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3-1 Final Project Milestone One: Initiation and Preparation
Southern New Hampshire University
HIM-440: Management of Health Information Services
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Initiation and Preparation Phase
For forming Gateway Healthcare Systems, St. Catherine’s Medical Center will be
merging with Luke’s Hospital and Hickman Community Hospital. The ‘Initiation and
Preparation Phase’ phase will be highly critical so that the facilities can function in a
cohesive manner and deliver quality services to the public. While working on the phase,
some of the key elements that have been taken into consideration include the issues that
could arise for the HIM department, compliance concerns, cultural issues that could impact
quality as well as productivity and the mission and vision of the facilities. A detailed SWOT
analysis has also been conducted to identify the key variables that may impact the Health
Information Management department of the merged entity.
Summary
The merger of the three health care facilities into a single entity could give rise to a
broad range of issues in the HIM department. After the review of the data of St. Catherine’s
Medical Center, Luke’s Hospital and Hickman Community Hospital, some of the main issues
that have been identified are the limited staff diversity and the lack of necessary credentials
of the staff. Similarly, the department associations in some of the facilities is weak, which
could adversely affect collaboration and teamwork. The other elements that are lack within
the organizations include proper communication, training and development opportunities for
the staff members, etc.
Compliance
While merging the health care facilities together to form a single entity, a number of
compliance issues could arise. At present, compliance to relevant standards and policies is a
major source of concern. For example, the Hickman Community Hospital does not comply
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with the requisite ADA guidelines as highlighted by the previous Joint Commission
accreditation survey. Similarly, it does not adhere to the TJC standards concerning leadership.
While merging the facilities together, it is essential to focus on the compliance aspects so
that Gateway Healthcare Systems could function in a systematic and professional manner.
The PHI must be handled in a cautious manner so that the privacy of the patients would not
get compromised. Proper compliance with HIPAA is necessary (Nosowsky & Giordano,
2006). The leaders must play a proactive role to ensure safe and quality care is delivered to
patients and proper coding methods are in place (Wightman, 2008).
Cultural Diversity
The cultural diversity is a vital aspect that must be given due importance while
merging the health care facilities to form a cohesive unit. At present, the cultural diversity in
some of the health care facilities is lacking. It is vital to address this imbalance by having in
place a diversified workforce. the cultural issues impacting quality and productivity. The
lack of proper cultural competence is a serious issue that could arise in the case study and
affect the employees and the organization. It is vital to focus on increasing the cultural
competence of the staff members so that they would be able to cohesively function with
others (Nair & Adetayo, 2019).
Mission and Vision
The mission and vision of each of the hospital varies to a certain degree. The mission
of St. Catherine’s Medical Center is to offer correct PHI services to all patients by focusing
on concern, dignity and care. Its vision involves offering PHI to patients by focusing on
privacy and sensitivity. Luke’s Hospital’s mission is to offer providers, staff and residents,
timely access to PHI for research, treatment as well as reimbursement. Its vision revolves
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around state-of-the-art technology and HIM. The mission of Hickman Community Hospital is
to continuously safeguard PHI. Its vision is to serve the health information requirements of
the local community and make sure that patient information is securely handled. Even though
the mission and vision of the facilities vary, they revolve around PHI and creating value for
others. m
SWOT Analysis
The SWOT analysis of each of the health care facilities has been presented below.
Emphasis has been laid on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that arise
before their Health Information Management departments.
St. Catherine’s
Strengths
• High emphasis is given to delivering
accurate patient health information
services to all patients
• High diversity of staff and patients
• Reputation
• Strong record of employee retention
Weaknesses
• Low level of productivity
• Limited formal health information
credentials or qualification of the long-
term employees
• Non-compliance of staff
• Application of manual coding books
Opportunities
• Upgrading staff productivity
• Enhancing the existing coding standards
as well as dictation system
• Offering new opportunities to employees
with disability or special physical needs
Threats
• Poor ability to attract talented staff as a
result of low salary level as compared to
industry standards
• Unable to capitalize on technologies
since obsolete practices are in place
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St. Luke’s
Strengths
• Emphasis on research, treatment, and
reimbursement areas
• Existence of credentialed HIM staff
• High patient diversity
Weaknesses
• High staff attrition
• Poor diversity of staff
• Lack of the existence of an HIM
manager or director
• Existence of obsolete EHR system
• Poor communication between EHR and
other systems
• Lack of experience of the coding
manager and poor work relationships
• Low performance expectations relating to
coding
Opportunities
• Retention of credible HIM staff for
over 2 years
• Strengthening interoperability of the
innovative systems
• Proper alignment of existing processes
Threats
• Unable to retain talented staff
• Chances of poor level of productivity
because of high dependence on manual
practices
Hickman
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Hickman
Strengths
• Robust professional relationships
between departmental and
organizational staff members
• Existence of family culture that
contributes to staff longevity
Weaknesses
• Accessibility concerns
• Non-compliance with the necessary ADA
guidelines as per the last Joint Commission
accreditation survey
• Poor diversity of patients and staff
• Non-adherence to TJC standards on
leadership
• Lack of HIM staff with AHIMA credentials
• Poor coding quality or quantity expectations
• Use of manual coding methods
Opportunities
• Better cultural diversity
• Rise in AHIMA-credentialed
employees in HIM department
• Better automation
Threats
• Low level of productivity
• Non-compliance leading to complications
Unified HIM Department SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Focus on PHI
• Presence of HIM department
Weaknesses
• Poor management of PHI
• Lack of professionalism of staff members
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Unified HIM Department SWOT Analysis
• Credentials of some staff members
• Obsolete technological practices
Opportunities
• Better policies on handling PHI
• Better compliance
• Enhanced productivity by leveraging
innovation
Threats
• Low productivity
• Lack of ability to use new technologies
Conclusion
The merger of the heh care facilities into a single unit could give rise to diverse
issues and challenges relating to compliance, cultural problems, and the misalignment of
mission and visions. Such issues could adversely affect the ability of the new HIM unction to
optimally function. It is essential for the merged entity to leverage the common strengths and
capitalize the existing opportunities so that it could optimally functions and deliver value in
the community setting.
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References
Nosowsky, R., & Giordano, T. J. (2006). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule: implications for clinical research. Annu. Rev. Med.,
57, 575-590.
Nair, L., & Adetayo, O. A. (2019). Cultural competence and ethnic diversity in healthcare.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 7(5)
Wightman, J. (2008). SSIS Security. Pro SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, 337-353.
