Health Information Services

As a manager of  Health Information Services, you must be able to organize your time in a fashion that reflects priorities, deadlines, and reasonable expectations. To-do lists, calendars, and delegation can help you organize time appropriately and effectively.

Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, you should demonstrate skill in

1. Managing time effectively in a given situation.
2. Prioritizing tasks in a logical manner.
3. Delegating tasks as appropriate.

Instructions

1. Read “Director Jones’ Monday Morning,” the case study below.  (Source:  AOE Case Study Manual, 1998)
2. Determine the priority of each of the 10 items listed at the end. Decide on priority #1, #2, or #3. Write your answers in Microsoft Word and submit to the Drop Box as explained below.
   • #1 – the task should be handled immediately
   • #2 – the task should be delegated
   • #3 – the task can be resolved/scheduled for a later dat

1. For each item, list the action you will take and the rationale for the action.

Director Jones’ Monday Morning
Time Management Case Study

Introduction

For purposes of this case study, assume that you are J. R. Jones, the Director of the Health Information Department at University Hospital. The items that you face Monday morning must be prioritized (#1 – the task should be handled immediately; #2 – the task should be delegated or #3 – the task can be resolved/scheduled for a later date).  After prioritizing, you should decide how each task should be handled.

In a Word document, indicate the following:

• the priority of each of the 10 items (#1, #2, or #3)
• the action you will take for each item
• the rationale for the action

Your responsibilities

You are the Director of the Health Information Department at University Hospital.  You have been in this position for approximately six months. This is your first director position. You report to Carol Johnson, chief financial officer.

You have 42 employees in your department:

• One department administrative assistant—Susan Sweeney
• Two assistant directors—Carolyn Brown, RHIA and John Smith, RHIT
• Four supervisors—Mary Green, RHIT; Joan Wilson, RHIA, CCS; William Bass, RHIT; and Fern Bailey, RHIT
• Four coders
• Ten transcriptionists
• Five file clerks
• Six senior health information technicians
• Three abstractors
• Three release of information specialists
• One special project coordinator—Fran Dixon, RHIA
• One quality management coordinator—Jim Black, RHIA
• Two quality management assistants

As Director, you serve on the Health Information Committee and record minutes of their meetings. You coordinate committee meetings by sending out meeting notices, arranging refreshments, providing the records for review, and developing the agenda in conjunction with the committee chairman.

As Director, you also serve on the Quality Improvement Committee for the hospital, as does the quality management coordinator, Jim Black.  It is Mr. Black’s responsibility to record minutes at this meeting, prepare records for review and make meeting arrangements.

Finally, you are a member of the hospital’s Computerization Task Force.

Your other professional commitments are as follows:

1. Vice-President of the advisory committee of the local HIA program,
2. Member of the board of directors of your state health information management association
3. Newsletter chairman for the regional professional association.

On this particular Monday, the Quality Improvement Committee meets at noon.  Lunch will be served during the meeting.  You also have an HIA Program Advisory Committee Meeting scheduled at 5:00 p.m. at the University.  You have not yet prepared a presentation that you will make to the Advisory Committee on a report from the subcommittee on curriculum, of which you are Chair.  This is also the first day of management affiliation for a student from out of state who will be spending six weeks in your department.