eNews from MdHIMA
 
Issue 22 - August 2010
Inside this Issue:

President’s Message
Summer Team Talks
CodeWrite
CCHIIM ICD-10 Continuing Education Requirements
Welcome New MdHIMA Members!
Dates to Remember
Submit Items for the e-Newsletter
Is Your AHIMA Profile Current?


President’s Message

I am truly honored and privileged to have the opportunity to serve as your President for the year 2010 – 2011. This is a great time to lead and get involved with MdHIMA and AHIMA concerning health information management. The demand for the profession is growing because of the following driving factors: American Recovery and Reinvestment   Act, electronic health record, Health Care Reform Act, and the implementation of ICD-10 coding nomenclature. Because of these driving factors, MdHIMA will have to review, revise, and develop our policies and procedures and strategic planning. We are tentatively planning to have the policy and procedure meeting on September 21st and the strategic planning meeting in October.

My year as President has begun with the completion of the CSA Survey and Affiliation Agreement with AHIMA and attending the Summer Team Talks and Leadership Conference in Chicago. The information and knowledge obtained from the CSA Survey and the Summer Team Talks and Leadership Conference will assist MdHIMA with developing a strategic plan, budget and financial responsibilities, Board responsibilities, member responsibilities, alliances with the State Regional Extension Center, HIM educational programs, and developing best practices for AHIMA core services.

This will definitely be a year of transition, excitement, and fulfillment. Therefore, I encourage everyone to get involved with one of the MdHIMA committees or programs. With your support and assistance, we can accomplish many goals and tasks this year.

Sincerely,

Albert M. Key, Jr., MS, RHIA
President, MdHIMA

Summer Team Talks

Summer Team Talks were held in Chicago on July 24th.  Topics of discussion centered on the results of the Component State Association (CSA) scans which prioritized the issues and concerns of our organization.  The issues centered around making AHIMA a world-class organization.  From this meeting and discussion came three main initiatives and actions which are designed to focus on building leadership at both state and local levels.

The initiatives are designed to find ways to make things happen and to move member priorities forward, empower HIM professionals and build HIM leadership capacity within AHIMA, and to promote our expertise so it is valued and utilized by employers and other stakeholders.

The three initiatives are:  
  1. position HIM professionals for roles of influence in the healthcare industry   
  2. position credentialed individuals to lead our association
  3. position credentialed individuals to lead our association
Some of the actions to accomplish these goals are to:
  1. communicate, demonstrate and promote our expertise and the value of our credentials to external, regulatory and government agencies.  This will be done by establishing a group of HIM-credentialed individuals who are matched with key alliance partners and given the authority to represent and speak for the profession.
  2. promote and market the HIM profession and the value of our expertise and professional credentials to employers and other external stakeholders.  This will involve defining what expertise we offer and how it impacts business operations within healthcare operations.  Grant money from the Hi-Tech initiative has been made available for education.  More short-term programs will become available in different aspects of the work performed by our members - course work where HIM professionals can provide proof of competencies in areas of informatics, privacy, compliance, etc.  Also more 4-yr and graduate programs are being developed that provide the education and training for the wide range of skills and knowledge used in our profession.
  3. position credentialed individuals to lead our association.  Leadership skills and development will be an area of concentration to build a source of strong leadership within the state as well as the national organization.   

The other main initiative addressed during the weekend sessions was how to successfully lead your organization in ICD-10 implementation.  Included here is an implementation guideline presented to those attending the data quality sessions.

ICD-10 Implementation

  1. Develop and implement a plan for Component State Association (CSA) activities for 2011 and 2012 to serve the needs of the members.
  2. Prepare communications to show members where ICD-10 implementation tools can be located.  The AHIMA website contains a wealth of information.  To learn more visit http://www.ahima.org/icd10/default.aspx
  3. Highlight ICD-10 member preparation activities on the state website.
  4. Inform members of the ICD-10 training opportunities that are available locally or within the state.
  5. Use the ICD-10-CM/PCS Leadership Model to develop state leaders for this initiative.  To learn more visit http://www.ahima.org/about/leadershipmodelsforehim.aspx
  6. Energize regional and local coding roundtables by coordinating special programs connected to statewide planning.
  7. Include preparation guidance in newsletters.
  8. Consider developing outreach programs to physicians to heighten ICD-10 awareness.
  9. Convene a discussion forum with health insurance providers to establish common ground and sharing of information about the new code sets.
  10. Lead the way to successful ICD-10 transition in your state by 2013.

CodeWrite

The August issue of CodeWrite, AHIMA’s monthly newsletter created exclusively for coding professionals is now available on line.  Please click here to access the website.


CCHIIM ICD-10 Continuing Education Requirements

The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) has published the continuing education requirements for AHIMA certified professionals with regard to the upcoming ICD-10 transition.  Please click here to review this important document which includes an overview, details on the specific CEU requirements, important dates and  frequently asked questions.  To learn more visit http://www.ahima.org/downloads/pdfs/certification/ICD10_CEU_FAQs.pdf


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!
 
Steven J. Chaney, CCS-P
Melinda Helene, BA, BS, MS
Erica Jones
Lillian M. Keane, RN, BSN, CPC-A
Nathanee P. Ko, MS, CPC
Heidi A. Milby
Sandy Mislang
Himani Narula
Oluwafemi Olawuyi
Steven Pei
Erikka Smith
Mary Ann Stewert, MAHSA, CPHQ
Camille Whiting
M. Turner

Dates to Remember 

September 9, 2010 - Coding Roundtable – 1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Harbor Hospital

September 10, 2010 - MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting – Anne Arundel Community College

September 25-30, 2010  - AHIMA Annual Convention and Exhibit – Orlando, FL

December 3, 2010 - MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting – Location TBD

March 4, 2010 - MdHIMA Quarterly Business Meeting – Location TBD

May 19-20, 2010 - MdHIMA Annual Meeting


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:  kmulfor1@jhmi.edu.


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 by visiting ahima.org