Question

Consider that you are going to be the HIM director for a large physician group that is just orga- nizing its practice. You are going to oversee transcription, coding, release of information, along with the other day-to-day functions of HIM. The group is planning to utilize electronic records. The electronic health record system and computers will be coming from a separate IT budget. However, you need to plan a departmental and capital budget for the first year of business. What items should you list under each budget? Keep in mind that the group has decided that anything more than $500 should be on the capital budget, except payroll expenses.

Answer 1

A HIM director needs to consider items under $500 for the departmental budget and over $500 for the capital budget, excluding payroll. To align with healthcare policies like those introduced by the ACA, it's crucial to address long-term EHR maintenance costs, improvements to patient quality of life through the use of EHRs, and safeguarding patient privacy while complying with legal requirements like HIPAA.

Step-by-step explanation:

Planning a Departmental and Capital Budget

As the HIM director for a large physician group, planning the initial departmental and capital budget is crucial for setting up electronic health record systems and overseeing various functions. When it comes to the departmental budget, this will typically cover recurring costs such as office supplies, smaller software licenses, and training materials. These are expenses that are under the $500 threshold set by the group. On the other hand, the capital budget should include larger purchases, such as high-cost medical equipment, specialized furniture for filing and storage, and any additional technology hardware that supports the electronic health record system, provided they exceed the $500 limit and are not covered by the separate IT budget.

However, certain matters need to be addressed to balance various aspects:

• What are the estimated long-term maintenance costs for electronic health record (EHR) systems, and how do these weigh against potential savings in administrative costs?
• How can patient quality of life be improved through the use of EHRs without incurring excessive costs?
• What policies and measures can be implemented to safeguard individual patient privacy and comply with laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

The implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs), as encouraged by the ACA, aims to reduce administrative costs while increasing efficiency. These regulations, including caps on administrative costs and the push towards EMRs, contribute to controlling healthcare costs.