Dina Smoker RHIA, CPC
President, MdHIMA
 

Don't Forget HI&T Week!
 

ICD-10 Training
 

Delegates' Briefing

The MdHIMA delegates traveled to Salt Lake City, UT to participate in the House of Delegate sessions on October 1^st and October 2^nd, 2011.  There were 11 strategic work sessions in which delegates were assigned.  The focused discussions were on critical issues that AHIMA will need to address over the next 2-3 years.  Information obtained from these sessions will help to inform AHIMA’s Processes for Policy and Strategic Planning as they consider our HIM professions policy and strategy for 2012 and beyond.  The eleven strategic work sessions included:

• EHR Implementation
• Future Skills of Coders
• Leading the Revenue Cycle
• Master HIM Practice Realms
• Position the HIM Professional as the Chief Information Officer Chief Knowledge Officer, or Data Integrity Executive
• Understand Emerging Issues
• Advance the Profession through Meaningful Use, Healthcare Reform, and Accountable Care Organizations
• Skills for a Decision Support Executive
• Urge Employers to Employ AHIMA Credentials Professionals
• HIM Professional’s Position and Relevancy in the Healthcare Industry
• The HIM Professional and Other Associations

1. AHIMA Proposed Bylaw Revision- This was unanimously approved.  All CSA Bylaws will need to be updated to reflect the changes in the AHIMA bylaws by December 2012.  Within the Bylaw revision, there are new elected positions of speaker and speaker-elect of the House of Delegates.  The Draft copy of the Duties and Qualifications of these positions were distributed to all delegates to review.  The draft document was approved by the House of Delegates and the House Operations team will decide on how to further finalize this document.  Interested individuals for these two elected positions will apply and create candidate profiles for all delegates to cast their votes November 1^st thru November 15^th. 
    
2. Code of Ethics Revision- This was unanimously approved.
    
3. House Resolution on Diversity and Inclusion- This resolution was approved by the majority after changing the words, “physical capabilities” to “physical and/or mental capabilities”. 
    
4. House Resolution on MPI in an Integrated Delivery System- This resolution was taken off the table for voting and will be discussed at a later time.
    
5. House Resolution on HIM Professional Managing the Quality of Health Data- This resolution was unanimously approved. 

83rd AHIMA Convention 2011 Salt Lake City, Utah Adventures



Virginia Bell, Kristen Denney, Dina Smoker

MdHIMA Distinguished Students Awards 2011

During the September 2011 MdHIMA quarterly meeting the HIM year 2011 graduates listed below were presented with plaques due to their outstanding performance in academics and professionalism demonstrated during their enrollment in a health information program. The HIM Program Directors submitted their names for receiving this special recognition. We wish these students all the best in their health information career!
                 
Carolyn Eberly, Kaplan University HIM Director accepted the award for her student Wendy Hoover who was not able to attend, Lavern Taylor,  graduate of Prince George’s County Community College, Lachman Persaud , graduate of Montgomery College, Theresa  Jones , graduate of The Community College of Baltimore County, Antoinette Rooks,  graduate of Coppin State University

Click here to view the photos!

The Minute Mentor

This issue of Minute Mentor continues with our discussion about CEs from last time.  One of our newest members asks, “What practical ways are available to earn the required CEs to keep our credentials current?”  Cost and access seemed to be the main issues, so I posed the following question to some of our Board members:  What specifically were some of the ways you have earned CEs?  Here’s what they had to say.
 
Dina Smoker, RHIA, CPC, President of MdHIMA, suggested that attending the Quarterly Business Meetings (QBM) is a practical way to earn CEs.  Ms. Smoker writes that “approximately 6 CEU's are offered.  (The QBMs) typically cost around $65.00 if you are a member of MdHIMA and $40.00 for students.”    Ms. Smoker also suggests a different approach to earning CEs for those that have the knack for showing students the ropes; facilitate a practicum experience.  Sites for student internships are at a premium, so what better way to help out the local HIM/HIT program and earn up to 10 CEs in the mean time.   I would suggest contacting the nearest program and let them know you and your department are interested in hosting a student or two.
 
Monna Nabers, MBA, RHIA, 2^nd Year Delegate, shares some of the ideas that have worked for her.  “You can also earn your CEs by reading specific articles in the AHIMA magazine and taking the quiz.  The fee for these quizzes is reasonable too.  AHIMA sometimes has surveys that you fill out and you can get a free webinar for completing them. Your facility may offer webinar training that will give CEs and there are sites that offer free webinars which are approved for CEs.”
 
The websites she has found useful are: 
Healthcare IT News HITECHWatch
HDM Daily
Citrix Systems
ICD10monitor
 
Now that you have all those CE certificates what do you do with them?  AHIMA has some great resources on their website including a tracker and calculator.  Visiting https://secure.ahima.org/certification/ce/credentialcalc.asp  you can calculate how many CE’s in total you will need to complete per cycle.  Simply enter in each AHIMA credential you have and it will calculate the number for you.  Click on the Back to Certification Maintenance Home link and this will take you to a screen where you can enter and track each of your CEs.  Once you are done earning CEs for the cycle you will send them off to AHIMA via this application.  Very Important, keep copies of your certificates or proof of attendance for each CE you’ve entered, just in case you are one of the lucky winners of the random audits AHIMA performs.
 
 According to the “Recertification Guide Maintenance of Certification (Revised Summer 2011)” it is “recommended that CEU participants retain all records in their files for at least one year following the cycle end date.”  For further information on all things CE visit the Recertification Guide at http://www.ahima.org/downloads/pdfs/certification/Recertification_Guide.pdf. 
 
One of the many aspects about the HIM career field that I enjoy is that we all encourage each other to get better at the job we have to do.  I realize sometimes it feels like you might be in a one-man-show, but everything is evolving and changing so fast that we need each other to keep on top of it all.  These ideas are great ones for students and pros alike.  Thank you so much Ms. Smoker and Ms. Nabers for your input.  Keep your questions coming in.
 
Until next time,
Laura Hoot, RHIT
 

Maryland Communities of Practice (CoP)

AHIMA reached out to the leadership of MdHIMA last year about our Maryland CoP and if our State was actively using it.  No recent activity has been posted on our site, but we would like to begin using the Maryland geographic CoP as a resource for our communities. Please check it out. It is very simple to join! 
 
1) Sign on to AHIMA.org
2) Select Communities
3) Search for Maryland
4) Select Join!
 

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!

Dates to Remember

November 16, 2011 – Data Quality Meeting – ICD 10 by Body System – Subcutaneous and Fasia/Skin & Breast – 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Greater Baltimore Medical Center

December 2, 2011 – Quarterly Business Meeting and Educational Session – 8:30 – 4:00 pm – Hilton Garden Inn, Owings Mills, MD

December 21, 2011 – Data Quality Meeting – ICD 10 by Body System – Endocrine/Urinary – 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Greater Baltimore Medical Center

May 3-4, 2012 - MdHIMA Annual Meeting - Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

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