Performance Standard

Evaluate staffing needs to facilitate a functional health information management unit.

The HIM department includes the Release of Information function for LiveWell Healthcare which includes the hospital, the Emergency Department, the Surgery Center and the LiveWell Medical Office Building that houses 25 providers. It is connected to the hospital facility by an elevated walkway which is convenient for patients and their families. Recently, LiveWell on boarded a smaller medical office building in a neighboring town, Pontiac. Pontiac Medical Professionals (PMP) has 12 medical providers, and the onboarding process has included the evaluation of services that can be absorbed at LiveWell by existing LiveWell staff. The existing staff of PMP and LiveWell HIM is currently being reviewed because completion of Release of Information duties is under scrutiny and ROI has been problematic at PMP because basically anyone who gets a request handles it – there are no procedural norms. Staffing for both is listed below as well as the existing count of ROI processes:

LiveWell HIM Department

PMP (Now LiveWell Pontiac)

Staffing
One Director (1 FTE)

RPU Supervisor (Record Processing Unit) (1 FTE)

Coding Supervisor (1 FTE)

14 Coders (12.5 FTE)

8 Medical Transcriptionists (7 FTE)

6 Chart Analysts (6 FTE)

3 Document Imaging Technicians (3 FTE)

2 Physician Incomplete Coordinators (1.5 FTE)

2 Coding Facilitators (2 FTE)

1 Data Analyst(1 FTE)

1  Documentation Integrity Specialist (1 FTE)

1 Cancer Registrar (1 FTE)

1 Release of Information Coordinator (1 FTE)

1 ROI Support Staff (0.5 FTE))

 12 Providers

8 RNS (6 Full time, 2 Part time)

10 LPNS (6 Full time, 4 Part time)

8 Medical Assistants

4 Receptionists

4 Coders

 
Volume of ROI Processes

(assume 52 weeks per year, 5 days per week, 260 workdays per year)
5 per day– attorney requests

5 per week – subpoenas

9 per day – insurance requests

20 per day -walk-in requests

1 per day miscellaneous request

20 pieces of mail each day

 1 per week- attorney requests

1 per month – subpoenas

3 per day – insurance requests

3 per day -walk-in requests

 
  1. Determine the number of FTEs (full-time equivalents) ROI staff that is needed for the listed ROI processes if the volumes were merged and managed by the HIM department. A full-time equivalent works 2080 hours annually (12 months). One FTE = 2080 hours. Use standard rounding for your calculations.

Record your answer in full-time equivalents here:

Number of FTEs Needed for all ROI Processes =

Processing time for each request type is as follows:

35 minutes to complete- attorney requests

2.5 hours to complete – subpoenas

45 minutes to complete – insurance requests

10 minutes to complete -walk-in requests

30 minutes to complete – miscellaneous requests

30 minutes to open/log – mail each day

 

  1. Next compare the existing number of HIM FTEs in ROI to the number of Needed FTEs (#1 above) and assess the need for additional ROI staffing. Be sure to use data to support your assessment. Record your assessment and recommendation for staffing here:

 

Existing HIM FTEs in ROI= Needed FTEs in ROI=
Assessment for ROI staffing needs with supportive data: