HIM 675 Module 1 Discussion Example

Reviewed by Delia Ravenscroft, MSN, RN

This HIM 675 Module 1 Discussion sample shows how a vague data complaint becomes a research question that can actually be answered. It was written for SNHU HIM 675 (HIM-675), where the opening module has MS Health Information Management learners propose a topic for the research they will design across the course. The composite writer manages data integrity at a 340-bed teaching hospital in Tulsa, where an audit found pressure injuries flagged as present on admission although the admission note recorded no skin problem. The post narrows that concern in three passes, from whether present-on-admission coding is accurate to a question naming four conditions, a twelve-month window and a measurable outcome, then checks the result against the FINER criteria and invites classmates to test their own questions the same way.

CourseHIM 675 Research Methods and Evaluation
ModuleModule 1
Paper typegraduate discussion post turning a data integrity problem into a research question
LengthAbout 360 words, 3 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolSouthern New Hampshire University
ProgramMS Health Information Management
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HIM 675 Module 1

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Module One Discussion

Three Passes at One Question

Last spring our quality team asked why Cimarron Heights' hospital-acquired pressure injury rate looked so good. An audit gave part of the answer: 41 of 112 pressure injuries coded that year carried a present-on-admission flag of yes, although nothing in the first day's notes described a wound. My first instinct was to ask whether our present-on-admission coding is accurate. That is a complaint, not a research question.

What this page is doingThe post starts from a real-feeling problem rather than a topic.
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The first pass narrowed the subject. Present-on-admission flags exist for every secondary diagnosis, but they matter most for conditions treated as hospital-acquired, so I chose four: pressure injuries of stage 2 or worse, catheter-associated urinary infections, venous blood clots and injuries from falls. The second pass named the measure. Goldman et al. (2011), comparing flags with blind re-abstraction of more than a thousand California records, found agreement in about three quarters of cases, with errors running in both directions. Agreement with a re-abstracted gold standard is therefore something I can measure, and so are over-reporting and under-reporting separately. The third pass set the population and time: adult inpatients discharged from Cimarron Heights between July 2025 and June 2026.

The question now reads: among adult inpatients discharged from Cimarron Heights in fiscal 2026 with one of four hospital-acquired condition codes, how often does the coded present-on-admission flag agree with an independent chart review, and is disagreement more likely when the first day's nursing record holds no structured skin and risk assessment?

Hulley et al. (2013) suggest testing a question against the FINER criteria: feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant. It is feasible, with roughly 300 records and two trained reviewers. It is interesting to quality, finance and nursing. It is novel here, because no one has measured it locally. It is ethical as a records study with privacy protections. It is relevant because Bahl et al. (2008) showed that treating conditions present on admission as complications can substantially overstate safety indicator rates, and the reverse error can hide real harm.

What this page is doingEach narrowing step adds one element of an answerable question.
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For classmates: take the problem you are starting with and try writing it as one sentence that names who, what is measured and when. Which part was hardest to pin down?

What this page is doingThe closing question turns the method back on peers.
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References

Bahl, V., Thompson, M. A., Kau, T.-Y., Hu, H. M., & Campbell, D. A. (2008). Do the AHRQ patient safety indicators flag conditions that are present at the time of hospital admission? Medical Care, 46(5), 516-522. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0b013e31815f537f

Goldman, L. E., Chu, P. W., Osmond, D., & Bindman, A. (2011). The accuracy of present-on-admission reporting in administrative data. Health Services Research, 46(6pt1), 1946-1962. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01300.x

Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D. G., & Newman, T. B. (2013). Designing clinical research (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

What the HIM 675 Module 1 instructions ask for

HIM 675 opens with a discussion that asks you to name a health information problem worth studying and frame it as a research question. Keep the first post near one page, cite two or three APA 7 sources and plan to reply to peers later in the week. Describe the problem as you meet it at work or in the course case, then show how you narrowed it. A strong question names a population, the variable or outcome to be measured and a time frame, and it implies a comparison or relationship. Use a study or two to show the problem is real and measurable. Test the question against a recognized standard such as FINER. Close by inviting peers to apply the same narrowing to their own topics.

How this HIM 675 Module 1 discussion example is built

Cimarron Heights Medical Center's starting point is an audit: 41 of 112 pressure injuries flagged as present on admission with no wound in the first day's notes. Three passes follow. The subject shrinks to four hospital-acquired conditions; the measure becomes agreement with re-abstraction, borrowed from Goldman and colleagues' California audit of over a thousand records; and the population becomes adult discharges in fiscal 2026. The resulting question adds a possible cause, a missing structured assessment within 24 hours. Hulley and colleagues' FINER criteria test it, with Bahl and colleagues showing how misflagged conditions distort safety indicators. The HIM 675 post ends by asking peers to write their own one-sentence question.

Where the HIM 675 Module 1 rubric puts the points

Graders of the first HIM 675 discussion tend to reward a clearly described problem, visible narrowing from a broad concern to a precise question, a question that names population, measure and time frame, evidence that the problem matters and can be measured, and a reasoned check of feasibility and ethics. Posts that score highest show the steps of narrowing rather than presenting only the finished question, since the course is teaching the method. Graders value questions tied to the student's own setting and capstone. Correct APA 7 citations and concise writing matter as well. Replies earn credit when they help a classmate tighten a question, for instance by pointing out an unmeasurable term.

HIM 675 Module 1 help: the mistakes that cost points

Opening posts in HIM 675 often lose marks with questions that are really topics, questions that cannot be measured, such as asking whether coders care about accuracy, or questions so large they would need a national study. Some describe the problem well but never state a question at all. If your prompt asks for a problem statement, a PICO question or a qualitative research question rather than a measurement question, send it with a few lines about the problem you are considering and the post will be framed to fit. Mention what data you can realistically reach. Our HIM 675 posts show each narrowing step and finish with one sentence that names who, what and when.

Get HIM 675 Module 1 written to your instructions

Send the HIM 675 Module 1 prompt and a sentence or two about the data problem you are thinking of studying. The post will show how the problem narrows into a question naming population, measure and time frame, support it with research and test it against FINER, written within a couple of days and free for your first request. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.

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More HIM 675 papers and related MS Health Information Management samples

HIM 675 Module 1 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HIM 675 Module 1 Discussion sample?

This page carries the full HIM 675 Module 1 post, which narrows a pressure injury flagging problem at a Tulsa teaching hospital into an answerable research question in three passes.

What makes a good research question in health information management?

It names a population, the variable or outcome being measured and a time frame, implies a comparison or relationship and can be answered with data you can actually obtain.

What are the FINER criteria?

A test for research questions: feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant. Each criterion helps check that a question is worth asking and possible to answer.

Why study present-on-admission accuracy?

Present-on-admission flags decide whether a condition counts as a hospital complication, which affects safety rates, public reporting and payment, so errors in either direction matter.

How narrow should an HIM 675 research question be?

Narrow enough to answer with one organization's data in the time available, usually one population, a few measures and a defined period.