| Course | HIM 685 Advanced Topics in HIM II |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | graduate journal entry analyzing an HIM department's strengths and weaknesses |
| Length | About 360 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Health Information Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HIM 685 Module 1
Module One Journal
Ready on Paper
Longleaf Regional agreed this spring to join the statewide exchange, and our board approved it in one meeting. Looking at my own department this week, I can see why leaders felt confident, and why I am less so.
Our strengths are real. The coding and abstraction team has an average of fourteen years with us, our coded data pass external audits with few findings and our chief executive talks about the exchange in every staff meeting. Menachemi et al. (2018) reviewed studies of exchange and reported that the studies best able to show cause and effect all found gains, among them fewer duplicate procedures and lower spending, with no study finding harm. Leaders here have read that kind of evidence, and they are right that patients would gain.
Our weaknesses are mostly in the plumbing and the habits. Seven release-of-information specialists answer roughly 2,300 requests every month, nearly all on paper or by fax. Two of our clinic systems identify the same patients with different numbers, so a single person can appear as two. And nobody in the department has managed an interface; the one analyst who did left last year.
Which weakness matters most? Vest and Gamm (2010) traced two decades of stalled exchange projects to barriers that are organizational, financial and legal rather than technical alone. A national survey a decade ago found most exchange organizations unsure how they would pay their own way (Adler-Milstein et al., 2013), which tells me the exchange will not carry us; we have to arrive ready. I think the identifier problem matters most. If our patients cannot be matched reliably, everything we send will be harder to find and more likely to land in the wrong record, and the exchange's benefits depend on finding the right record quickly.
The mail and fax habits worry me for a different reason: they belong to people. That will need leadership more than technology, and I want to plan it as carefully as the interfaces. I have started by asking the release team to show me a week of their work, request by request, before anyone shows them a new screen.
References
Adler-Milstein, J., Bates, D. W., & Jha, A. K. (2013). Operational health information exchanges show substantial growth, but long-term funding remains a concern. Health Affairs, 32(8), 1486-1492. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0124
Menachemi, N., Rahurkar, S., Harle, C. A., & Vest, J. R. (2018). The benefits of health information exchange: An updated systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 25(9), 1259-1265. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocy035
Vest, J. R., & Gamm, L. D. (2010). Health information exchange: Persistent challenges and new strategies. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 17(3), 288-294. https://doi.org/10.1136/jamia.2010.003673
What the HIM 685 Module 1 instructions ask for
HIM 685 begins with a journal that asks you to analyze a case, the course scenario or your own organization, and judge its strengths and weaknesses before any planning. About a page in your own voice is typical, with one to three APA 7 sources. Describe the situation and the change ahead briefly. Name the most important strengths and weaknesses with concrete facts, such as staffing, volumes, systems and habits, rather than general adjectives. Then go beyond listing: use research to decide which weakness matters most and why. Distinguish technical weaknesses from those that live in people and culture, since they call for different responses. Close with what the analysis means for the planning that follows.
How this HIM 685 Module 1 journal example is built
Longleaf Regional Medical Center's board approved joining the statewide exchange in one meeting. Strengths include coders averaging fourteen years, clean audited data and a chief executive who champions the change, backed by Menachemi and colleagues' finding that rigorous studies all reported benefits. Weaknesses include 2,300 monthly release requests handled by mail and fax, two clinic identifiers for the same patients and no interface experience. Vest and Gamm's account of stalled exchange efforts and Adler-Milstein and colleagues' finding that three quarters of exchanges struggled financially lead the HIM 685 journal to rank the identifier problem first and to flag the mail and fax habits as a leadership task.
Where the HIM 685 Module 1 rubric puts the points
In HIM 685, the case analysis journal is usually graded on an accurate summary of the situation, strengths and weaknesses supported by specific facts, use of research to prioritize rather than decorate, a distinction between technical and organizational issues and a thoughtful link to later planning. Entries that excel avoid generic lists and show judgment about which weakness would do the most damage if ignored. Graders value honesty about the writer's own department. A personal, reflective voice is appropriate for a journal, but claims should still be supported. Correct APA 7 citations and clear organization complete the stronger entries. Brief, specific entries outscore long ones that repeat the case.
HIM 685 Module 1 help: the mistakes that cost points
Case analysis journals for this course lose marks when they restate the scenario without judgment, list strengths and weaknesses as single words, ignore the human side of change or cite research that has nothing to do with the case. If your module uses the course's own hospital case, a different change such as a new record system or an outsourcing decision, or asks for a SWOT rather than strengths and weaknesses, send the prompt and the case summary and the entry will analyze that situation. Facts about volumes and staffing make it far stronger. Our HIM 685 journals back every strength and weakness with a fact and use research to decide which one matters most.
Get HIM 685 Module 1 written to your instructions
Send the HIM 685 Module 1 journal prompt and the case or a short description of your organization's situation. The entry will name strengths and weaknesses with concrete facts, use research to decide which weakness matters most and separate technical from human issues, returned within two 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.
More HIM 685 papers and related MS Health Information Management samples
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- HIM 685 Module 3 Data Dictionary: Industry Standards and Patient Record Relevance
- HIM 685 Module 4 Discussion: What HIM Leaders Do in an Exchange Project
- HIM 685 Module 5 Final Project Milestone One: A Strategic Analysis for Joining the Exchange
- HIM 685 Module 6 Change Theory Short Paper: Choosing a Model of Change That Guides Action
- HIM 685 Module 7 Final Project Milestone Two: The Change Management and Implementation Plan
- HIM 685 Module 8 Journal: A Team Worried About Its Work
- HIM 685 Module 9 Final Project: The Exchange Integration and Change Plan
- HIM 685 Module 10 Reflection: What Leading Change Taught the Writer
- HIM 520 Module 7 Final Project Milestone Three: Work Design and Centralized Release of Information
- HIM 560 Module 6 Downtime Short Paper: Downtime and Disaster Recovery on the Gulf Coast
- HIM 680 Module 1 Discussion: What Classification Systems Are For
- HIM 550 Module 9 Final Project: The Data Management Plan
HIM 685 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HIM 685 Module 1 Journal sample?
This page carries the full HIM 685 Module 1 journal, which analyzes a Mississippi hospital HIM department's strengths and weaknesses before it joins a statewide exchange.
How do you write a case analysis journal?
Summarize the situation briefly, name strengths and weaknesses with specific facts, use research to judge which matter most and explain what the analysis means for planning.
Does health information exchange improve care?
A systematic review found that every study with a design suited to causal claims reported benefits, such as fewer duplicate tests and lower costs, and none reported harm.
Why do health information exchanges struggle?
Research points to organizational, financial and legal barriers as well as technical ones, and many exchange organizations have struggled to find a sustainable business model.
Why is patient matching important for exchange?
If the same patient carries different identifiers, records may not be found or may be attached to the wrong person, which undermines the benefits of sharing data.