You have taken the HIM director position for an accountable care organization (ACO). One of the first areas you have been tasked to focus on is the incorporation of information governance (IG) into the organization. The CEO has indicated that most administrative staff see IG as solely an HIM
strategy, which deals with the proper release of information and record retention or destruction. Your first recommendation is the creation of an IG team/council where you can ensure that the stakeholders understand the value of IG to the ACO and can then work together to assure compliance.
Another area of focus is the development of a new HIM strategic plan. The old strategic plan centered on customer service (release of information) and reimbursement. Your objective is to revise the plan to include goals that include IG and ACOs. The third area that you decide should be addressed relates to registries. While the individual organizations within the ACO report to such registries as the state trauma registry or the national or state cancer registries, creation of patient registries within the ACO could be a valuable tool. This will require the support of the CEO as additional staffing will need to be hired to create and maintain the registries.
Questions:
1. Evaluate the relationship of information governance (IG) to ACOs.
2. Which organizational stakeholders would you recommend be on the IG team/council for an ACO?
3. The HIM department’s strategic plan needs to be revised to include IG and ACOs. What are some strategies you could use to incorporate an information governance program? What goals would you include for those strategies?
4. Justify the use of registries in facilitating an accountable care organization’s strategies.