Maximizing Your AHDI Membership

There are many benefits included with your AHDI membership. Oftentimes, its hard to remember all of the details and how to access them. The AHDI Member Reference Guide is a quick .pdf download from the AHDI website, which provides a snapshot of your benefits all in one place. It covers items such as:

• How to login to the AHDI website, including how to reset your password
• Ways to get connected to fellow AHDI members and to your community of like-minded professionals
• Where to access the professional resources and tools to expand your breadth of knowledge and improve your skills
• And more!

Visit ahdionline.org to download your copy.

Free from the Library: Last Month for Access to These Free Session Recordings

September marks the last month you'll have access to the current line-up of recorded sessions currently posted in the Online Learning Library. These are absolutely free for our Individual Professional Members and all pre-approved for continuing education credits (CECs).

1. Keyboarding Techniques for Fast and Efficient SRT Editing
2. Natural Language Processing: Empowering MT Knowledge Workers with a Valuable Asset
3. Start Projects, Making a Ruckus, and Taking More Risks
4. Dreaming of a Good Night's Sleep: Parasomnias and Other Sleep Disorders
5. Meaningful Use: The Essentials for Medical Transcriptionists
6. Navigating Benchmark KB for Greater Productivity
7. Editing Tips and Techniques

Visit the Online Learning Library to download this recorded webinar presentation (valid login required; available to AHDI Individual Professional members only).

Bonus Benefit: Medical Transcription in an EHR World

Did you miss this month's Resource Central e-newsletter? If so, you missed our free gift for AHDI members which was part of our Labor Day thanks. Log onto our AHDI website to access "Medical Transcription in an EHR World,"* a session presented at our 2013 conference by Lynn J. Kosegi. We hope you enjoy it. (CEC: 1 PD)

We also have the following items on sale this month*:

Book of Style, 3rd Edition – 10% off
Book of Style, 3rd Edition Workbook – 10% off
RMT Exam Guide (RHDS Ready) – 10% off
CMT Exam Guide (CHDS Ready) – 10% off

*Available only through September 30, 2014.

A Word from Your National Leadership Board

This month, new and returning NLB directors renewed our commitment and continued our work for AHDI with President Susan Dooley taking the reins. A first order of business was to finalize the 2014-2015 Work Plan for Volunteer Groups and Staff.

The Work Plan provides membership, leadership, volunteers and staff a guide to practical action in implementing AHDI’s overall Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan, as its name suggests, lays out in broad strokes the association’s priorities in accordance with our organizational vision and mission. The Strategic Plan is periodically reviewed and revised by the Board to ensure that AHDI remains at the forefront of issues in healthcare documentation integrity; the current edition of the Strategic Plan can be found at www.ahdionline.org under the heading of Advocacy and Public Policy/About AHDI. Read more.

President's Message: Who, Where, or What is AHDI?

A long time ago, if you had asked me about AHDI, I would have told you it was a faceless organization run by a bunch of people who lived next door to Ernest and Julio Gallo. You know, because the Gallo Wine corporation is based out of Modesto, California, and so is AHDI. I'm a big fan of Gallo, because I'm the kind of girl who buys wine that costs no more than $5 a bottle, so I imagined AHDI was situated in Napa Valley, surrounded by vineyards and rich people sipping wine in the golden light of California afternoons. My Californian comrades, please forgive my geographic cluelessness--I’ve never been to Modesto!

But over my years of involvement with this organization, I've come to realize that AHDI isn't a faceless organization run by wine-sipping aristocrats in suits. No, AHDI is us. AHDI is its members. It is by, for, and about its members. And like family, we don't always agree on everything, but we sure do get a lot done, and we try to have fun doing it. Read more.

Upcoming Events in September

AHDI events, courses, and webinars are a great way to stay connected to what's happening in the industry and to continue your education. View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

AHDI Events Calendar

Sept. 17
Factors Affecting Physician Professional Satisfaction (webinar) (1 PD)

Sept. 24
QA for EHR Clinician-Created Documentation (webinar) (1 MTT)

Oct. 1
Mastering the EHR Course (1 ML and 9 TW)

Oct. 1
RHDS Study Group Course

Oct. 1
CHDS Study Group Course

Oct. 1
CHDS Bridge Course(4 CM, 4 TW, 1 MTT, 1 PD)

Oct. 1
RHDS Recredentialing Course

Free From the Library: Last Month for Access to These Free Session Recordings

September marks the last month you'll have access to the current line-up of recorded sessions currently posted in the Online Learning Library. These are absolutely free for our Individual Professional Members and all pre-approved for continuing education credits (CECs).

1. Keyboarding Techniques for Fast and Efficient SRT Editing
2. Natural Language Processing: Empowering MT Knowledge Workers with a Valuable Asset
3. Start Projects, Making a Ruckus, and Taking More Risks
4. Dreaming of a Good Night's Sleep: Parasomnias and Other Sleep Disorders
5. Meaningful Use: The Essentials for Medical Transcriptionists
6. Navigating Benchmark KB for Greater Productivity
7. Editing Tips and Techniques

Visit the Online Learning Library to download this recorded webinar presentation (valid login required; available to AHDI Individual Professional members only).

Employer Resources: New Model Job Descriptions

Healthcare documentation is evolving and so, too, are our job roles and responsibilities. Model job descriptions for several areas of healthcare documentation can be found on the AHDI website here.

EHR Documentation Trainer
Healthcare Documentation Integrity Auditor
EHR Technician/HIM Analyst

Why Get Certified?

Certification in healthcare documentation makes a difference -- to the patients whose care depends your on precise documentation, to employers who must hire highly qualified and trusted healthcare documentation specialists, and to yourself for the satisfaction for attaining certification. The four letters that will follow your name will make a powerful statement about the expertise you bring to the table. Ultimately, becoming credentialed will:

1. Prepare you for new healthcare documentation positions in the EHR.
2. Demonstrate that you are trained and certified in HIPAA compliance.
3. Distinguish you from those without a credential.
4. Raise employer’s confidence in you when introducing new technologies or services.
5. Keep you marketable in the event of cutbacks or mergers.
6. Get your foot in the door as a new graduate.

Ready to pursue credentialing? Get started here → Types of Credentials

AHDI and AHIMA to Partner for 2015 Conference

We're delighted to announce that our 37th annual conference will be held in conjunction with AHIMA's Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Summit in 2015 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Mark your calendar for August 6-8 to attend both events: the CDI Summit August 6-7 and AHDI's 2015 Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference August 7-8.

Learn more about the 2015 AHIMA CDI Summit/AHDI HDIC.

• Schedule at a Glance
• Download the flyer (.pdf)
• Exhibit and Sponsorship Information (.pdf)

Online Webinar: Factors Affecting Physician Professional Satisfaction

September 17, 2014, at 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PT/1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET
CEC Given: 1 PD

Mark Friedberg, MD, MPP, will present findings from the 2013 research report "Factors Affecting Physician Professional Satisfaction and Their Implications for Patient Care, Health Systems, and Health Policy," which was sponsored by the American Medical Association and conducted by RAND researchers. Dr. Friedberg will focus on the report's most novel findings on (1) the linkage between physician professional satisfaction and the quality of patient care, and (2) the role of electronic health records in physician professional satisfaction.

The report is available for free download at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR439.html

Even if you can't attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to automatically receive the recorded webinar link 24 hours after the live presentation ends.

Eligible Member Price: $15
List Price: $25

September Specials!

As part of our Labor Day thanks, we have a free gift for AHDI members. Log onto our AHDI website to access "Medical Transcription in an EHR World,"* a session presented at our 2013 conference by Lynn J. Kosegi. We hope you enjoy it. (CEC: 1 PD)

If you're not currently a member, take a few minutes to explore the benefits and join today. Upon joining, you'll receive access to the free session by Ms. Kosegi.

We also have the following items on sale this month*:

• Book of Style, 3rd Edition – 10% off
• Book of Style, 3rd Edition Workbook – 10% off
• RMT Exam Guide (RHDS Ready) – 10% off
• CMT Exam Guide (CHDS Ready) – 10% off

*Available only through September 30, 2014.