What May Be The Oldest Written Medical Records In Existence...

The earliest written records of Chinese medicine date back about 5000 years, and include the Huang-Di Nei-Jing, possibly the oldest medical text in the world. These records had great significance for the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and even for Western medicine. 

© Copyright 2013 Leslie Cohen, All rights Reserved. Written For: Decoded Past

This manuscript, found in a Han era tomb, gives prescriptions for 52 kinds of disease remedies. Image courtesy of Professor Ying Li, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, China.

Chinese Medicine in the Archaeological Record  
Archaeologists have found some of the best information about the early use of Chinese medicine at grave sites. For example, two graves from the Han Dynasty (c. 202 BCE to c. 220 CE) contained ancient silk scrolls with references to 247 herbal substances used for medicinal purposes.

At the grave site of a doctor from the Later Han era (c. 25 to c. 220 CE), archaeologists found 92 wooden bamboo slips with pharmaceutical data which included a list of thirty prescriptions, referring to a hundred herbal medicines. These are believed to be the oldest written medical records in existence.

Excerpt and Photo From: "Early Texts of Traditional Chinese Medicine – An Ancient and Sophisticated Medical System", written by Leslie Cohen for Decoded Past. August 5th, 2013.  Full article can be found here: DecodedPast.com

ICD-10 delay causes challenges for HIM professionals

Moving forward during uncertain times

By Mike Evans, RHIA, CCS, vice president of coding and compliance at In Record Time, Inc.

When the ICD-10 delay was announced in April, most HIM professionals cringed at the thought of having to spend yet another year in limbo preparing for the transition. Working with an extended timeline has posed variety of challenges that physicians, legislators, and others in favor of a delay had not likely considered. Following are some of the most striking ones that affect HIM professionals directly.

Expensive coder refresher training. Many organizations had begun to provide coder training in anticipation of the original October 1, 2013 deadline and subsequent October 1, 2014 deadlines. Not only must these organizations now provide ongoing refresher training, but they’ll also need to consider careful strategies to retain coders in whom they’ve invested significant training dollars. Personnel changes complicate matters. As coders come and go (e.g., as coders find new jobs elsewhere, take time off, or retire), it becomes more difficult to maintain a secure set of knowledge.

Increased overall costs. In 2012, CMS estimated that a one-year delay could cost the industry as much as $6.6 billion. This statistic was reiterated in a letter from the Coalition for ICD-10—a constituency of organizations across the healthcare spectrum—to CMS dated April 11, 2014. According to a February 2012 Edifecs survey of industry reaction to the potential delay of ICD-10, 49% of respondents estimated that every year of delay would increase their required budget by 11%-25%. Thirty-seven percent estimated an increase of 26%-50%. Increased costs can largely be attributed to the need for ongoing training as well as outsource coding assistance so internal coders can gain hands-on experience with ICD-10. The longer the industry works with both ICD-9 and ICD-10, the greater the impact on overall productivity and cost.

The need to regain executive buy-in. HIM professionals may unfortunately bear the brunt of CFO frustration with ongoing ICD-10 costs. When the most recent delay was announced, many CFOs made the decision to drastically reduce ICD-10 budgets or even cut them entirely. Now, HIM professionals must restart facility-wide momentum even in the midst of ongoing skepticism. HIM professionals must re-engage executive leaders and medical staff in the ICD-10 effort. This will not be an easy task during a time when initiatives such as Meaningful Use, EHR implementation, hospital acquisitions and mergers, and a variety of other changes are vying for physician attention and hospital resources.

The need to re-engage physicians. It was difficult to engage physicians before the delay was announced. Now, it’s even more difficult to convince them that ICD-10 will, in fact, go live on October 1, 2015. Engaging physicians is an expensive and time-consuming effort that often requires the identification of physician champions, detailed documentation auditing, and personalized physician education sessions. Many physicians may be particularly resistant to learning the nuances of ICD-10 because they are unconvinced of its importance. This creates ongoing challenges for HIM professionals who must find creative ways to obtain physician buy-in.

Fear of the unknown. Experts agree that coder productivity could decline as much as 50% in ICD-10. The specific decrease will depend on a coder’s experience and education as well as system integration. Coders have been coding with this fear for several years. Some coders have even retired out of fear. Managing workers in an environment in which uncertainty and fear remain high has been—and will continue to be—challenging.

As organizations continue to uncover challenges resulting from the ICD-10 delay, it’s important to consider these tips:

 ·         Provide ongoing refresher training for coders. This should include training in anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and ICD-10 guidelines. Allow coders to dual code regularly as well as attend state and local coding chapter meetings where they can receive cost-effective training. Also explore other free and low-cost training options.

·         Talk openly with coders so you can understand their short- and long-term employment plans.

·         Open the lines of communication between HIM and the C-suite. Set realistic expectations for budgeting that will allow for flexibility while also ensuring enough dollars for ongoing training.

·         Re-examine coder responsibilities. As the industry moves closer to ICD-10, coders must focus specifically on coding. If their duties also include abstracting or release of information, for example, consider reassigning those responsibilities to other staff members. This will help mitigate productivity loss and give coders more time to practice ICD-10.

·         Identify physician champions who can assist with physician re-engagement.

·         Consider outsourcing some or all of your coding. Maintaining an internal coding department may not be a cost effective solution at the present time. 

Trivia: Ben Franklin & HIM...

 In the early days of the United States, Benjamin Franklin created the first patient information register at what is now Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia with the “… patient's name, address, disorder, the dates of admission and discharge with the result on discharge….”
  

-From  Huffman E. K. Manual for Medical Record Librarians. 4th ed. Berwyn, IL: Physicians’ Record Company: 1960. p. 17.

4 strategies that HIM professionals can use to make the most of the ICD-10 delay

By Mike Evans, RHIA, CCS, vice president of coding and compliance at In Record Time, Inc.

Now that ICD-10 has been delayed until October 1, 2015, many organizations are left wondering how to make the most of this interim time. Our experience has been that as many as 50%-60% of hospitals slowed their ICD-10 efforts when the delay was announced. Although many organizations have chosen to put ICD-10 on a back burner for now, this isn’t necessarily the best solution, nor will it yield the most effective long-term results. Instead, HIM professionals—with the support of executive leadership—should devote as much time as possible to auditing, documentation improvement, and physician engagement. 

 Consider the following strategies:

1.      Be transparent with physicians. Any major change can be scary and overwhelming, and the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 is no different. Even though they may not admit it, physicians could be among the most anxious about the new coding system because they know that their documentation will affect code assignment directly. Physicians may feel as though there simply aren’t enough minutes in the day to document some of the details required by ICD-10. To complicate matters, physicians face many other administrative challenges as well, such as Meaningful Use and quality reporting, both of which can affect their bottom line. Many of today’s physicians feel overburdened by a healthcare system in which third-party audits continue to mount, and additional regulatory requirements seem to grow annually. 

The American Medical Association and various subspecialty organizations have voiced considerable opposition to ICD-10. Many physicians feel as though ICD-10 is being forced upon them rather than integrated into their daily workflow based upon their own input. This could be because many physicians weren’t involved in ICD-10 since the very beginning of its clinical modification for the United States. Although HIM professionals can’t rewrite history, they can talk openly with physicians, address their concerns, and most importantly, acknowledge their frustrations. Consider these tips:

·         Keep physicians in the loop. Send regular communications to medical staff about ICD-10  developments and news. Physicians will appreciate the outreach.

·         Focus on severity of illness (SOI). SOI has become incredibly important in terms of outcomes and data reporting. Every physician must understand how his or her documentation affects SOI scores because eventually, this information may affect one’s ability to participate with hospitals and insurers that will only want to contract with those who have the best quality outcomes. As Accountable Care Organizations continue to grow, only the best and brightest physicians will likely survive and thrive.

·         Listen. Simply listening to a physician voice his or her frustration about documentation requirements may go a long way in terms of changing his or her behavior. Let physicians know that the HIM department is available to answer questions and serve as a resource for physicians. 

2.      Ensure time for dual coding. Although it may be difficult to justify dual coding indefinitely, coders need hands-on practice with ICD-10. This critical practice time coding records in both ICD-9 and ICD-10 allows coders to identify documentation gaps and educate physicians accordingly. Working with an outsource coding vendor can help create time for internal staff to dual code without interrupting cash flow. Start with high volume and/or high cost diagnoses and procedures to maximize efficiency.

3.      Identify a physician champion. HIM professionals know that it can be difficult at best to change physician behavior. If organizations haven’t already identified a physician champion, they should take the time provided by the delay to do so now. Consider these tips:

·         Choose an individual who is well-respected and an excellent communicator.

·         Look for someone who has excellent EHR skills and whose documentation can set an example for others.

·         If possible, identify one physician champion for medical cases and another for surgical cases. This avoids overburdening one individual, and it also helps send a message to the entire medical staff that the organization values their input enough to devote multiple resources to the effort.

4.      Work with your outsource vendor to identify additional strategies. Organizations that outsource all or a portion of their coding to a vendor should work closely with that vendor to identify opportunities for documentation improvement. A reputable vendor should perform ongoing quality reviews and audits and be willing to share that information with the organization.