ACE was the Place!

Thank you to all who were able to attend AHDI's Annual Convention & Exposition! We wish to acknowledge and thank AHDI West for their contributions to this year's big event. They were fabulous hosts.

This was the first ACE for AHDI's new CEO, Nancy Brighindi, PhD, CAE. We invite you to read her personal recap from the event here.

If you missed ACE, check out the latest news hot off the press!

• 2011 Integrity Awards winners


• Wrap-up and highlights


• The Great Debate – The Audience Said…

We also extend a special thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors for their financial contributors who helped make ACE 2011 possible.

Blueprint for Great Governance

AHDI’s Board of Directors, Component Leaders, and House of Delegates are spearheading a new initiative to ensure the long-term success, relevance, and business sustainability of our association’s components. This project, called "The Blueprint for Great Governance," is being lead by AHDI President-elect Barb Marques, CMT, AHDI-F, and Speaker of the House Bonnie Monico, CMT, AHDI-F, with an esteemed group of team members representing the diversity of our membership.

Over the next six months, the team will host a series of Town Hall meetings both in person and online to brainstorm new approaches, services, and models to best serve the needs of our members and position MTs for long-term success in this rapidly changing environment of health care. We will examine the 1) purpose of components, 2) tactics for collaboration and sharing of best practices, 3) ways to ensure financial stability, and 4) engagement models.

All AHDI members, component leaders and members, and delegates are invited to participate in the Town Hall meetings. The online Town Hall meetings will be announced in Vitals as they are scheduled; and face-to-face meetings will be held as follows:

• March 25, 2010 (in conjunction with the Advocacy Summit)
  2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  Marriott Crystal City; Arlington, Virginia



• April 16, 2010 (in conjunction with the AHDI-West Conference & Advocacy Day)
  9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  Hilton Garden Inn–Phoenix Airport North, Phoenix, Arizona

Following the Town Hall meetings, there will be a Leadership Summit held at ACE on Wednesday, August 4, 2010, for our Component Presidents, House of Delegates, and national AHDI Board of Directors. Please mark your calendars. Our goal for the Summit will be to reach final consensus on a blueprint for the future and specific paths forward in the four areas outlined above.

If you have questions or would like more information on this important initiative, please contact Linda G. Brady, CAE, director of member relations by email: lbrady@ahdionline.org.

"Power of 10" Technology Webinar #4 - REGISTRATION ENDS TODAY!!

Speech Recognition Editing: Keys to the Shift
Thursday, December 10, 2009
1:00 to 2:30 p.m. PST

Presenters: Betsy Senter; Jamie Collins, CMT, RHIT; and Jill Utterback from 3M Health

Information Systems, Inc.Many healthcare facilities and transcription organizations are adopting speech recognition technology to increase productivity, but the shift to this new technology must be done with care and consideration. This webinar focuses on back-end speech recognition, describing what it is and how the editing process for speech-recognized text differs from traditional transcription. The presenters will discuss speech recognition best practices for dictators, transcriptionists/editors, and administrators, including processes such as selecting document types, coaching dictators, using feedback from transcriptionists/editors, and monitoring productivity improvements. In addition, this webinar includes a demonstration of the speech recognition editing course developed by TRS Institute in partnership with 3M and AHDI.

Approved by AHDI for 1.5 CECs in Technology and the Workplace

Register for this webinar at AHDI-West.org.
Registration Deadline is Wednesday, December 9, 2009

AHDI-West Productivity Webinar - Attend and Support Power of 10!

AHDI-West "Power of 10" Technology Webinar #2
Thursday, October 29, 2009
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT
Looking at Expansions Through Windows
Presented by Betsy Ertel, AHDI-F

This webinar will touch on Concept, Benefits and Value of Abbreviation Technology, Working in Windows with Expander Programs, Conflicts with Do’s and Don’t’s in Creations, and Interactive Abbreviations with Feedback vs. Long-Form Keyword Name Creations. Registration fee $10. Online payment/registration available on the AHDI-West website. All proceeds will be sent to AHDI earmarked for the Power of 10 campaign. For more information, contact Kat King, AHDI-F, at events@ahdi-west.org. This webinar is approved for 1 MT Tools CEC. Registration closes October 27.

The GoToWebinars are generously sponsored by Med-Line School of Medical Transcription.

Please be advised that contributions to the Power of 10 campaign are not tax deductible; however, AHDI-West Power of 10 Technology Webinar fees may be considered an educational expense. Consult your tax advisor.

AHDI-West Hosting Technology Webinars to Support Power of 10 Campaign

We’re ready! Are you?

“Power of 10” Technology Webinars

As most of you know, AHDI has launched a year-long campaign to raise a minimum of $100,000 ($10 from 10,000 MTs) by the end of 2010. This is an effort to support our association’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC. AHDI has hired a lobbying firm, who is working to ensure our sector is well represented in the healthcare reform criteria, standards for EHR systems, and workforce development in allied health. There is definitely power in numbers.

On behalf of ALL AHDI components, AHDI-West will host a technology webinar once a month, beginning in September 2009 and extending through December 2010 (total of 16 sessions). Each webinar will be focused on various aspects of technology in our industry, featuring a variety of vendors who will provide an education overview. The webinars will be 1.5 hours in length, including 60 minutes of education/instruction and 30 minutes of Q&A, qualify for AHDI-approved CEC opportunities for registrants (either MT Tools or Technology & Workplace). The fee for each of the 16 webinars will be $10 (for all registrants). All sessions will be recorded (with the permission of the presenters) and available for download if members are not able to attend the live presentation. Each download will also cost $10 for All proceeds will be sent to AHDI earmarked for the AHDI Power of 10 campaign.

The first Power of 10 Technology webinar will be Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 2:00-3:30 PM PST.

Topic: The Health Story Project
Presenter: Laura Bryan, CMT, AHDI-F, AHDI 2009 Advocate of the Year & AHDI representative on the HSP since January 2007.
AHDI CEC Approval: 1.5 TW (Technology & Workplace) credits

We are capturing where attendees heard about the webinars and which components they belong to. Every month we will celebrate who has brought in the most attendees per webinar. Spread the word to EVERYONE who has ANYTHING to do with healthcare documentation. This is a great opportunity to follow up with your legislators or introduce yourself to more of them, and invite them to this webinar.
Go to www.AHDI-West.org to register for the webinars.

Spread the news!! Promote this to your members and “future” AHDI or MTIA members.