Running Head: HIM b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b 1
1-2 Journal: eDiscovery and Business Record Rules
HIM 422
SNHU
May 8,2022
HIM b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b 2
• A Health Information Management (HIM) professional must be fluent in processes
relating to subpoenas, discovery, depositions and eDiscovery. These processes are of high
relevance in the context of litigation. Szalados has argued that lawsuits in the medical landscape
can be unnerving for professionals that function in the healthcare domain (Szalados, 2021). A
considerable degree of demand may be placed on an HIM professional in legal processes,
specifically when it comes to the use of health information in any lawsuit. Thus, it becomes a
necessity for these professionals to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and
how they can exercise their roles and responsibilities in the legal context.
Russa has argued that the possibility of litigation is high in the healthcare context (La
Russa et al., 2021). Thus, HIM professionals must have proper comprehension relating to these
aspects since they have the ownership of their legality. The understanding of these important
processes can aid HIM professionals in effectively and responsibly releasing the relevant
protected health information of patients within healthcare facilities (Bowman, 2013). By having
comprehensive insight into the processes, HIM professionals will be able to act as the ultimate
‘custodian of health records’, and they may be called for testifying purposes relating to the
admissibility of the health records. Only if an HIM professional has proper insight into the
diverse processes will he or she be able to verify the timeliness and the adoption of normal
business practices while developing and maintaining the health records. It can help to adopt
effective strategies to approach healthcare-related litigations (Machado et al., 2021).
b
• In order to successfully respond to cases relating to negligence, malpractice, corporate
negligence, or breach of confidentiality, it is imperative to identify the changes that might have
taken place in each of the processes. As per the business record rule, there is scope to admit
records as a piece of evidence as long as there exists a proper foundation that shows that the
HIM b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b 3
document is reliable. It is necessary for healthcare organizations to ascertain how their
information systems can provide for the preservation of details and information that may be
relevant in the litigation process. The policies, protocols, and practices that exist in place must
aid the staff in understanding how they can help in maintaining the records so that they will be
able to meet necessary federal as well as state legal requirements (Bowman, 2013). The key steps
that entities need to take into consideration in order to make sure that litigation is successful
include recognizing which specific department would be responsible for handling the request and
representing the organization in the court of law. Similarly, another key step that must be taken
involves the proper establishment of policies and protocols which can assist in determining
which specific record would be disclosed and preserved during the litigation process.
Additionally, it is necessary to ensure that the staff members possess a substantial level of
knowledge and understanding relating to the policies and practices that have been introduced in
the organizational context prior to the submission of the key documents as pieces of evidence in
the court of law.
HIM b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b 4
References
Bowman, S. (2013). Impact of electronic health record systems on information integrity: quality
and safety implications. Perspectives in health information management, 10(Fall).
La Russa, R., Viola, R. V., D’Errico, S., Aromatario, M., Maiese, A., Anibaldi, P., ... & Fineschi,
V. (2021). Analysis of inadequacies in hospital care through medical liability litigation.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3425.
Machado, F. L. D. S., dos Santos, D. M. D. S. S., & Lopes, L. C. (2021). Strategies to Approach
Medicines Litigation: An Action Research Study in Brazil. Frontiers in pharmacology, 12,
418.
Szalados, J. E. (2021). The Timeline of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit. In The Medical-Legal
Aspects of Acute Care Medicine (pp. 117-135). Springer, Cham.
