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Milestone One
Dannie Goodmiller
Southern New Hampshire University
HIM-440: Management of Health Information Services
Shawna Sweeney
January 26, 2025
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Milestone One: Initiation and Preparation
To analyze the HIM (health information management) department of Gateway Healthcare
Systems during the start of the new merger. Will cover topics such as issues, compliance,
cultural diversity, both the mission and vision of Gateway Healthcare Systems. Identifying not
only the strengths, but also the weaknesses that need improvement and the opportunities of the
new HIM department with this merger.
Summary
With the merger taking place combining three hospitals into one to become more
efficient and effective while providing care to patients there were issues that were brought to
light but should have been worked out prior to the merger. These issues have caused for the
facilities to be considered non-compliant with HIPAA rules and regulations that were set by The
Joint Commission. Combining these organizations together will create one mission and vision
statement under Gateway Healthcare Systems HIM department.
Compliance
Given that between all three organizations the coding quality, expectations, productivity
and security of health information differs, compliance should be a top priority. With compliance
being a top priority it is a must to have standard policies and procedures to be put in place and
implemented so that the organization is maintaining compliance per the regulations that are set
by The Joint Commission. Another compliance that needs to be a top priority would be to ensure
that the ICD-10 coding productivity is up and running while optimizing the standards. Gateway
Healthcare Systems also need to ensure that all employees in the organization are following the
policies and procedures put in place to maintain regulations and to ensure patient safety and
privacy with their health information. The new system will connect the EHR system to ensure
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that there is timestamps across the systems to follow the regulations and be in compliance
allowing time and date to be stamped on all information being input into the EHR. All that work
in the HIM department will need to maintain the safety and privacy of all information that they
work with and have complete knowledge and understanding of the regulations that are in place.
Cultural Diversity
It would be ideal to implement and promote the diversity in both staff and patients that
are receiving care from the organization. With the merging of the three hospitals, it will allow for
more diverse staff and allow for a diversity training that will happen after the finalization of the
merger and then happen annually. Being able to have a diverse group of employees throughout
the facility will help with patients feeling more comfortable with getting care, With a diversity it
will allow for the new hospital to go on without discrimination as it is open to cultural diversity.
This will also allow for the organization to be able to introduce a work environment of fairness,
zero tolerance for discrimination based on cultural differences, promote unity and safety.
Mission and Vision
Before the merger each hospital had their own mission and vision statement, but they did
have some similarities. For St. Catherine’s Hospital the mission statement is “Grounded in
Catholic mission of service, we strive to provide accurate patient health information services to
all patients with care, concern, and dignity.” St. Catherine’s vision statement is “Provide patients
with their health information with sensitivity and respect to their privacy. St. Luke’s hospital
mission statement is “ To provide providers, residents, and staff with timely access to patient
health information for purposes of treatment, research, and reimbursement.” St. Luke’s vision
statement is “ Promoting research through state-of-the-art health information.” Hickman
Community Hospital vision statement is “Committed to serving the local community health
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information needs and ensuring patient information is secure.” Hickman Community Hospital
mission statement is “To assure protection of patient health information at all times.” The
principal of mission statements is to support the purpose and primary objective of the
organization while the vision statements promote the organization goals and values. Both vision
and mission statements should be uplifting, giving a clear message of the goals and values of the
hospital and how they put patients first. The mission statement for Gateway Healthcare Systems
is “To provide accurate patient health information services to patients, providers, and staff in a
timely manner all the while assuring protection of information is of the upmost concern.”
Gateway Healthcare System vision statement is “Serving the local communities health
information needs through state-of-the-art health information management and technology to
ensure sensitive patient information is secure.” Both vision and mission statement for Gateway
Healthcare System has a clear representation of what the goals and values are of the organization
to both patients and their staff.
SWOT Analysis
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St. Catherine’s
Strengths
Affiliated with the Catholic religion,
based on a foundation of high quality
care, compassion, and empathy.
Much diversity that is based on employee
respect by creating a positive work
environment.
Reputation of providing high-quality care
regardless of patient culture
EHR already in place
Weaknesses
Productivity is low for coding
Dictation system needs to be upgraded
Shortage of employees with health-related
certification for coding
Long term employees not following
policies and procedures, not adjusting to
coding system.
Patient information is not secure due to
failed discipline attempts when it comes
to policies and procedures
Missing information in medical records
Need to develop new procedures and
policies for new EHR
Opportunities
Attractive to patients because of
reputation and beliefs
Improving facility innovation
Improve the efficiency
Threats
Lower average of salary
Not considering overtime due to budget
Security breach
Longer wait times due to long coding
times
Lack of quality services
Low productivity could impact patient
satisfaction
St. Luke’s
Strengths
High volume of visits from patients
Diversity of people being provided care
Encoder in place
Implemented improvement of coding
productivity
Productivity being met
Use of technologies to support research
Provide high quality services for rapid
patient information availability
Weaknesses
Providing critical care services to higher
number of patients without health
insurance
Lacks in diversity and a high turnover rate
Shortage in qualified encoder staff
Failure to properly secure patient health
information because staff members not
following policy and procedure
Still manually coding which leaves room
for error, outdated EHR system
Opportunities
Hiring staff members and retaining staff
with HIM education and qualifications
Coding training seminars
New policies and procedures
Diversity in staff
Threats
Audits
Lawsuits from people who lack health
insurance coverage
Staff unwillingly to adapt to new changes
Interoperability
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Hickman
Strengths
Patient numbers increasing
Strong employee retention
Low turnover rate
Quick turnaround time from admit to final
bill
Weaknesses
Low bed supply
Accessibility Issues
Non compliant with both TJC and ADA
guidelines
No diversity training
Limited financial resources
Redundant coding practices
Opportunities
Implementation of EHR with encoder to
ensure compliance
Retain staff
Retain patients returning for care as
needed
Provide training and credentialling
opportunities to staff
Provide diversity training
Threats
Loss of participation with
Medicare/Medicaid
Non compliance with coding
documentation standards
Loss of accreditation
fines
Unified HIM Department SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Diverse in patient population
Employee retention
Staff with HIM education and credentials
Policies and procedures to include coding
requirements
Technologies to ensure the timelines and
quality of care
Positive work environment
Weaknesses
Staff unwillingness to adapt to new
changes
Transition from manual coding to encoder
Lack of qualified staff
Low productivity and negative reputation
Patients impacted by not having standards
being followed
Large expense to enable coding standards
Opportunities
Increase in patient diversity
Increase in staff diversity
Improvement with technologies for
patient information retrieval and search
Positive image increasing positive
reputation
High quality care
Staff motivated to do better
Positive work environment
Threats
Large expenses to update technology
Staff refusing to accept and adapt to
change
Quality of care in question
Staff lack of respect for diversity
Conclusion
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With the SWOT analysis metrics it does show that between the three facilities that are
issues that need to be addressed before the merge takes place. Even with Gateway Healthcare
Systems have a plan in place and can work through these issues to create a resolution that will
better serve the patients and the staff all around. Implementing new and updated policies and
procedures to ensure the security when it comes to patient health information will increase
patient satisfaction as well as implementing a better more productive coding standard will
increase productivity. Providing diversity training for all staff will also increase the positivity
work environment creating a better overall experience for both staff and patients.
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References
1. The Importance of Cultural Diversity in Healthcare. (2024, October 1). The Importance
of Cultural Diversity in Healthcare. https://www.qualityinteractions.com/blog/the-
importance-of-cultural-diversity-in-healthcare#:~:text=Cultural%20diversity%20in
%20healthcare%20refers%20to%20the%20variety,practices%20that%20patients
%20bring%20when%20seeking%20medical%20care.
2. Limić, I. (2024, July 24). A guide to crafting Great Healthcare Mission, Vision, & Values
Statements. Berxi. https://www.berxi.com/resources/articles/healthcare-mission-vision-
and-values-statements/
3. Zeng, X., Reynolds, R., & Sharp, M. (2009, September 16). Redefining the roles of health
information management professionals in health information technology.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2781729/
