A Word from Your National Leadership Board

For the leadership and members of AHDI, nothing rings more true than the old saying, “And te tide and te time bat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet.”

OK: This transcription is not, as it may appear, a particularly scrambled speech recognition production, but the 13th-century-English version of familiar words of wisdom, later evolving into the modern English as: “Time and tide wait for no man.” Bringing the adage definitively up to date, gender-neutral, we could say: “Time and tide wait for no one.” Read more.

Continue Your Education with these Great Webinars in April

Continuing education is important for professional growth. AHDI offers a variety of options to fit everyone's schedule. View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

AHDI Events Calendar

April 20
The Basics of Social Media to Grow Your Business
Presenters: Patty Barrett and Randy Block
Time: 10 AM PDT/1 PM EDT
CE Credit: 1 PD

April 29
Best Practices in Speech Recognition Technology
Presenter: Criss Spoto
Time: 12 PM PDT/3 PM EDT
CE Credit: 1 TW or 1 MTT

President’s Address—How AHDI Membership Can Influence a Career Path

I started a new job a couple weeks ago. I had been at my old job for almost 25 years. In December they offered me a buyout, kind of like early retirement. I took the offer even though I’m still too young to afford to retire. Believe me, this buyout was no golden parachute, but it bought me a few months of survival while I looked for a new job. In the two months that I didn’t work, I realized that I will never be a very good full-time retiree. Read more.

Advancing the Profession: New AHDI Fellow!

AHDI would like to congratulate the following individual who has met the requirements to be deemed an AHDI Fellow.

Michelle Holden, RHIT, CHDS, AHDI-F

If you have given your time and energy to advancing the profession through industry and association service, you may qualify for the designation of AHDI Fellow. Download and review the application. For questions regarding this designation, contact Tina Wilson at twilson@ahdionline.org.

2015 AHDI Integrity Awards— Nominations are Open!

AHDI's Integrity Awards program is designed to shine a spotlight on those individuals, organizations, and volunteer groups who are truly making a difference in our industry. Not only does this recognition program impact the individuals who are nominated and chosen for these awards, but it generates visibility around best practices and drives recognition of our industry in a public way.

Every one of us knows someone who has made a professional impact over the last year. Take a few minutes to nominate and shine the spotlight on our industry "super heroes"—Guardians of Healthcare Record Integrity—in the following categories:

• Hall of Fame Award
• Employer of the Year Award
• Membership Impact Award
• Rising Star Award
• Excellence in Credentialing Award
• Innovation through Technology Award
• Educator of the Year Award
• Advocate of the Year Award

Nominations should be submitted electronically and are due no later than Thursday, April 30, 2015. Nominees will be notified of nomination once the committee finalizes the ballot. Voting members will select the winners which will be announced at the Integrity Awards session at the 37th AHDI Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference in Alexandria, Virginia. Visit the AHDI Integrity Awards page for more information.

AHDI National Leadership Board Call for Candidates

There are three (3) open positions on the National Leadership Board for terms starting September 1, 2015. The deadline to request a candidacy packet is Monday, March 30 and completed packets must be turned in by Monday, April 6. If you are considering a position but still unsure, request a packet now with no obligation and the Nominating Committee would be happy to help answer any questions you may have.

2015 ELECTION OPEN POSITIONS: Three (3) at-large directors for a term of 9/1/15-8/31/18 (no district director positions open this election)

If you know someone that would be a strong leader, email their name to wcarriegan@ahdionline.org and the Nominating Committee will reach out to them.

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.

Extra Savings Week at Dell Computer, March 20-27

March 20-27, 2015, is AHDI’s Member of the Week with Dell and will feature one of their BEST PROMOTIONS ever. Save an additional 17% off your system purchase of $299 or above. Visit www.Dell.com/AHDI next week to claim your coupon and take advantage of this phenomenal offer while it lasts!

Savings Example: Laptop Market Value $769, Normal Discount of $182 = $587. Stack 17% on the $587 to bring us to $488, which is a $99 additional savings!

For assistance with the AHDI Member discount, please e-mail leah_buluran@dell.com and reference Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity and our Member ID: HS17786574. Please allow up to 24 business hours to receive a response. This offer valid March 20-27, 2015 only.

Speech Recognition Errors—Funny...or Fatal?

Have you checked out AHDI’s new Facebook group yet? "SR Errors—Funny…or Fatal?" seems to be a hit with more than 620 participants and hundreds of “speech wreck” examples posted. We created this group for healthcare documentation specialists to share the speech recognition errors they encounter—sometimes hysterically funny, while others potentially fatal.

Join us in sharing the "speech wrecks" that you've uncovered to build greater awareness among patients on the importance of having a highly trained, knowledge workforce reviewing their health records for accuracy and completeness.

Join the SR Errors—Funny....or Fatal? Facebook page today!

AHDI’s Annual Conference: Early Bird Deadline is April 30

It's never too early to start making your plans to attend AHDI's Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference. This year's conference will be held August 7-8, 2015, a stone's throw from our Nation's Capitol in Alexandria, Virginia. Registration and housing are open—navigate to www.ahdionline.org/ACE to start making your plans to attend.

The early bird registration deadline is April 30. Register for AHDI’s 2015 Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference at www.ahdionline.org/ACE.

Credentialing Cup Deadline: March 31

Have you procrastinated getting your healthcare documentation specialist credential because you're too busy? Afraid you may fail? Get nervous taking tests? Don't want to do it alone? These days everyone stays very busy, but we make time for the things that are truly important. The Credentialing Cup is a team activity in which to give and receive support and encouragement from others who are just like you! Combined with the many resources available from AHDI, your team can't lose!

The deadline is less than 2 weeks away, so don't delay in submitting the names of your team members to AHDI for a chance to participate in the Cup and earn prizes and discounts.

View full details about the Credentialing Cup, including study group resources.

AHDI Website Makeover Coming Soon!

You’ve spoken and we listened. We often hear it’s hard to find things on AHDI’s website. Coming in early May, you’ll find a new and improved AHDI website. This isn’t simply a new coat of paint, so to speak, but a complete reorganization of the content, added functionality, and more advanced technology. Our goal is simple: Providing you with a website that will be your number one professional resource.

Although the website is still under construction, we wanted you to get an advance peek at what you’ll find in early May. Following the launch, we will be asking for feedback so we can continue to make improvements to enhance your online experience.

Download the .pdf

Hear Us Roar! National MT Week, May 17-23

Planning is in full swing for National Medical Transcriptionist Week, May 17-23, 2015! We’re delighted to announce this year’s theme—Patient Care Documentation: Brought to Life. In developing the theme, we focused on your value proposition as a healthcare documentation specialist. What you bring to the table in delivering high quality, safe patient care.

Hear Us Roar! New for 2015
On Monday, May 18, join us in creating a roar of thunder to amplify the message of NMTW that will be heard all throughout social media. Join our Thunderclap! Pass the link along; the more people who sign up, the louder our voices will be throughout social media.

Visit our website, www.ahdionline.org/NMTW, to download the NMTW flyer. In the coming weeks, we will be adding downloads to the website, so please be sure to check back often.

PS: Don’t forget to take our survey on renaming National MT Week in 2016. The deadline is March 31, 2015.

AHDI Member Benefit: January/February Plexus

The latest issue of Plexus can be downloaded now! Don’t miss great features and columns, the latest news, and helpful information related to our emotional intelligence theme, Mind Over Matter. Each bi-monthly issue is delivered in a user-friendly digital PDF format that you can save on many types of mobile reading devices and have readily available at your fingertips!

We invite you to view this issue of Plexus magazine (members must be logged in to the AHDI website). Not a member of AHDI? Visit the Member Center to see membership categories, learn more, and join today!

AHDI welcomes industry contributions, and all submissions for publication are welcome for review and consideration by the editor and the AHDI Research and Development Team. Any individual or group interested in submitting an article or column content should download and follow the guidelines for submission found here.

View the Plexus Editorial Calendar for 2015

Mastering the EHR Course

Mastering the EHR is a 10-week intermediate preparatory online course to add essential EHR skills to your knowledge base. Course-takers will have an understanding of the learning outcomes for each chapter, implore skill-building techniques through exercises designed to navigate you through the EHR program, learn about current topics in health care, and develop critical-thinking skills through comprehension of applied concepts of using an EHR and testing those skills through the online exercises and activities provided.

This course is preapproved for 10 CECs (1 Medicolegal and 9 Technology and the Workforce).

Dr. Leana Wen to Keynote at AHDI's Annual Conference

It's never too early to start making your plans to attend AHDI's Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference. This year's conference will be held August 7-8, 2015, a stone's throw from our Nation's Capitol in Alexandria, Virginia. Registration and housing are now open—navigate to www.ahdionline.org/ACE to start making your plans to attend.

We’re delighted to announce Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, FAAEM, will present the keynote address on Saturday, August 8. You may recognize Dr. Wen from her frequent appearances and interviews on national media outlets such as ABC, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Dr. Wen is an emergency physician, patient advocate, and public health leader. She serves as the Health Commissioner for Baltimore City, where she oversees a department of over 1,100 employees with wide-ranging responsibilities that include management of acute communicable diseases, animal control, chronic disease prevention, emergency preparedness, food service inspections, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), maternal-child health, school health, senior services, and youth violence issues.

The author of the critically-acclaimed book When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests, Dr. Wen has given four popular TED and TEDMED talks on patient-centered care, public health leadership, and healthcare reform. Follow @DrLeanaWen.

Register for AHDI’s 2015 Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference at www.ahdionline.org/ACE.

Featured Webinar: The Basics of Social Media to Grow Your Business

Presenters: Patty Barrett, CMT, AHDI-F and Randy Block
Date: April 20, 2015
Time: 10-11 a.m. PT/1-2 p.m. ET
CE Credits: 1 PD

In 2015, social media will become the #1 marketing tool for businesses. If you do not have a social media platform for your business or you are afraid of social media, join us to learn the basics of getting a social media platform launched. We will share tips and tricks to be successful with social media!

Learning Objectives:

1. What is Social Media?
2. Benefits of Social Media
3. Dangers of Social Media
4. Various Social Media Sites for businesses
5. Social Media Tips

Not able to attend live? You may still purchase and register for this webinar; the webinar recording will automatically be emailed 24 hours after the event ends.

Survey: Renaming National Medical Transcriptionist Week

Established in 1985, National Medical Transcriptionist Week is celebrated the third week of May to bring public and industry-wide attention to the role and contribution of medical transcriptionists in healthcare delivery and clinical documentation. MTs and healthcare documentation specialists around the country embrace this week as an opportunity to show their support of each other, and employers, managers and clients are encouraged to likewise celebrate their documentation workforce in unique and special ways as well as by participating in national initiatives that promote the profession.

Given the variety of roles in healthcare documentation and new title “healthcare documentation specialist” released by AHDI in 2012, our National Leadership Board has set forth to rename National Medical Transcriptionist Week. A survey has been created to collect your input on the name change that will be implemented in 2016. We would greatly appreciate your input and welcome your feedback. The deadline to complete the survey is March 31, 2015.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BM7KKB7

Mark Your Calendar! National Medical Transcriptionist Week is May 17-23, 2015. Information is coming soon.

Educational Courses and Webinars in March/April!

Continuing education is important for professional growth. AHDI offers a variety of options to fit everyone's schedule. View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

AHDI Events Calendar

Apr. 1	Mastering the EHR Course (1 ML and 9 TW)
Apr. 1	RHDS Study Group Course
Apr. 1	CHDS Study Group Course
Apr. 1	CHDS Bridge Course(4 CM, 4 TW, 1 MTT, 1 PD)
Apr. 1	RHDS Recredentialing Course
Apr. 20	The Basics of Social Media to Grow Your Business (webinar) (1 PD)
Aug. 7-8	Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference (Alexandria, VA)

Credentialing Cup Content—Get Credentialed and Win Prizes!

If you haven’t yet put together your team, you are going to miss out! To participate, get 4 or more people together and register by March 31 for any of the credentialing exams (RHDS, CHDS, or CQE). Team participants qualify for waived eligibility fees, Practice Exam discounts, and complimentary lapel pins for all who successfully pass the exam.



Grand Prize
Enter your team into the Credentialing Cup and your team could win the Grand Prize of 6 free webinars for each winning team member—a great way to start earning CECs after you pass your exam.

Full details about the Credentialing Cup, including study group resources, are available on the Credentialing Cup web page.