AHDI In Search of Matchmakers, Listeners, and Builders

-Do you have a knack for connecting people with common interests to each other?
-Do you treasure the friends you’ve made and knowledge gained by being a member of AHDI?
-Are you naturally curious, a good listener, and a problem solver?
-Do you like to help others realize the value of belonging to a professional group?
-Do you want to build a bond among healthcare documentation specialists who may otherwise be disconnected?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, we invite you to join AHDI’s Membership Development Workgroup (MDW). As one of our esteemed and valued volunteers, you have a chance to put your passions into action. The MDW exists to:

• ensure benefits, programming, and services are relevant and meaningful to our members.
• grow and develop the AHDI member community.
• connect the national initiatives to the grassroots members.
• share member engagement best practices among components and alliances.

MDW volunteers will meet one hour per month by webinar and must be willing to actively participate in the workgroup’s discussions, activities, and assignments. Once approved, your term will start immediately and go through August 31, 2013. Our volunteers must be current AHDI members, and we’re looking for participants from all categories of membership.

If you’d like to learn more and throw your hat into the ring for consideration, please contact Linda Brady, lbrady@ahdionline.org.

An Integrity Award on Your Shelf

One of the most powerful ways to enhance a professional portfolio or the marketability of a business, technology company, or educational institution is by earning coveted designations and acknowledgments from industry organizations and peers. An award-winning educator lends credibility and prestige to your educational program; an award-winning CMT adds value to your management team; an award-winning technology solution brings visibility to innovative ideas and strategies for industry growth. Do you work with an MT employee, educator, or student who excels above their peers? Do you know someone whose innovative ideas or technological solutions have added resource value to the industry? Don’t Hesitate! Nominate!

• Hall of Fame Award
• Employer of the Year Award
• Membership Impact Award
• Rising Star Award—Essay topic: Why Get Involved?
• Excellence in Credentialing Award
• Innovation through Technology Award
• Educator of the Year Award
• Advocate of the Year Award

Award nomination deadline is April 30, 2013. Visit the Integrity Awards web page for complete details and specific nomination forms.

3-Month Payment Plan Available for ACE Registration

AHDI members can break their Annual Convention & Expo (ACE 2013) full registration into 3 easy payments.

Experience the unparalleled education, unlimited networking opportunities, and unique advantages ACE has to offer on a budget you can afford.

Register for ACE 2013 today!

A Word From Your National Leadership Board

Have you ever heard the old saying "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"? I don't know how it is in your part of the country, but here in Kentucky winter roared in and will remain for the foreseeable future. Read more.

Approved Education Programs Announced

It is the hope of the association to ensure that educational programs are addressing job readiness and preparing industry candidates to make the transition from school to work. Educational programs that meet the rigorous standards for curriculum assessment are placed on the list of approved programs. AHDI recommends that future students attend an AHDI-approved program to ensure they are job ready. AHDI is proud to acknowledge the schools below who were approved or reapproved at the ACCP's first quarterly meeting:

Renewals
-Career Step
-Winter Park Tech

New
-Gateway Community College

Airline Discounts for Annual Convention (ACE)

AHDI has partnered with American Airlines and Delta to provide meeting attendees discounts of up to 10% for travel to Orlando or Tampa for our Annual Convention July 31-Aug 3. Click here for full details on these great offers and to make your airline reservation.

President's Address--Out From the Shadows

Throughout my volunteer career with AHDI I have often used the phrase "We are the silent partner in health care." My goal throughout my tenure has been to engage our professionals to discover and understand the impact each of us has as a patient advocate. As healthcare transforms, as patient care becomes more interactive, as reimbursement becomes more connected with value versus volume, we must drive our knowledge set out from the shadows. Read more.

Social Media Specialist Orientation--Webinar

AHDI's Outreach Workgroup for News & Networking (OWNN) will host an introduction and orientation for component social media specialists (SMS) March 27 at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET. Current social media specialists as well as those interested in learning more about becoming an SMS for your component will want to attend and learn more about using social media to boost your connections and reach.

Register now for SMS Orientation.

AHDI Board Call for Candidates--Deadline March 25, 2013

Would you like to make a difference to the future of healthcare documentation? If so, please consider throwing YOUR hat in the ring for a Director position on AHDI’s National Leadership Board of Directors. It’s an excellent opportunity for professional growth and leadership development. These volunteer positions are key to the strategic planning needed to help shape the future of healthcare documentation in the evolving world of the electronic healthcare record.

If you know someone who would be a great candidate, send us their name and we will follow up with them. Sometimes a nudge is all it takes!

One (1) At-Large Director position is available on the National Leadership Board for a 3-year term starting September 1, 2013. One (1) District Director position is open for each of the following districts: District 1, District 3, and District 5. To see the areas within each district, view the district map. The District Director positions are also for a 3-year term starting September 1, 2013.

For more information about the qualifications and role of these positions, please contact Wendy Carriegan at wcarriegan@ahdionline.org or read more on the AHDI website here. Call for candidates will close Monday, March 25, 2013, which is when all completed candidate materials must be submitted to the AHDI office.

Introduction to the EHR Playbook--Webinar

The EHR is shaking up medical transcription departments around the country. As a manager, supervisor, or small business owner, it's imperative for you to prepare and learn how to internally and externally market the value of your workforce and services. A new ebook from AHDI will be launching soon to guide you through critical steps to be "EHR ready."

Register now for the Introduction to the EHR Playbook webinar March 28, where seasoned experts from AHDI's Managers/Supervisors Alliance who authored this essential guide will discuss future roles for your healthcare documentation workforce, value added marketing, and quality assurance issues and policies.

Survey on Advanced Education

Are you seeking additional education as part of your career development plan? We are collecting data to better understand the directions our members are taking in their career and potential synergies with the work being conducted by AHDI and our Advocacy Alliance. This type of information can also help us expand our resources and educational offerings to include content that may be of interest to you. Tell us what you're planning!

ACE 2013 - Keynote Sessions Announced

We are proud to announce both our Opening and Closing Keynote speakers for our Annual Convention and Expo!

Dalia Al-Othman, Esq., will be opening the conference on Thursday, August 1, with her session, "The Medical Record and Beyond: Patient Advocacy in Today's Healthcare System." Attendees will learn why patient advocates are crucial if we want to move toward a new model of patient-centered health care, as well as what is meant by private, professional patient advocacy and how this term applies to an exciting new field/profession in health care. (1 ML)

Dr. Scott Terrell with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will close the convention on Saturday, August 3, with "Exploring the Magic of Disney's Animal Healthcare Program," a behind-the-scenes look into the animal healthcare program at Walt Disney World. He will demonstrate how they achieve their primary mission of "delivering excellence in animal health care on a local and global level."

Both of these speakers are well revered in their fields and are passionate about their work. Join us in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, to hear from these great speakers and more. Download the ACE 2013 Online Brochure to read more about these presentations and others at ACE 2013.

Credentialing Practice Exams Coming Soon

AHDI will soon be releasing Credentialing Practice Exams for both the RMT and CMT. These exams, developed by the same group of professionals who developed the exams, will simulate a real test environment, complete with the hands-on experience of the Kryterion testing platform. After taking a practice exam, you will be provided feedback on objectives from questions answered incorrectly so that you have a guide on which skills you need to brush up on before taking the real exam.

Look for the RMT Practice Exam to be available in March, and the CMT Practice Exam to follow in April. Check www.ahdionline.org frequently for our most recent updates.

Partial to Dictation

Could partial dictation be a happy medium for physicians disenchanted with documenting in an EHR? In this For The Record article, "Partial to Dictation," AHDI President, Karen Fox-Acosta, CMT, AHDI-F and directors Sherry Doggett and Susan M. Lucci, RHIT, CHPS, CMT, AHDI-F, explain what partial dictation is, why it is important and preferred by most physicians, as well as the positive impact it is predicted to have on healthcare documentation specialists.

Introduction to the EHR Playbook

An all new series of Managers/Supervisors webinars are being presented this year. Join us March 28 for the first webinar introducing our newest ebook, EHR Playbook for Transcription Managers. The EHR is shaking up medical transcription departments around the country. As a manager, supervisor, or small business owner, it’s imperative for you to prepare and learn how to internally and externally market the value of your workforce and services. A new ebook from AHDI will be launching soon to guide you through critical steps to be "EHR ready." Seasoned experts from AHDI's Managers/Supervisors Alliance authored this essential guide, which will include practical advice based on real-world experience and templates that you can repurpose for your own organization.

Register now for EHR Playbook for Transcription Managers!

Other webinars in the series will include:
Future Roles—Patient Portals and Patient Advocacy (1 TW)
Maintaining QA with SR (Coming Soon)
SR Compensation Models (Coming Soon)
Partial Narrative Dictation in the EHR (1 TW)

Check www.ahdionline.org regularly for newly added webinars and to register for sessions "coming soon" in the Manager/Supervisor webinar series.

AHDI Integrity Awards Nominations—Deadline April 30, 2013

Don't miss the opportunity to nominate an individual or company that has made an impact on the healthcare documentation sector over the previous year. Every one of us knows someone who has made a professional impact and now is the time to nominate them for an AHDI Integrity Award. Be a proactive colleague and nominate that person or organization for one of these awards:

• Hall of Fame Award
• Employer of the Year Award
• Membership Impact Award
• Rising Star Award—Essay topic: Why Get Involved?
• Excellence in Credentialing Award
• Innovation through Technology Award
• Educator of the Year Award
• Advocate of the Year Award

Award nomination deadline is April 30, 2013. Visit the Integrity Awards web page for complete details and specific nomination forms.

Timeline of Accomplishments—2012

Thanks to the engagement of all our volunteers and the work of staff during 2012, AHDI's many accomplishments continue to push this sector to the forefront of key industry stakeholder groups. Despite an unstable economy and the rate of change that's occurring in our sector, we have endured to offer relevant member programs and services. Take a moment to reflect on our 2012 achievements and ponder the possibilities for 2013.

AHDI-AHIMA Assessing Needs of Transcriptionists

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) have created two surveys to assess the needs of the transcriptionist as well as the needs of the managers and directors who oversee transcription services.  

In today’s rapid and evolving healthcare environment, the timely delivery of documentation is critical to making important clinical decisions.  Speech and natural language processing (NLP) technologies coupled with the electronic health record (EHR) have changed the transcriptionist’s role.  These changes bring a recognized need for transcription professionals to identify a new role or career path; acquiring new skill sets to remain competitive in today’s market. 

Please take a few moments to respond to the survey that best fits your current role:     

Transcription Professional:  https://ahima.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9LIagepycpjEps9

Transcription Director/Manager/Supervisor:  https://ahima.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_ahQdfx2cLvKLj1P

AHDI Board Call for Candidates—Deadline March 25, 2013

Would you like to make a difference to the future of healthcare documentation? If so, please consider throwing YOUR hat in the ring for a Director position on AHDI's National Leadership Board of Directors. It's an excellent opportunity for professional growth and leadership development. These volunteer positions are key to the strategic planning needed to help shape the future of healthcare documentation in the evolving world of the electronic healthcare record.

If you know someone who would be a great candidate, send us their name and we will follow up with them. Sometimes a nudge is all it takes!

One (1) At-Large Director position is available on the National Leadership Board for a 3-year term starting September 1, 2013. One (1) District Director position is open for each of the following districts: District 1, District 3, and District 5. To see the areas within each district, view the district map. The District Director positions are also for a 3-year term starting September 1, 2013.

For more information about the qualifications and role of these positions, please contact Wendy Carriegan at wcarriegan@ahdionline.org or read more on the AHDI website here. Call for candidates will close Monday, March 25, 2013, which is when all completed candidate materials must be submitted to the AHDI office.

New Special Interest Alliances Forming for AHDI Members

We are pleased to announce the creation of two new special interest alliances for AHDI members. Now there are alliances available for BENCHMARK KB USERS and SMALL BUSINESSES.

Our alliances are virtual communities for members to network and share best practices, tips, and information. Participating in AHDI’s Alliances connects you with fellow members who are closely aligned with your specific professional interests and career path. There are virtual alliances for New Professionals, Educators, Managers/Supervisors, Advocacy, and Visually Impaired Transcriptionists.

To learn and sign-up for any of AHDI’s Alliances, click the button below to jump to our website for complete information.