Write a 1,050- to-1,400 word paper that includes the following:
- Answer the discussion questions located at the end of the case you selected.
- Include what therapeutic approach you would apply in this case, and explain why you chose it.
- Describe the ethical issues you may encounter, as well as how you intend to approach them.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Lydia
graduated at the top of her class from Anystate University. Following
graduation, she started her career as a coder, in what was then known as
Medical Records at Rosewood General Hospital. She successfully passed
the Registered Records Administrator exam and, in a few years, was
promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Medical Records. Later
that year, Lydia met Theodore, and they were married the following
year. Lydia continued in her position as Assistant Director of Medical
Records at Rosewood for three more years until Theodore was transferred
to a position in another state. Lydia resigned her position and
relocated with Theodore and their two-year-old daughter.
Lydia
had no trouble finding employment after the move. She accepted a
position as Lead Coder at Greenlawn Hospital. While working at this
facility, Lydia appreciated significant professional growth; she was
promoted to Assistant Director and, eventually, Interim Director of
Medical Records at Greenlawn. During her term as Interim Director of
Medical Records, the American Medical Records Association changed to the
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Lydia took
steps to change the name of the Medical Records department at Greenlawn
to Health Information Services. Lydia also delivered twins during her
time serving as Director at Greenlawn.
The Health Information
Management career field underwent numerous changes, and Lydia attended
continuing education seminars to ensure she was up-to-date in her
knowledge of the dynamic rules and regulations related to PPS, the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, corporate
compliance, and other new issues that popped up along the way.
Administration at Greenlawn Hospital eventually offered Lydia the
position of becoming the permanent Director of Health Information
Services, which she gladly accepted. However, during this very busy time
in her life, between her growing family and keeping up with her career,
Lydia failed to keep up her credentials through AHIMA. At one point,
Lydia made a point of investigating what she would need to do to get her
credentials reinstated, but this reinstatement was certainly not a
priority in her life at the time.
Lydia kept in close contact
with her classmates from Anystate University, which soon proved to be
beneficial to her. Theodore was transferred once again, meaning another
relocation for the family. Luckily, one of Lydia’s close friends from
school, Fernando, was Director of Health Information Management at
Springfield Memorial Hospital, and he was looking for a Coding Manager.
As soon as Fernando received news of Lydia moving to his area, he told
her about the position and said that it would be hers if she was
interested. Back in their college days, Lydia frequently tutored
Fernando in coding, so he was confident enough of her abilities that he
did not require her to take a coding test prior to employment. Fernando
also knew about Lydia’s continuous employment in the Health Information
Management field and that she consistently attended continuing education
seminars, so the thought of verifying her credentials did not cross his
mind because Springfield Memorial Hospital did not require their coders
to hold credentials.
Lydia continued to work at Springfield
Memorial, and prior to a Joint Commission survey, the issue of her
lapsed credentials surfaced. She discussed the process of reinstatement
through AHIMA with Fernando, but because it was not required for her
position, it was not addressed as an urgent issue. Lydia had become busy
outside of work dealing with her children, who had become teenagers,
and divorcing Theodore, who had left her for another woman.
Lydia looked for additional part-time work to pay her growing list of
monthly bills. She taught medical terminology at a local community
college. Another of her old college friends, Matilda, was director of a
Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information
Management (CAHIIM)-accredited Health Information Management program at
another local college. Matilda was in desperate need of additional
adjunct faculty and had talked to Lydia over lunch one day about the
possibility of teaching nights. Lydia really needed additional money, so
she eagerly accepted the position. Matilda, like Fernando, was aware of
Lydia’s career achievements and her frequent attendance of continuing
education activities. Matilda hired Lydia, whose resume indicated she
held the Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) credential.
The following semester, Matilda started gathering data for an
upcoming CAHIIM site survey and had requested the required information
related to her faculty members’ continuing education activities. Lydia
provided Matilda with copies of certificates to provide appropriate
evidence of her attendance at seminars, which provided significantly
more than the required number of continuing education credits for
maintenance of the RHIA credential. Matilda also requested a copy of
Lydia’s RHIA certificate. However, Lydia explained that most of her
professional documents were still packed in boxes from her move back to
the state, plus she was also in the process of packing her belongings to
put the house that she owned with Theodore up for sale. Matilda
accepted the excuse and figured the document really was not that
important to the CAHIIM surveyors because they could easily obtain the
document from AHIMA if necessary.
The CAHIIM surveyors arrived,
did their preliminary review of data, met with Matilda, and then met
with the students and individual instructors. During her meeting with
the surveyors, Matilda could not say enough about how Lydia was one of
her best instructors, and they were impressed at the experience she had
to share with the students. The surveyors received equally positive
comments about Lydia from the students they interviewed.
At the
end of the site survey, Matilda met with the survey team and was
astounded to learn from them that Lydia did not hold any AHIMA
credentials. They did reinforce the fact that her extensive experience,
especially in the coding arena, qualified her to teach medical
terminology and coding. However, the surveyors explained that Lydia
would not be qualified to teach any other courses specific to health
information management until she successfully had her credentials
reinstated through AHIMA, which she indicated to the surveyors that she
was completely willing to do. The surveyors explained to Matilda that
because Lydia was qualified to teach some of the courses, they would not
officially document the issue, but they wanted to make her aware of the
situation.
- 1. Should Matilda or Fernando have been aware of Lydia’s credential status?
- 2. Should Matilda inform her organization’s administration of Lydia’s credential status? Why or why not?
- 3.
Matilda and Fernando are close friends. Matilda suspects that Fernando
may not be aware of Lydia’s credential status. Should she alert him of
the issue as a colleague? Why or why not? - 4. How should Matilda respond to Lydia following the survey?
- 5. What legal and ethical issues are addressed in this case?
- 6. Using the case method, evaluate possible actions that should be taken and determine the best option.
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