President’s Message
 I
hope that you all are enjoying your summer and have some vacations
planned. I know I have been enjoying the pleasant weather this summer
and hope to get away a few more times before the start of Fall.
Your delegates have just returned from Summer Team
Talks in Chicago. We learned what AHIMA’s major initiatives are for
this year – ICD-10; the Legal EHR; E-HIM; ARRA (American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act) and Data Quality. I encourage you to read the
delegates update in this newsletter for additional items that were
discussed.
We also learned that Linda Kloss will be stepping
down next year when her contract is up. AHIMA has started a search
committee who is tasked to find potential candidates for her position.
Look for further information on the status of her replacement in
upcoming alerts.
Last year there was a contest for all of the
Component State Associations (CSA) to grow their memberships. It was
broken down into 3 categories – small, medium and large CSA’s. We are
considered a medium CSA. I am proud to announce that we won for the
medium CSA’s by growing our membership the past year by 9.47%. The
winning CSA’s were provided a certificate for free registration and
airfare for one of the delegates to attend the 2009 Annual Convention in
Texas.
Your board has been busy the past few weeks after
our Annual Meeting. Planning has begun for next years quarterly
business meetings, data quality meetings and the annual meeting.
Save the dates for some upcoming events that we
have planned. The Arrangements Committee has finalized the dates for
the three quarterly business meetings for this year. Our first meeting
will be on September 25, 2009 at the Rose Restaurant. Keep an eye out
for further information on registration coming soon via an e-mail
blast. The dates for the December QBM and March QBM have also been
determined – December 4, 2009 and March 5, 2010. Look for updates to
locations on the website in the calendar of events section in the next
few weeks.
The Data Quality Committee has also determined some
its upcoming meetings. Please check the calendar of events for
specifics. ICD-9-CM Updates will be on September 22, 2009 and the First
CCS Prep Session will be October 17, 2009.
The date for the Annual Meeting this year at the
Baltimore Convention Center is April 29 – 30, 2010.
Congratulations are also in order for Coppin State
University for being awarded initial accreditation by the CAHIIM Board
for their baccalaureate HIM program. Please see the special write up later in the newsletter.
I think that’s all for now. I look forward to
seeing you in September at the next QBM.
Brian R. Bennighoff, RHIA, CTR
President, MdHIMA
top
CMS Offers Free ICD-9/ICD-10 Sessions
 At the Winter Team Talks held in Washington, D.C on March 23, 2009, Sandy Fuller
presented Key 209 Initiatives. During this presentation, Ms. Fuller discussed
ICD-10 preparation and mentioned that there will be mandatory ICD-10 CEUs in
addition to existing CEU requirements. Even though ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS
won’t be implemented until October 1, 2013, the National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are
preparing now.
CMS continues to host ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meetings
twice a year. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2009
(“procedure” day) and Thursday, September 17, 2009 (“diagnosis” day) at the CMS
Baltimore Complex located at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore (Woodlawn), MD
21244.Beginning with this meeting, the first two hours of the first day will be
devoted to discussion of ICD-10. The rest of the two-day meeting will be
devoted to ICD-9-CM matters. As always, parking and admission to CMS are free,
and lunch is available on site at the cafeteria. CEs are free, but the number
of CEs given at each meeting are not known in advance
Pre-registration is mandatory; this link will allow pre-registration after
August 14, 2009:
https://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/events/. The meeting begins at 9:00 AM.
Additional time should be allowed as all vehicles will be inspected by Security
Personnel at the gate and attendees and their possessions will pass through a
metal detector when entering the building. A picture ID is required for
admission. Cameras are not permitted in the building and smoking is not
permitted on the campus. Laptops for note taking are permitted, but the
attendee will be required to secure a property pass from CMS Security.
This is right in your own back yard – think about attending this free
ICD-9/ICD-10 session!
top
AHIMA Summer Team
Talks – July 17th, 2009- Chicago, Illinois
The MdHIMA delegates were in attendance at AHIMA’s Summer Team Talks
held on July 17th, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. President Vera
Rulon welcomed everyone and provided the 2010 AHIMA election results.
|
President-Elect
|
Bonnie Cassidy, MPA, RHIA, FAHIMA (GA)
|
|
Directors |
Cassi L.
Birnbaum, RHIA, CPHQ (CA) Chrisann
K.Lemery, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA (WI)
Lois M.
Yoder, RHIT, CCS (FL)
|
|
CAHIIM Associate Level
Educator |
Bonnie L. Hemp, MBA, RHIA, CPHQ (OH)
|
|
CAHIIM Baccalaureate Level
Educator |
Melinda Wilkins, PhD, RHIA
(AR)
|
|
HIT Educator |
Carolyn J. Gaarder, MLA, RHIA
(ND) |
|
RHIA Professional
|
Amanda S. King, RHIA (TN) |
Linda Kloss announced that she will not be renewing
her contract as the CEO of AHIMA effective, March 2010. A committee has
been established to help facilitate the process of recruiting and
interviewing her replacement. President-Elect Rita Bowen facilitated a
session on “Designing the Future Organization” and what the key success
factors for AHIMA will be in 2015. The key success factors included
agility, ability to adapt, leadership development, collaboration with
stakeholders, generation of evidence-based research, reputation as a
trusted knowledge resource, high quality education, effective
accreditation and certification, service support for members, a clear
vision, and influence on and shaping of policy. The delegates then
participated in an exercise in which we listed the current strengths of
each key success factor and the importance of addressing them in 12-24
months.
Dan Rode and Don Mon provided industry updates
which included ARRA (American Reinvestment and Recovery Act), health
reform, EHR’s, and data content and data standards as they relate to
electronic records management. Sandy Fuller and Lynette Czarkowski
conducted a session on the key 2009 initiatives. These initiatives
include addressing workforce shortages, recruitment, ICD-10 training and
education, certifications, etc. They mentioned that AHIMA is currently
on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Linked In. Additionally, AHIMA
recently opened a global services office in Brussels. This office will
help in responding to international business development opportunities
and provide assistance in the international HIM community. They
announced that the (myphr.com) website is now live and functioning. The
new generation of the CoP was unveiled and demonstrated for the
audience, which will display a more user-friendly and robust
environment.
Lastly, the topic of HOD apportionment was
discussed and a final decision will be made in January 2010. There are
three options currently being investigated which are:
-
Current apportionment model- 1 delegate per
100 members with a maximum of 5 delegates per CSA. (HOD = 227
delegates)
-
300 member base apportionment model- 1
delegate per 300 members with a minimum of 2 delegates per CSA and a
maximum of 6 delegates per CSA. (HOD = 217 delegates)
-
500 member base apportionment model- 1
delegate per 500 members. (HOD = 179 delegates)
top
AHIMA Coding Roundtable Summit - July 19, 2009 –
Chicago, Illinois
The AHIMA Coding Roundtable Summit was held in
Chicago on July 19, 2009. It was a pleasure to meet the Roundtable
Coordinators from other states and to listen to the weaknesses and
successes of their committees.
The State of the State Reports were summarized and
given by the Michigan HIMA Roundtable Coordinator, Sheila Bowlds, MBA,
RHIA. This report is submitted at the end of each year by the State’s
Coordinator(s) to AHIMA. The report addresses each state’s roundtable
activities, the topics of educational programs given, resources used at
the educational programs, method of delivery, locations of the meetings,
type of meeting, number of meetings, revenue, and other activities.
The coordinators had a discussion on their
obstacles and challenges that occurred during the year. AHIMA wanted to
know how the coordinators felt about the resources on the COP
(Communities of Practice) and what additional tools they could
provide. A few of the suggestions were to have some coding roundtable
presentations already written, additional ideas on how to recruit more
volunteers and having a discounted teleconference service through
AHIMA!
Everyone had the opportunity to ask questions to
the group and exchange their ideas and contact information. It was
interesting to hear that some states played games like “Who wants to be
a Millionaire” and “Deal or no Deal”. The group has requested a
demonstration of the “Jeopardy Coding Game” which is a resource on
the AHIMA COP.
This was an informal and relaxing summit and it was
a pleasure sharing our Data Quality successes with the group.
top
Coppin State Wins Accreditation for HIM
Baccalaureate Program
 On July 16, 2009 the Health Information Management
(HIM) Baccalaureate Program at Coppin State University was awarded its
accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics
and Information Management. This occurred just two short years after
the program enrolled its first students. The Program Director is Mona
Calhoun, MS RHIA who joined the university in November 2006 with over 20
years of HIM experience. In the fall of 2007 Coppin State University
HIM program accepted its first students starting out with seven. This
is the first four-year program in the state of Maryland since the U.S.
Public Health Program over 20 years ago. Over the last two years the
program has grown at a rapid pace to over 70 students. The program
graduated its first four students in May 2007. In addition to growth in
its student population, the program is planning for expansion to offer
distance learning through online instruction and course offerings on
other campuses. This opportunity will open up many doors for the HIM
students. They will be able to sit for the Registered Health
Information Administrator certification (RHIA) and take advantage of
hundreds of scholarships through the national and state professional
organizations. The program will also be eligible for various grants
and can leverage their relationship with the two year associate degree
programs through partnerships and articulation agreements. The success
of the program is possible through the support of the Coppin State
University administration, faculty and staff, the Helene Fuld School of
Nursing, the program’s faculty, advisory board, students and HIM
professionals who have offered their departments for professional
practice experiences. This is only the beginning - the best is yet to
come!
top
Important Internet Links for Coders
Please use the following links to obtain valuable
information:
https://cop.ahima.org/COP/Coding/News/ShowNewsItem.fusion?NewsID=8057
- posted monthly
http://www.ahima.org/images/newsletters/code_write/2009/July/Jul09_CW.ht
- posted quarterly - This link contains an article regarding
malnutrition, so please check it out!
top
Welcome New MdHIMA Members!
MdHIMA
welcomes the new and transfer members into our state association! We
look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events and welcome your
active participation. Please feel free to contact any of the Board
members if you are interested in joining a committee or if you have
questions or need information. Again, welcome!
|
Mary L. Alexander-Linton, CPC, CPC-H,
CPC-I
India Anderson
Valerie Barnes
Andrew T. Baskerville
Sarah A. Bender, RHIT
Donna V. Boecker
Douglas Byne
Jerome Doremus
Mary F. Feild, CCS
Jesus A. Flores
Jessica R. Glenn, RHIA, CCS
Donna N. Leahey, CCS
Stephen E. Lutz, BSHA, RHIA, CAP |
Blanche C. Missinga, MAHOP
Yvonne M. Nelson
Rebecca J. Nestor
Jody Nurik
Cheryl C. Patrick
Michael A. Richards, CCA, PMP, CDFM
Manikath Sebastian
Mala Sriraman, MS
Lisa F. Tyler
Deborah A. Vardoulakis, CPC
Robert J. Wainwright
Sharon Wimberly, CPC-H, CPC-I
|
top
Dates to Remember
September 16 – September 17, 2009
-
ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting – Baltimore,
MD
https://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/events/
September 25, 2009
– MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting – The Rose Restaurant,
Baltimore, MD
http://www.mdhima.org/register092509.asp
October 3 – October 8, 2009
- 2009 AHIMA
National Convention - Dallas, TX
October 14, 2009
– CCS Prep Course - Greater Baltimore Medical Center -
http://www.mdhima.org/Register101709.asp
December 4, 2009
– MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting
– Details to come
March 5, 2009 –
MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting – Details to come
top
Submit Items for the e-Newsletter
 Please remember that this e-Newsletter belongs to you and is an excellent source of communication! If you would like to submit information to be included in the next publication or if you would like to let the membership know what is going on with you or your facility and employees, please don’t hesitate to send a submission to Kathy Mulford, Chair of the e-Newsletter at the following email:
kmulford@medquist.com.
top
Is Your AHIMA Member Profile Current?
Please keep your AHIMA profile updated so that our email information is always current and we can continue to keep in touch with our members.
Update Your AHIMA Member Profile
|
