had established
a new pattern
for interacting with physicians, one that has stayed in place and is still
proving effective.
The hospital now has new processes in place for HIM/Physician interaction. The
Interim Director of
HIM has been onsite for nearly a year and the hospital is well-prepared to meet
all Joint Commission
chart completion requirements. The hospital’s executive team is pleased that an
effective and
efficient workflow has finally been put into place, and that the “noise” level
from the HIM
department has all but disappeared.