Delinquency Project

Part I

Ahima Medical Centre: Monthly Delinquency Rate

In AHIMA’s monthly delinquency rates, there is no specific pattern. 

Part II

Globally, it is the responsibility of any health institution to ensure that their medical records are completed on time. This has always been because on-time completion of these records indicates continuity of patient care, quality assurance, compliance with regulatory agencies, and third-party reimbursement. All medical professionals are often expected to exercise full responsibility by completing their medical records in alignment with the policy stipulated time, rules and regulations, and the medical staff bylaws. 

AHIMA Medical Centre has outlined its current policies that indicate the procedures for tracking and completing deficiencies in medical records. Even though their policies seem comprehensive, the above data still indicates numerous incidences of delinquencies which begs the need for some effective corrections. Therefore, the first thing that should be added is the time frame for completing medical records. From the AHIMA Medical Centre’s policy statement, it is only indicated that the medical record was completed on time. The policy should indicate that the medical documentation should be completed at the time of the patient’s discharge. Stipulating the exact time for completing the documents will put the practitioners on toss (Puttgen, 2021). 

The second policy that should be added to reduce the delinquency rate is information regarding the history and physical examination. According to Puttgen (2021), a patient’s medical history and physical examination play a critical role in the kind of treatment suitable for their condition (Puttgen, 2021). Sometimes, unavailability of a complete history and physical examination would cause delays in completing medical records hence, delinquency. Therefore, to be precise, AHIMA Medical Centre should indicate in its policy that a complete physical and historical examination should be available within 24 hours after admission. 

The policy should also include the stakeholders informed if the physician’s medical record has become delinquent for long. If a physician does not take the responsibility of completing their records on time, the top management will email the medical staff office, O.R scheduling, Patient Access Services, Health Information Management, and Clinical Service Section Chairs. This will ensure that the given physician is compelled to take responsibility. 

Even though people always confuse them, there is always a big difference between deficient medical records and delinquent medical records. According to Puttgen (2021), a deficient medical record is when the medical document has been edited but is missing some information regarding the patient’s condition. At times it might be missing their physical examination data or payment. On the other hand, a delinquent medical record is a medical document that is not completed at the right time (Puttgen, 2021). It would simply mean a medical record that is outdated. Deficiency focuses on information, while delinquency focuses on time. 

Delinquent medical records have a significant impact on the quality of patient care. People that consume hospital services often include patients, families, and referring providers. According to Puttgen (2021), when a patient’s medical records are delinquent, it would disservice a referring provider that has been tasked by the transition from the previous healthcare center (Puttgen, 2021). As a result, this would be inherently unsafe for a given patient, and errors might occur while identifying interventions such as duplicating care. 

Delinquency also has an adverse impact on the medical center’s finance. When a patient is admitted in a hospital, they create a story by their medical records. The summarization of the story created often requires timely and full completion for the need for accurate presentation. The accurate presentations often indicate the illness severity as well as map and crosswalk related to the patient’s condition. According to Puttgen (2021), facility fees, professional fees, and hospital charges often depend on medical documentation accuracy and timelessness (Puttgen, 2021). Therefore, with delinquent medical records, medical centers are likely to incur charges’ errors. 

In conclusion, timely completion of medical resources often affects both the patient’s wellbeing and the organization’s finances. Therefore, to reduce the high rate of delinquency in AHIM Medical Center, it should coordinate its health information management with medical staff leadership to implement effective models for accountability that would improve the timely completion of patients’ medical records.