Trustworthy Information Central To Any Payment Reform Model

AHIMA’s Ann Meehan Makes the Case for Information Governance at HIMSS17

Regardless of the timing, direction and scope of healthcare payment reform, a common denominator will be the importance of trustworthy information. Information Governance (IG) offers the framework to make sure information is trustworthy and can be turned into usable intelligence.

At HIMSS17 today, the American Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA) Ann Meehan, RHIA, Director, Information Governance, AHIMA IGAdvisors®, will address this topic in her presentation, “Governing Healthcare Information for Payment Reform.”

“When a variety of different payment options are being considered and, at the same time, the rate and volume of data is increasing dramatically, IG is the glue that keeps information trustworthy and available when and where it’s needed,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “Implementing an IG program demonstrates an organization’s commitment to managing its information as the strategic asset that it is.”

In the presentation, Meehan emphasized that the need for trustworthy information runs through each of the proposed payment models. She said that trustworthy information:

• Supports quality patient care, reduced readmissions, improved safety and outcomes.
• Supports efficient and effective processes to support increased productivity and reduced costs.
• Allows an accurate analysis of patient populations and grouping of like conditions/services.
• Allows the scrutiny of claims data for creating episode billing.
• Provides the means for ongoing review of models and metrics.
• Facilitates the availability and transparency of data and information for continuity of patient care and patient engagement.

Meehan said investing in a comprehensive and coordinated IG strategy will save resources and improve an organization’s efficiency. She saw this firsthand when she led the introduction of IG at Ardent Health Services in Nashville.

“A formalized IG strategy can eliminate a lot of the need to pull people together on the fly to try and, for example, figure out what happened after a breach,” she said. “IG reduces silos in data capture and provides an aligned strategic framework.

More information on AHIMA’s IG initiatives can be found at http://www.igiq.org.

About AHIMA

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) represents more than 103,000 health information professionals in the United States and around the world. AHIMA is committed to promoting and advocating for high quality research, best practices and effective standards in health information and to actively contributing to the development and advancement of health information professionals worldwide. AHIMA’s enduring goal is quality healthcare through quality information. For more information, visit www.ahima.org.