Preparing for prospective payment. Part IV: Organizational issues & ideas

This article has discussed several strategies for organizational placement of the hospital medical record department. The article has touched on the role of the DRG Coordinator and issues related to that role. Consideration was also given to the Data Manager's role in the medical record department. Hospital organizational changes usually do not occur overnight, but long-range planning may now be underway for future restructuring. Regardless of any organizational changes, medical record professionals must meet the new demands upon the hospital by working closely with administration, the medical staff and finance department. It is this commitment to teamwork that will ensure and maintain high quality services which are cost-effective, a requisite for survival under prospective payment.