Insiders envision an HIM department that is less production focused

SALT LAKE CITY -- With the conversion to ICD-10 disease and treatment coding expected by the government-set deadline of Oct. 1 2013, and all that entails, a new career path is emerging in healthcare – the chief knowledge officer, or CKO.

At least the prospect of a CKO – already at work in other industries – seems to be gaining traction.
The concept is driven not only by the prospect of ICD-10 just around the corner, but also by the increasing volume of data and the increasingly critical role data play in clinical decisions and outcomes. As data is converted to information and knowledge, it becomes more valuable and so do the people responsible for it.

Add to that the fact that there is a shortage of coders, with many planning to retire soon and health information managers can expect the work to change dramatically, speaker after speaker said in one way or another at the AHIMA Convention & Exhibit last month in Salt Lake City.

“Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) is an emerging role we are beginning to see,” Cindy Zak, director of health information and privacy officer at Milford Hospital in Milford, Conn., told her audience at the convention.

Zak, who spoke on a panel about EHR innovations, said healthcare is experiencing an “information explosion.”

“What are we going to do with all this information?” she asked. “How are we going to use it to innovate? There is a need for someone to champion the use of information.” When meaning is applied to data, she said, it becomes information. And when information is shared, it becomes knowledge that can be applied to an end – to better treat a patient.

Many large companies – Hallmark, Dow and Shell, for example, have knowledge programs. So should hospitals.

As Zak sees it, the CIO implements technology, acquires technology and fixes technology. The CKO is an entrepreneur, a change agent – using data to make better, more targeted and timely treatment possible.

“The CKO needs to report to the CEO,” Zak said. “You need a clear proposition. You need a knowledge management program. You need visionary leadership.”

Sandra Nunn, principal of KAMC Consulting, another member of the panel, agreed that data becomes more valuable when mined for meaningful information – and that requires a high level of skills to manage.

“Who talked about metadata five years ago?” she asked.

Nunn also suggested that many industries are becoming less hierarchal.

“We’re moving into a collaborative way – not the top suite down,” she said. “That’s what’s going to happen in our own world in HIM. We’re going to be a team model.”

The expectations for HIM professionals are increasing along with the growing volume of data, Nunn said.

“HIM professionals will have to be skilled at managing HIM information inside their organization, but also in the cloud because the information will not stop at the edge of your organization,” she said.

At 3M, developers are touting an automated way of coding – or at least an auto-suggested method. The idea, says JaeLynn Williams, senior vice president, marketing and client operations, is to free up coders to do more valuable work, such as auditing and reviewing for accuracy – work that makes a more significant impact on the healthcare system. Incidentally, she points out, the scenario is similar to what occurred in accounting long ago.

“HIM departments are really production focused today,” she said. Williams advocates taking the rote work off the table – the better to focus on getting life-saving information to the right place at the right time.