Knowledge Activity: Assessing Employee Productivity $($Masters$)$Learning objectives $1.$Apply policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of health data both internal and external to the health system $(3)2.$Utilize tools and techniques to monitor, report, and improve processes $(3)3.$Report staffing levels and productivity standards for health information functions $(3)4.$Perform quality assessment including quality management, data quality, and identification of best practices for health information systems $(4)5.$Analyze workflow processes and responsibilities to meet organizational needs $(4)6.$Evaluate staffing levels and productivity, and provide feedback to staff regarding performance $(5)7.$Leverage human capital $(5)8.$Conduct quality assessment studies $(6)9.$Design process improvement research methods and models $(6)$Student instructions$1.$If you have questions about this activity, please contact your instructor for assistance$\mathrm{.}2.$You will review the chart of Cheyenne Echohawk to complete this activity. Your instructor has provided you with a link to the Assessing Employee Productivity $($MS$)$ activity. Click on $2$: Launch EHR to review the patient chart and begin this activity$\mathrm{.}3.$Refer to the patient chart and any suggested resources to complete this activity$\mathrm{.}4.$Document your answers directly on this activity document as you complete the activity. When you are finished, you will save this activity document to your device and upload this activity document with your answers to your Learning Management System $($LMS$).$The activityProduction versus productivity: What is the difference? Production is the process in which resources are converted into products or services. Productivity is a measurement between the outputs of a process to the input of resources. Productivity is usually expressed as the ratio of output divided by input. For medical coding, productivity is the number of records processed per day by one person. What is a standard?A standard is rule or guideline that provides details on expectations relating to achievement of a specific action or condition. Criteria are listed related to a product or a service that is measured and compared to a benchmark. Many standards are created for application and used within a company for analysis and evaluative purposes. Standards may be used voluntarily or on a mandatory basis as determined by company policy, national or international regulations or as stated in specific laws. Below is an example of a daily productivity standard for medical coding as recommended by the American Health Information Management Association $($AHIMA$).$ Do the math! What is the mean$/$average$?$The mean is the average of the numbers and is easy to calculate: add up all the numbers, then divide by how many numbers there are. In other words, it is the sum divided by the count. Keep the criteria below in mind when working with calculations:$60$ minutes in an hour$7\mathrm{.}5$ hours or $450$ minutes in one work day o$(60$minutes x $7\mathrm{.}5$ hours $=450$ min$/$day$)5$ work days in one week$37\mathrm{.}5$ hours in one work weekIn this activity, you will be the Health Information Manager and Coding Supervisor responsible for examining the coders in your hospital to determine if they are meeting the given standard set by the hospital policy. You will use data and reports that have been already extracted from the EHR. Responsibilities of the Health Information Manager and Coding Supervisorsa.Monitoring, at a minimum on a quarterly basis, the accuracy and productivity of the coding staff.b$.$Monitoring the accuracy of the coding staff using an appropriate sample size as determined by the policy and standard of the hospital. More frequent reviews may be required for coders that continue to have high error rates in their coding.c$.$Provide education opportunities on coding and documentation updates as needed or required based on data findings.d$.$Establish policies, standards and procedures related to all coding activities.e$.$Recruit, hire and retain experienced qualified coding personnel.f$.$Assess and address productivity levels, educational needs and knowledge deficits to each member of the coding staff at a minimum on a quarterly basis. g$.$Develop and maintain a documentation process for each employee on staff. Questions$1.$Based on the Coder Productivity Standards in the first table below, what is an acceptable weekly minimum standard for each scope below? Fill in the second table below with your answers. Coder Productivity StandardsScope of WorkMinimum Standard per WeekInpatient Coding Ambulatory $/$Outpatient CodingEmergency Room CodingAncillary Testing$2.$Calculate the average number of records completed per day for one week in the month of May for each coder listed below based on a report ran from the EHR. Fill in the table below with your answers.WEEK OF MAY $3$CODERTypeDay $1$Day $2$Day $3$Day $4$Day $5$Average$/$Day$1$ IN$2530202427126$ records$/5$ days $=25\mathrm{.}2$records$/$day $2$ ER$1241281181341103$ IN$24242018184$ OUT$45405040425$ OUT$67404545396$ ER$1201251151201273.$Was the daily standard met by each coder? Fill in the table below with your answers. Insert a comment, if applicable.CODERYES$/$NOComment$1234564.$Calculate the average number of records completed per week for the month of June $(5$ weeks$)$ for each coder listed below based on a report ran from the EHR. Fil in the table below with your answers.Month of JuneCoderTypeWeek $1$Week $2$Week $3$Week $4$Week $5$Avg$/$week$1$IN$170156164163180833$ records$/5$weeks $=166\mathrm{.}6$ records$/$week$2$ER$6146006206056113$IN$1101201181101194$OUT$2172252202202195$OUT$2242302292412206$ER$6025986005996105.$Using the total weekly average you calculated above, calculate the average number of records completed per day for each coder based on the entire month of June. Fill in the table below with your answers.CODERTYPE WEEKLY AVERAGE$/$DAYS$1$ IN$166\mathrm{.}6$ records$/$week divided by $5$ days a week $=33\mathrm{.}32$ records a day$2$ ER$3$ IN$4$ OUT$5$ OUT$6$ ERBased on the information extracted from the EHR for the month of June, answer the following questions about your coding staff$\mathrm{.}6.$Was the weekly standard met by each coder? Fill in the table below with your answers.CODERYES$/$NOComment below standard, at standard or above standard$1234567.$Was the daily standard met by each coder? Fill in the table below with your answers.CODERYES$/$NO$1234568.$Compare the Week of May $3$ to the month of June and provide a brief analysis of the comparison. Fill in the table below with your answers.CODERMay $3$ Weekly RateJune Monthly RateAnalysis$125\mathrm{.}2$ records$/$day$33\mathrm{.}32$ records$/$dayHigh productivity coder. June monthly rate higher audit recommended$234569.$As a supervisor, determine a response to deliver to the coding staff as a whole at the next staff meeting regarding levels of productivity. $10.$Are there any coders you might want to address separate from the group? If so$,$ who and why?Quality audit$11.$As the supervisor, you need to spot check Coder $1$ for quality, as her productivity level is very high. To do so$,$ launch the EHR of Cheyenne Echohawk, whose chart was coded by Coder $1.$ Click on the Notes tab and review the notes in her EHR to determine if the chart has a detailed Discharge Summary note. A Discharge Summary is required, and Coder $1$ indicated this requirement was met for this EHR. After reviewing the patient record, why do you think that Coder $1$ has a higher productivity level? Explain your answer.Employee feedback $12.$ Draft an appropriate email to provide feedback to Coder $3$ regarding productivity level and performance. Make recommendations for improvement, if necessary. Critical thinking$13.$New coding employees are not expected to perform at the same productivity level as seasoned coders. What strategies could you use to keep the average coding productivity the same when a new coder is hired?$14.$With the implementation of ICD$-10,$ some coders reported decreased productivity and accuracy. What strategies would you recommend to your facility when undergoing significant change, such as high employee turnover or a new training process, to assess the quality and quantity of coding during this time? $15.$If quality and quantity decreased in the scenario described in #$14,$ what strategies would you suggest for increasing them to their previous levels or higher? Explain your rationale$\mathrm{.}16.$What do you see as being a critical talent need$($s$)$ for the coders in your facility to ensure the facilitys success? How would you promote the hiring and fostering of high quality coders? Explain your rationale.