Nicole Sammons

Professional Practice Experience

I have completed my Professional Practice Experience (PPE) at Miami Valley Hospital and
Maria-Joseph Living Center. I have gained experience in both of these locations of how the HIM
departments are ran and learned much about their positions and how each function is an essential part of
the healthcare industry. Without these departments working as a team, although separate, the hospital and
long term care facility would not run efficiently.
At Miami Valley Hospital, the Transcription section of the HIM Department, personnel not only
makes sure the Dictaphone system is meeting the accuracy levels for transcribing for physicians and
surgeons, but also to work with physicians to correct errors for accuracy. Many timeliness and accuracy
reports are monitored in this department. The turnaround time to correct the information in EPIC or even
before it makes it into EPIC is important due to patient procedures relying on the accuracy of these
documents. If these are not completed in a timely manner a procedure may need to be cancelled and that
is not good for the patient, physician/surgeon, or hospital.
At Miami Valley Hospital, in the analyzing section of the HIM Department, I learned the
important responsibility of these positions is to insure proper documents and documentation are in EPIC.
I also got to perform hands on work in EPIC. I checked inpatient, observation, and ER patient records to
ensure documentation was correct. It is vital, even at the beginning of a hospital visit, for the patient to
check that information are being done properly. If not, physicians are contacted. This is also true for those
that have been discharged, to be sure all documentation is accurate and signed.
At Miami Valley Hospital, in the retrieval section of the HIM Department, I learned and
performed hands-on activities in EPIC, such as setting up a fax of ROI for an associated physicians
office, and checking that Careflight documents are in the system correctly. I also learned how to handle
incoming calls and faxes for request of information and or documents and records.
At Miami Valley Hospital, I was able to spend some time retrieving and filing of hybrid folders. I
got to see in person how the filing system works. It was fun to look for these folders. Although this
Medical Records Department has an electronic health record, but still hold old hybrid files.
At Miami Valley Hospital, I worked in the scanning section of the HIM Department and learned
prepping, scanning, indexing and quality checking of patient files. I prepped, scanned, indexed, and
quality checked 77 records. This was accomplished using Solcom and after I finished each batch, I
uploaded them into EPIC.
At Maria-Joseph Living Center, I have learned how their HIM Department is ran and the daily
functions they perform. HIM Department also assists in patient transfers to physician appointments within
the facility. This department is only a small percentage of EHR so there are lots of paper charts. They
work closely with the physicians, nurses, and other staff within this facility. I learned how to do everyday
functions in this department from new admissions, to discharges. I also got hands on learning with how to
document and box older inactive files.