Week 10....

Ok, finally past the halfway mark on the semester. I really didn't think switching from quarters to semesters was going to be that much of a difference, but it really is. It just seems to be dragging out forever with the semester. But....we are over halfway done now and I am sure the end of the quarter will actually get here to quickly for me because then I have finals and the course projects due and all that good stuff...lol.

During week 10 we discussed things such as  CAC and NLP. CAC, or computer-aided coding, is an asset in many different areas. It will help the physician with selecting a proper code by the use of drop down boxes or touch screen terminals. NLP, or natural language processing, is a type of CAC. When using NLP, it enables the program to pick words our and match codes up to the infromation that is being typed in. This could help in many ways. A coder would have to physically scan the document and try to pick out the words needed to code for the documetn. By doing this, a coder has to read the entire document which is time consuming and costly since it takes more time. It would be much easier to have a program read the data input and pick out "key" words and suggest codes. The coder would then review the codes selected by the software and verify everything before sending on to the billing department.

We also discussed why patient safety is so important. I think that is pretty obvious, but to some it may not be. Patients go into a facility to be taken care of, not to be injured and catch some illness they didn't have when being admitted. They is more that goes into patient safety than just taking care of the patient. It also involves cleaning rooms, bathrooms, counters, floors, beds, and very importantly the health care workers hands.

Julie listed this in one of her replies and it is definitely worth sharing and repeating:

• 1. Hand hygiene – wash your hands!
  2. Safe surgery checklists – these are often met with resistance by healthcare staff because they feel the information is already listed in the patients’ charts.
  3. Patient selection criteria – choosing the appropriate surgery center to prevent transfers.
  4. Surface disinfectant – areas that are not visibly soiled are often overlooked.
  5. Wrong-site procedures – the prevention of wrong-site procedures needs to be improved, according to the source.
  6. Dependence on safety tools – staff often forget to think outside of the box.
  7. Burns - from electrosurgical equipment, defibrillators, etc.
  8. Distractions in the operating room – physicians answer phone calls, watch movies, do not participate in “time-outs”.
  9. Housekeeping – staff are not trained on how to properly clean
  10. Properly trained staff – unqualified and untrained staff members

  10 top patient safety issues in 2012. (2011, December 19). Retrieved October 28, 2012, from http://www.beckersasc.com/asc-accreditation-and-patient-safety/10-top-patient-safety-issues-in-2012.html.

The other topic we discussed for this week was social media usage in healthcare. Although I could see some benefits to social media in healthcare, such as pharmaceutical companies sharing new drugs they have released for certain conditions, a doctor really could not use this due to all of the HIPAA laws and the potential for violation of these privacy laws. They also could not really discuss ailments in general as people could take it to heart, maybe not go to the doctor, becaome very ill, then try to come back on the doctor that may have posted something on Facebook or Twitter.