Important Announcement - RMT & CMT Exam Transition

For the entire month of September AHDI will be extending a special end-of-year offer to anyone interested in sitting for an AHDI credentialing exam before December 31, 2010.

Due to the transition of our exams from our current testing provider (Thomson Prometric) to our new testing provider (Kryterion) in January 2011, we can only offer 90-day eligibilities for our current exams until September 30, 2010.

AHDI will waive the $10 eligibility processing fee for anyone interested in taking either the RMT exam or CMT exam prior to December 31, 2010, but you must apply for this eligibility by September 30. The eligibility will be good for 90 days and will cover your plans to register, pay for, and take an AHDI exam at a Prometric testing center on or prior to December 31, 2010.

AHDI will not be extending eligibilities past September 30th. The month of September will be your only opportunity to receive an Authorization to Test letter for the current AHDI exams. Candidates seeking eligibility after September 30 will have to wait until we open our new exams for eligibility applications (tentatively scheduled for sometime in December). The $10 processing fee and new exam pricing will apply.

How do I get signed up?

Apply for an Authorization to Test ($10 waived)

Schedule Exam with Prometric (already received authorization from AHDI)

If you have questions about the information noted above, please contact our Credentialing staff toll free at 800-982-2182 x2472 or via email at credentialing@ahdionline.org.

$10 Off Exam Prep Flash Cards - Healthcare Record & Medicolegal Issues

The August Deal of the Month will soon end! AHDI Flash Cards are designed to provide the student, new graduate, and/or seasoned MT with quick, high-impact study tools for skill building and exam preparation. Take this handy convenient pack of easy-to-use flash cards with you when you travel, have a long wait in a doctor’s office or kids’ soccer practice, or simply with making the most of that 10 minutes between appointments or on a break.

This set of medicolegal flash cards will test your knowledge and understanding of a broad range of medicolegal concepts and terms associated with the healthcare delivery and the documentation sector, including such topics as HIPAA, document types, document formats, the legal record, malpractice, DNRs, and much more. They are available this month for $10 off the member and nonmember price! Deal available while supplies last!

Price: $15 members / $25 nonmembers

Purchase your set today!

Last Chance to Register for Facebook Know-how: Privacy & Lists Webinar

Presenter: Coleen Fisher
Time: 1 PM PDT / 2 PM MDT / 3 PM CDT / 4 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: August 29, 2010
CE Given: 1 PD

We all know how scary and overwhelming Facebook can be. In this session, you'll learn how to keep your information private and how to group your friends list in order to lessen the burden of information overload.

Coleen Fisher is the Member Relations Technology & Social Media Coordinator for AHDI/MTIA, and has been in Association Management for the past 5 years. She is currently seeking her degree in Computer Information Systems from St. Leo University, located in St. Leo, FL.

Register Now!

An Unprecedented Month of Standards

Developing standards and best practices is a critical objective for any professional association. Beyond advocacy and representation, an industry looks to associations for guidance on a wide array of professional issues. Within the last 30 days, AHDI and MTIA (in collaboration and/or coordination with AHIMA) have published an impressive compendium of professional standards and best practices guides to assist this sector in planning, executing, and managing critical programs around the delivery of healthcare documentation services. Medical transcriptionists, editors, quality assurance coordinators, managers/supervisors, and transcription service organizations should look to these resources when adopting best practices in these areas:

• EBP: Resource Guide for Healthcare Documentation Specialists: This companion guide to the Ethical Best Practices Manual was released this month to provide guidance in HIPAA/regulatory compliance, ethical practices in employment and compensation, and provision of services specifically for the working transcriptionist/editor. This resource manual was a quick sell out at the AHDI annual convention in Austin, so get your copy today!


• Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Practices: The culmination of over 3 years’ collaborative effort between AHDI, MTIA and AHIMA, this quality assurance best practices guide has finally been released to guide the healthcare documentation sector as well as healthcare facilities in the establishment and oversight of quality assurance programs that meet the evolving needs of health information management.


• Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit: Developed by AHDI and endorsed by AHIMA, this completely updated tool kit provides resources and training materials for healthcare organizations, transcription service providers, and SRT vendors to use in training healthcare providers toward quality dictation practices and SRT readiness.

Registration Ends 8/23 for the MT Transition to Editor Webinar

Presenter: Sarah Steffes, MSM
Time: 10 AM PDT / 11 AM MDT / 12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: August 23, 2010
CE Given: 1 TW

Learn how to successfully transition from medical transcription to speech recognition editing. Concepts covered through lecture, experiential learning activities, group interaction, and discussion will include:

Overview: The history, science and basic application of speech recognition technology. How dictation affects speech recognition. Common errors of speech recognition. Universal editing principles to enhance productivity and support high-quality documentation

Sarah began her MT career in 1997. She has worked both inhouse and at home as a transcriptionist. She went into management in 2003 as the Director of Transcription Services at Intermedix, based in Oklahoma City, where she served for six years.

As an adjunct professor of medical transcription at a local community college in 2006, Sarah became more interested in the training and development of MTs. She currently serves as the Director of Program Delivery at TRS Institute, a workforce development company with training programs in medical transcription and speech editing. As the Director of Program Delivery, Sarah oversees domestic and international training and development, which delivers online and on-site workforce development programs.

Sarah has completed a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and a master's of Science in Management. She has attended numerous AHDI, AHIMA and MTIA conventions since 2003. In her personal time, she enjoys family time, cooking and hiking.

Register Now

New Webinar Open for Registration: MT Transition to Editor

Presenter: Sarah Steffes, MSM
Time: 10 AM PDT / 11 AM MDT / 12 PM CDT / 1 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: August 23, 2010
CE Given: 1 TW

Learn how to successfully transition from medical transcription to speech recognition editing. Concepts covered through lecture, experiential learning activities, group interaction, and discussion will include:

Overview: The history, science and basic application of speech recognition technology. How dictation affects speech recognition. Common errors of speech recognition. Universal editing principles to enhance productivity and support high-quality documentation

Sarah began her MT career in 1997. She has worked both inhouse and at home as a transcriptionist. She went into management in 2003 as the Director of Transcription Services at Intermedix, based in Oklahoma City, where she served for six years.

As an adjunct professor of medical transcription at a local community college in 2006, Sarah became more interested in the training and development of MTs. She currently serves as the Director of Program Delivery at TRS Institute, a workforce development company with training programs in medical transcription and speech editing. As the Director of Program Delivery, Sarah oversees domestic and international training and development, which delivers online and on-site workforce development programs.

Sarah has completed a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and a master's of Science in Management. She has attended numerous AHDI, AHIMA and MTIA conventions since 2003. In her personal time, she enjoys family time, cooking and hiking.

Register Now

Health Story Project Founder Lands Contract with ONC

Alschuler Associates, a founding partner and executive committee member of The Health Story Project, was recently awarded a contract (in partnership with Deloitte, LLC) with the Office for the National Coordinator (ONC) to support standards development and harmonization of EHR adoption/integration. The selection of a Health Story Project administrator in this role is important news to the healthcare documentation sector at a time when having advocates for codified narrative in the EHR is so critical to this sector’s messaging about preservation of the patient story. Alschuler will be uniquely positioned to impact dialogue around certification of EHRs and the integration of narrative reporting in the adoption strategy of providers seeking solutions that meet meaningful use criteria. AHDI extends its congratulations to Liora Alschuler for this accomplishment.

Facebook Know-how: Privacy & Lists Webinar Open for Registration

Date: September 1, 2010
Presenter: Coleen Fisher
Time: 1 PM PDT / 2 PM MDT / 3 PM CDT / 4 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: August 29, 2010
CE Given: 1 PD

We all know how scary and overwhelming Facebook can be. In this session, you'll learn how to keep your information private and how to group your friends list in order to lessen the burden of information overload.

Coleen Fisher is the Member Relations Technology & Social Media Coordinator for AHDI/MTIA, and has been in Association Management for the past 5 years. She is currently seeking her degree in Computer Information Systems from St. Leo University, located in St. Leo, FL.

Register Now!

Last Chance to Take The "Best of the Best" MT Survey

We are looking to acknowledge the best of the best in healthcare documentation and need your help. Do you work for an outstanding employer who is a phenomenal resource or have you found a program or resource that really makes a difference in your accuracy or productivity? We want to know about it. Please take a few minutes to answer this short survey.

Take survey

Associations Promote Start-to-Finish Quality Standards

On the heels of the recently announced final rules for meaningful use of EHR systems, implementable standards for improving the quality of the healthcare documentation process have been released this week by AHDI in collaboration with AHIMA. The two associations are sending a message to the sector that accuracy in the capture process will be critical to making sure high-integrity information is consumed and repurposed in the EHR. Leaders from both associations, as well as contributors from MTIA, collaborated to produce Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Practices, a resource for establishing a comprehensive transcription QA program for healthcare organizations. In addition, the association will be releasing the newly revised Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit, designed to assist healthcare facilities in improving dictation practices, thereby addressing quality from the document creation point to ensure quality reporting outcomes. The tool kit has been reviewed and endorsed by AHIMA and is being distributed through both association websites. AHDI promoted these new standards this week at its 32nd Annual Convention and Expo, August 4-7, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Read the full press release here.

Ethical Best Practices Manual: Resource Guide for Healthcare Documentation Specialists

At long last, the companion guide to the EBP Manual, designed specifically for working medical transcriptionists, editors, and other healthcare documentation specialists is available for purchase. The Resource Guide for Healthcare Documentation Specialists contains all content from the original manual that relates specifically to best practices for our workforce. Practice guidelines related to at-home HIPAA and regulatory compliance, compensation, employee vs. independent contractor status, and provision of services are all included in this handsomely bound resource for the working MT. Sample agreements and contracts, including business associate and noncompete/nonsolicitation agreements are included.

Purchase your copy today!

Price: $70 members / $100 nonmembers

Coming to ACE in Austin? Pick up your copy of this essential new resource at the on-site AHDI store.

Bentley College 2007 Medical Transcriptionist Survey

For over a year, a team from Bentley College engaged in a comprehensive study of the medical transcription industry. The first study of its kind, it is providing important information regarding the role of the industry in healthcare. The study included an examination of how MTs perform their work, off-shore medical transcription, the development and implementation of quality improvement technologies, the role of speech recognition on the production process, and evaluation tools to gauge industry performance.

The first phase of this multi-faceted study was completed in early 2008, with preliminary results related specifically to medical transcriptionists released in May of 2008. An enhanced version of this study can be downloaded at the link below.

2007 Bentley College Preliminary MT Survey Report

Have You Taken The "Best of the Best" MT Survey? Why Not?

We are looking to acknowledge the best of the best in healthcare documentation and need your help. Do you work for an outstanding employer who is a phenomenal resource or have you found a program or resource that really makes a difference in your accuracy or productivity? We want to know about it. Please take a few minutes to answer this short survey.

Take survey

Exam Prep Flash Cards–Healthcare Record & Medicolegal Issues $10 Off!

AHDI Flash Cards are designed to provide the student, new graduate, and/or seasoned MT with quick, high-impact study tools for skill building and exam preparation. Take this handy convenient pack of easy-to-use flash cards with you when you travel, have a long wait in a doctor’s office or kids’ soccer practice, or simply with making the most of that 10 minutes between appointments or on a break.

This set of medicolegal flash cards will test your knowledge and understanding of a broad range of medicolegal concepts and terms associated with the healthcare delivery and the documentation sector, including such topics as HIPAA, document types, document formats, the legal record, malpractice, DNRs, and much more. They are available this month for $10 off the member and nonmember price! This product will not last. Deal available while supplies last!

Price: $15 members / $25 nonmembers


Purchase your set today!

Play Our Summer G.A.M.E. and SAVE!

Everyone loves games, and here’s one that is a win-win for both you and AHDI! Whether your Professional membership is due for renewal or not, play the Summer G.A.M.E. for a great opportunity to secure your next year of membership at a 50% discount or more. Refer four new members and your next year of membership is free! Click Summer G.A.M.E. for complete details.

Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit—Newly Revised and Adopted by AHIMA!

AHDI and AHIMA are taking a collaborative step forward in support of documentation quality. Recognizing that quality documentation outcomes begin with high-integrity dictation, the associations have jointly released the latest edition of the Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit as a resource for managers, supervisors, HIM directors, and practice coordinators for training and preparing dictators to generate high quality dictation and be better prepared for migration to speech recognition. If you are charged with orienting/training dictators for your facility, we encourage you to download this tool kit as part of your strategy for new provider training and SRT "readiness" training.