National Hometown Advocacy Week

Advocate the direct relationship between healthcare documentation professionals and patient safety and share our National Hometown Advocacy Week campaign at the local level. Legislative Leaders from states around the nation are coordinating advocacy appointments with federal legislators while the lawmakers are home on congressional recess which just happens to coincide with National MT Week, May 19 to May 26, 2012. Individuals can easily join in the effort. One way is to connect with your local, state or regional chapter of AHDI. They will get you connected with the legislative leader in your state. Another option is to blanket the nation with individual outreach. Download the "Working Together for Patient Safety" posters. Mail or hand-deliver the AHDI National MT Week poster or our National Hometown Advocacy week poster to any number of local offices: hospitals or clinics, private physicians or medical group offices, state or federal legislators or the office of Health and Human Services in your state. Federal House of Representatives local offices can be found in this directory, look for their local offices on their web pages. Federal Senators can be found here. Unsure of your federal legislators? Enter your 9-digit zip code here. Most state legislators and the HHS state offices can be found using state abbreviation.gov (for example: www.ca.gov). Interested? Contact Miranda Chalabi at mchalabi@ahdionline.org or AHDI board member Karen Fox-Acosta at karen.fox@foxtx.net for more information.

Note: High-resolution version of the poster will take time to download due to complexity of artwork and file size.

National Hometown Advocacy Week: May 20–26

Are you interested in advocating for patient safety and the important role of a healthcare documentation specialist? Join us by meeting with your federal legislator during National MT Week (May 20–26) while legislative representatives are at their home office meeting with constituents. For more information on how you can get involved, connect with your local component or your state legislative leader. If you are not sure who your legislative leader is, contact Miranda Chalabi at mchalabi@ahdionline.org.

What We've Been Up to Since Advocacy Summit

AHDI and CDIA members on Capitol Hill in May were eager to get the support of our nation’s leaders around the importance of a comprehensive, accurate health story. In addition to sharing our collateral materials around Capturing America’s Healthcare Story, advocates on the Hill sought specific support from legislators. Members of Congress were asked to submit a letter to Dr. Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, with the request that ONC take the patient narrative into account in developing standards for EHR systems. Over 74 legislative offices indicated an interest in providing this level of support, all of whom have now been provided a draft letter for review and signature, and early feedback is very promising. We’re excited to announce that Congressman Bob Filner, 51st District, California, was the first to submit a letter to ONC in support of our message:

Filner Letter to Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM

Congratulations to the AHDI/CDIA members from California whose advocacy efforts with this office led to such an immediate statement of support.

Legislative Tracking
AHDI/CDIA advocacy staff is diligently tracking all outgoing and inbound emails and phone calls to ensure that consistent communication with these legislative offices continues. Keeping our organizations and key messages on the "radar" of legislative contacts is an important part of what we are doing in followup to our Advocacy Summit. To that end, we are now using Basecamp, a web access project management platform, to track all legislative contacts and will be coordinating these efforts with the Legislative Leaders for each state.

Legislative Issues Group (LIG):
Now the Advocacy Alliance!
Given the strong participation of our new Legislative Leaders Program, we are migrating our Legislative Issues Group to an alliance format. The new Advocacy Alliance will be open to anyone in either AHDI or CDIA who wants to stay connected to advocacy information or engage in advocacy dialogue. You do not have to be a Legislative Leader or an active advocate to join or participate in discussions. Regular monthly meetings will now be held by the Legislative Leaders Program (see below) and the leaders who chair that steering committee:

AHDI Chair: Sheryl Williams, CMT, AHDI-F
CDIA Chair: Steve Gaus
Board Liaison: Karen L. Fox-Acosta, CMT, AHDI-F
Staff Liaison: Lea M. Sims, CMT, AHDI-F

Legislative Leader Program
On the heels of Advocacy Summit, interest and participation in the Legislative Leader Program is growing. If your state does not currently have a Legislative Leader assigned and you have an interest in fulfilling this role, check out our Become an Advocate page for more information about the role as well as resources available for those who participate and contact Miranda Chalabi (mchalabi@ahdionline.org) to get connected to the program. Look for information about our Legislative Tracking Training webinars for Legislative Leaders in the next week or two.

Not Too Late to Follow Up!
If you participated in legislative visits at the Advocacy Summit and have not yet sent a followup/thank-you letter to your legislator or legislative aide, please do so as soon as you can. A personal followup from a constituent is an important part of establishing long-term, productive relationships with our legislative offices. If you need some help drafting your followup, use the template below:

Advocacy Summit Followup Letter to Legislators

District Connections
Meeting with your Senators and Representatives when they return to their districts will be critical to spending more one-on-one time with those officials and connecting our advocacy messages to what’s going on in your local area. Check out the dates for Senate and House recess coming up soon:

Senate Recess Dates
July 4-10, 2011
August 8 – September 5, 2011
September 26 – October 2, 2011

House Recess Dates
June 27 – July 5, 2011
July 18-24, 2011
August 8 – September 5, 2011
September 26 – October 2, 2011

Begin making plans now to secure face time with your legislator during these recess periods.

Advocacy Summit 2011 Recap

Thank you to all who were able to attend the 6th Annual AHDI/CDIA Advocacy Summit last week in Washington, DC. Members, leaders, and business owners came together to deliver a critical message to legislators and their aides on Capitol Hill.

The Summit was kicked off with a welcome reception and a fabulous presentation by Laura Bryan on the Health Story Project and CDA data tagging. This information was a perfect addition to help attendees prepare for their Hill visits. The next day, we set out on Capitol Hill with a total of 53 attendees representing 24 different states. This group participated in 85 legislative appointments and 7 constituent coffees. We delivered several additional packets and letters to legislators as well as the industry petition letter with 1403 signatures. Read more.

National Medical Transcriptionist Week 2011

Every year, through National Medical Transcriptionist Week, AHDI and the transcription community celebrate the critical role our workforce plays on the healthcare team. Medical transcriptionists and editors add contributory value to our healthcare system through accurate, secure capture of healthcare encounters every day. This year we’ve positioned that message as part of a powerful, heart-hitting campaign around patient health stories. With our nation’s rush to force health information into the restricted, data-driven environment of the EHR, preserving the patient’s comprehensive health story has become a significant part of our mission and a rally cry for our sector. Help us celebrate NMTW by advocating for patients through our Capturing America’s Healthcare Story campaign and bringing visibility to your important role in preserving the integrity of those stories. Visit our National Medical Transcriptionist Week 2011 page to download this two-sided, full-color poster and learn more about how you can become an advocate for America’s healthcare story.

Advocacy Summit - Legislative Agenda

Come to the Hill and/or support our Summit objectives by preparing in advance. The following preliminary resources have been developed to assist you in understanding the AHDI/CDIA advocacy agenda and key messages for 2011.

AHDI/CDIA Advocacy Agenda
This comprehensive document identifies and outlines the 6 Key Areas where the associations have chosen to focus our advocacy efforts.

America’s Healthcare Story
This 2-page, full-color flyer will be the central marketing piece for our advocacy efforts in 2011 and will be included in all legislative packets to be taken to the Hill in May.

AHDI/CDIA Comment on Stage 2 Meaningful Use
Preserving a full patient health story in the EHR is priority one for both organizations, and securing a role for narrative reporting in the EHR is a big part of that. Key Summit messages will come from this formal comment to the HIT Policy Council.

Note: Full legislative packets, cover letters, flyers, and a full-fledged Advocacy Summit Guide will be available in the coming weeks.

Register for the 2011 Advocacy Summit

Advocacy Summit - Early Price Extended Through April 11!

No one can advocate for you better than you can. Bring your industry insight and experience to Capitol Hill on May 3 and 4, 2011. Join fellow MTs, MT employers, and AHDI leaders at the 2011 Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC, where we will be meeting with legislators, healthcare aides, and key committee members to discuss the role this sector plays in preserving America’s healthcare story. Do you want policymakers to understand the critical value of an accurate, comprehensive patient record? Make plans to join us on the Hill. There is nothing more professionally empowering than advocating on the ground in our Nation’s Capitol. Don’t miss it!

What to Expect
Attendees will speak with key legislative officials and healthcare staff about the healthcare documentation industry’s critical role in healthcare delivery. With assistance from our lobbying firm, Dewey Square Group, attendees will receive:

• Orientation and training on effective lobbying techniques.
• Appointment scheduling services for legislative meetings.
• Materials to convey a clear, concise, and powerful message.
• Assistance from AHDI/CDIA staff every step of the way.

Register for the 2011 Advocacy Summit

Why We Matter - Help Spread the Word

Are you an advocate for our profession? Can you help spread the word in your local area about the importance of patient safety and in becoming a communication hub to bring the national AHDI advocacy campaign to your area? The Legislative Leaders program is seeking committed volunteers. If you’re interested, please contact Linda Giles (lpgiles@aol.com), the Legislative Issues Group (LIG) Chairperson or Andrew Wolf (awolf@ahdionline.org), staff liaison to the LIG. View the Legislative Leader Job Description.

Preserve the Patient’s Story as a Legislative Leader!

Do you believe an accurate and complete patient’s story in narrative form is critical to patient care? Join us for a FREE Webinar!

Title: Introduction to the Legislative Leader Program with Dewey Square Group (DSG)
Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST

• Learn to share your experiences as an MT, healthcare documentation professional, with a broader audience
• Explore ways to organize small groups of advocates in your local area
• Spread the word about the importance of healthcare documentation to patient safety
• Be a voice for all patients
• Become part of the communication hub to bring the national AHDI/MTIA advocacy campaign to your local area.

All Legislative Leaders and individuals interested in the AHDI/MTIA advocacy campaign should join us for this webinar on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific as we explore the AHDI/MTIA Legislative Leaders Program.

Scott Shalett of the Dewey Square Group along with Linda Giles from the Legislative Issues Group will be on hand to discuss what a volunteer can expect should they decide to become a legislative leader, the incentives for participation, and the national AHDI/MTIA advocacy campaign.

This webinar is an ideal opportunity for those who are interested in promoting our profession, organizing others to do the same, and for those who want to learn more about the national advocacy efforts of AHDI/MTIA and why all efforts are so critical to the future of our industry and high quality patient care.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/417935337

Legislative Leaders Needed to Support National Advocacy Effort

Are you an advocate for your profession? Are you interested in spreading the word in your local area about the importance of patient safety and in becoming a communication hub to bring the national AHDI advocacy campaign to your area? The Legislative Leaders (formerly Legislative Liaisons) program is being developed, and we are seeking committed volunteers. If you are interested, please contact Linda Giles (lpgiles@aol.com), the Legislative Issues Group Chairperson, or Andrew Wolf (awolf@ahdionline.org), staff liaison to the LIG.

Sign the Petition Letter

AHDI/MTIA staff, volunteers, and Dewey Square Group have created a petition letter summarizing the critical nature of our profession and the role we play in ensuring patient safety. We are collecting as many electronic signatures as possible, in support of this letter and plan to present it to all the appropriate legislators in 2011. If enough signatures are obtained, we will present it to the Secretary of Health and Human Services as well as the President of the United States. Please take a moment to read this letter and sign it electronically. You may pass this along to your friends, family, colleagues or anyone else who cares about patient safety.

AHDI/MTIA Industry Accomplishments Illustrated in Video

At the MTIA 2010 Annual Conference in Daytona Beach, FL, the audience was treated to a short slideshow presentation at the Industry Update General Session & Luncheon. This slideshow provides a brief overview of the major successes AHDI/MTIA has had over the past year within the realm of public policy and affairs due largely to the Dewey Square Group, a Washington, DC-based lobbying firm employed by AHDI/MTIA.

Recording Now Available for Post-Advocacy Summit Webinar

On Friday, April 16, AHDI and MTIA members attended a webinar highlighting accomplishments and success stories from the recent Advocacy Summit. Scott Shalett and Jason Eberstein of the Dewey Square Group and AHDI-MTIA staff provided a recap of Advocacy Summit and presented follow-up plans to capitalize on the success of the event. In addition, members who attended Summit shared their inspiring stories and experiences. If you could not attend the webinar, you can check out a recording by clicking here.

New Webinar Open for Registration--"2010 Advocacy Summit Accomplishments and Success Stories"

Date: April 16, 2010
Presenters: Scott Shalett, Jason Eberstein, & Greg Doggett, JD
Time: 12:30 PM PDT / 1:30 PM MDT / 2:30 PM CDT / 3:30 PM EDT
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: April 13, 2010
Cost: Free
CE Given: 1 ML

Scott Shalett and Jason Eberstein of the Dewey Square Group and AHDI-MTIA staff member Greg Doggett will provide a brief recap of the 2010 Advocacy Summit, including information about the dozens of meetings members had with legislators and their staff, the hundreds of letters delivered to legislative offices, and major outcomes and policy implications of the associations' advocacy efforts. Advocacy Summit attendees will then share their stories, experiences, and thoughts from the event. Webinar participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and to offer comments.

Scott Shalett is a principal in Dewey Square Group’s grassroots practice. A results oriented, critical thinker with a background in strategic planning, policy analysis and political organizing Shalett brings extensive experience and strategic planning to high profile political and corporate clients across the country. Prior to joining Dewey Square Group, Shalett managed The ATLAS Project devising grassroots strategies in 15 battleground states on behalf of progressive institutions and democratic allies.

In 2004, Shalett served as Chief of Staff for Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitchell J. Landrieu where he was responsible for the policy and political direction of the Lieutenant Governor’s office and the Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism.
In 2000, Shalett was the Southern Political Desk at the Democratic National Committee and also directed Al Gore’s Get- Out-the-Vote effort in Iowa. He served as the Field Director for U.S. Senator Carl Levin (1996) and directed City Council relations for New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial from 1994 to 1996.
Shalett was selected as one of the "Rising Stars of Politics" by Campaigns and Elections Magazine in 2002 and is a native of New Orleans.

Jason Eberstein, a principal at the Dewey Square Group, is involved in legislative lobbying and advocacy, government outreach, and strategic planning for the firm’s clients. With an extensive background in lobbying and public relations, Mr. Eberstein brings a strategic approach to advocacy and government affairs. Eberstein has represented a cross section of American businesses and foreign entities on issues ranging from appropriations to taxes, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and telecommunications and trade.

Mr. Eberstein has represented numerous clients before federal, state and local governments. Additionally, Mr. Eberstein has experience in coalition creation and management, having developed and run multiple successful national grassroots legislative advocacy coalitions.
Mr. Eberstein’s government relations experience includes both working for a foreign embassy, on Capitol Hill, and for a global public affairs/public relations firm. Mr. Eberstein holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Maryland.

Greg Doggett oversees government and board affairs for AHDI and MTIA. Greg received his law degree, with a concentration in health law, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Register Now!

Advocacy Summit 2010: Not Too Late To Get Involved

With less than a week until Advocacy Summit 2010, the Dewey Square Group (DSG) is busily working to schedule as many meetings as possible with legislators. Two things to keep in mind–this is an election year with a lot at stake, so it is more likely we will be meeting with actual legislators, not staffers. However, on the flip side, health reform is looming prominently and may not be resolved by the time we are on the Hill, making for some heavy competition. Our messaging will be succinct, clear, and relevant to accelerating EHR adoption and the practical use of capturing and exchanging health information to improve patient safety and clinical care and to reduce costs. We will also be promoting the growth of environmentally friendly, digital, home-based jobs.

On Monday, March 15, AHDI and MTIA submitted an official comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) on the proposed regulations for “meaningful use” and EHR certification. In addition, over 75 AHDI and MTIA members submitted comments. These comments have helped set the stage for the messaging we will take to the Hill, calling for CMS and ONCHIT to explicitly recognize in the regulations that the dictation-transcription process is a viable method of data capture that can be used to achieve “meaningful use.” To read the official AHDI-MTIA comment, click here.

We are excited to announce that DSG has secured a room on Capitol Hill that we will be able to use for a briefing and orientation on the morning of Wednesday, March 24, before meeting with legislators. Members also will have access to the room throughout the entire day.

For anyone interested in attending the AHDI national board of directors meeting, it will take place on Tuesday, March 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Advocacy Summit 2010 host hotel, the Marriott Crystal City in the Potomac Ballroom, Salon F. The meeting room will have open gallery seating for approximately 20 people.

We encourage you to come to Advocacy Summit and to ask your colleagues to do the same, as this is a critical time for defining our value proposition. If you do come, we will be sure that your experience is meaningful and impactful. Click here to learn more about Advocacy Summit. If you have any questions concerning attending Advocacy Summit or anything else, please contact AHDI/MTIA staff member Greg Doggett (gdoggett@ahdionline.org, 859-512-3284).

Join us for an AHDI Town Hall Meeting

Date: March 16, 2010
Presenter: Susan M Lucci, RHIT, CMT, AHDI-F
Time: 3:00 PM PST / 6:00 PM EST
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: March 11, 2010
Cost: FREE
CE Given: N/A

Register now to discuss current events in healthcare, advocacy and board initiatives.

Advocacy Summit 2010 Hotel Sold Out for Evenings of March 23 & 24

The Marriott Crystal City is completely sold out for the evenings of Tuesday, March 23 and Wednesday, March 24, the two primary evenings of Advocacy Summit. For those who didn’t reserve a room in time at the Marriott Crystal City, the Radisson National Airport Hotel is offering all AHDI and MTIA attendees a special group rate of $175 plus tax for single- or double-occupancy rooms for the evenings of March 23 and 24 only. Do not delay—this offer expires Friday, March 5, 2010. Please call 703-920-8600 and mention that you are with the "AHDI" group to book your room today.

Advocacy Summit: Your Voice is Needed

With all that is at stake for the medical transcription sector, it has never been more urgent that members of the industry state the value they bring to patient care delivery to public officials at the 5th Annual AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC.

From March 23 to 25, 2010, medical transcription owners, executives, and healthcare documentation professionals will converge on Capitol Hill to speak with federal legislators about the critical need for "meaningful use" and EHR certification regulations to include the dictation-transcription process and preserve a place for structured narrative reports. The recently proposed regulations represent a major step toward acknowledging the potential for EHRs to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care; however, more must be done to ensure the integrity of patient health information and to convince healthcare delivery that "meaningful use" must be practical for both physicians and patients.

We need you to educate legislators on how the medical transcription sector can partner with care providers to ensure the clinical accuracy, security, and completeness of patient records by serving as an "extra set of eyes" for quality assurance. We also need to powerfully demonstrate how this sector is a fast-track solution to the challenges of EHR adoption. We need legislators to support our campaign by encouraging government agencies to acknowledge the role and value of the dictation-transcription process and structured narrative reports through formal inclusion in legislation and related regulations.

We’ve extended the discount on the AHDI member rate until the event! Register for only $70. If you can only attend the lobby day on Wednesday, March 24, when we will be on Capitol Hill, a single-day registration now is available.

Register for Advocacy Summit 2010

Calling All Members: Submit Your Comments on "Meaningful Use" Today!

The federal government’s proposed regulations for "meaningful use" and EHR certification do not explicitly recognize the value of the dictation-transcription process for documenting healthcare encounters or the importance of patient narratives for clinical decision-making. Given these concerning omissions, we need as many AHDI and MTIA members as possible to submit comments asking the federal government to acknowledge the medical transcription sector as a vital contributor to quality of care, patient safety, and successful EHR adoption. Click here for instructions on how to support this important advocacy effort. (Note that this request is in addition to our letter writing campaign for Advocacy Summit already underway, so if at all possible, please help with both efforts.)

In Case You Missed It: Recording of Webinar on “Meaningful Use” Now Available

Last Thursday, over 60 AHDI and MTIA members joined a webinar presented by AHDI/MTIA CEO Peter Preziosi and Scott Shalett of the Dewey Square Group on the federal government’s proposed regulations for “meaningful use” and EHR certification, the regulations’ potential impact on the medical transcription sector, and the efforts being undertaken by our associations to position the sector for success in the rapidly changing health IT landscape, including the upcoming Advocacy Summit from March 23 to 25 in Washington, DC. If you missed this webinar, click here to listen to a recording. If you are interested in learning more about the Advocacy Summit or attending this important event, click here for more information, including details on registration and accommodations.