Credentialing Cup: Grab Your Buddies and Get Credentialed!

AHDI is proud to announce the 2015 Credentialing Cup. Get 4 or more people together and register for any of the credentialing exams (RHDS, CHDS, or CQE) and you can participate! Teams of 4 or more who study together and apply to take the exams together qualify for waived eligibility fees, Practice Exam discounts, complimentary lapel pins for all who successfully pass the exam.

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.

Free Exam Eligibility & Virtual Support Group

If you’re not one of the 2,301 HDSs who are already credentialed, now is the perfect time to make your New Years’ Resolution to join this elite group. We’ve made it easy for you to get started:

1. Make your pledge to become credentialed. Complete the online form.
2. After you make your pledge, we’ll add you to a virtual support group connecting you with fellow HDSs who have set the same goal as you. Instructions will be emailed to you.
3. Read the Credentialing Candidate Guide (free .pdf download).
4. Apply for exam eligibility. The $10 fee is waived this month for all AHDI members.
5. Once approved, you will receive an “Authorization-to-test” email, which is valid for 180 days from the date of processing. This will give you a 180 day window to complete your studying, take a practice exam, and sit for your credentialing exam.

Below is additional information on AHDI’s credentials to help get your started.

Which credential is right for you?	RHDS	CHDS
Recent graduates	•
HDSs/MTs with less than 2 years’ acute care experience	•
HDSs/MTs working in single-specialty environments	•
HDSs/MTs with 2+ years’ experience in acute care or multi-specialty*	•	•
RHDS with 2+ years’ experience in acute care or multi-specialty		•

*The RHDS is a pre-requisite for the CHDS. The Credential Qualifying Exam (CQE) gives you the opportunity to sit for both sit for both Level 1 (RHDS) and Level 2 (CHDS) content in a single session.

Everything you need to prep for the exams:

Credentialing Candidate Guide (free download)
Your go-to resource for everything you need to know about the RHDS and CHDS exams. It provides the blueprints for each credential, your options for taking an online proctored exam or at a testing center, and the recredentialing process to maintain your certification.

Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist About the RHDS Prepping for the Exam
Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist About the CHDS Prepping for the Exam

Psssttt...Rumor has it that a fun and rewarding credentialing challenge will begin in February! Stay tuned to AHDI's website and publications for more details soon!

Online Proctored Credentialing Exam Update

AHDI's testing partner Kryterion, who administers AHDI credentialing exams, will undergo an update to their system soon. This will allow test takers the ability to use Windows 8 or a Mac computer to take their exam, which currently are incompatible. During this transition, from approximately November 13 through November 30, test takers will not be able to schedule or take an Online Proctored (OLP) exam. AHDI test takers will be able to schedule and take OLP Exams through November 12, 2014. AHDI test takers can continue to schedule and take Onsite exams and can purchase and take practice exams.

The only exams impacted during this time will be the RHDS/CHDS OLP exams.

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

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:

• Prepare you for new healthcare documentation positions in the EHR.
• Validate your breadth of knowledge and skills to employers, which may give you access to preferential hiring/employment practices.
• Demonstrate that you are trained and certified in HIPAA compliance.
• Send the message to healthcare delivery that healthcare documentation specialists are an allied health profession with an accountable scope of practice.
• Demonstrate you take initiative and go above the minimum requirements.
• Distinguish you from those without a credential.
• Raise employer's confidence in you when introducing new technologies or services.
• Keep you marketable in the event of cutbacks or mergers.
• Get your foot in the door as a new graduate.

Ready to pursue credentialing? Get started here: Types of Credentials and Exam Preparation

A Walk Through the Blue Prints

Take the mystery out of the credentialing exam with AHDI's Exam Guides for both the RHDS and CHDS exams. Both of these publications provide a detailed orientation to the exam blue print to jump start your path to becoming certified.

The CMT Exam Guide (CHDS-Ready) includes the following:

• Statement of Objective from the CHDS Blue Print
• Recommendations for Focused Study
• CHDS Blue Print Checklist
• "BONUS" EHR Glossary
• Sample Questions for Each Objective
• Complete Start-to-Finish CHDS Practice Test (CHDS Ready)

The RMT Exam Guide (RHDS-Ready) includes a 91-question multiple-choice practice test to assist candidates with self-assessment and domain analysis. The Appendix houses a blue print check list and other resources.

The Exam Guides are $35 each for eligible members, with a list price of $50. A companion Audio Objectives CD are also available.

RMT Exam Guide (RHDS-Ready)
RMT Audio Objectives (RHDS-Ready)
CMT Exam Guide (CHDS-Ready)
CMT Audio Objectives (CHDS-Ready)

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.

Credentialing Development Team (CDT) 2013 - Share Your Expertise

Are you passionate about the need for a credentialed workforce? Do you possess the subject matter expertise and experience to support AHDI's goals for credentialing? The AHDI credentialing development team (CDT) is looking for strong CMT leadership to oversee programmatic policies and decisions related to AHDI's credentialing and recredentialing programs. The program will need engaged leaders who strongly support the association's goals for promoting a mandatory credential and moving our workforce to a fully credentialed status. As a CDT member, you will be asked to participate in policy decisions and program discussions, provide review and feedback on credit-worthy resources and programs, and contribute to the dialogue on the value of credentialing through association publications and events. If you have a strong interest in this role, hold a current CMT credential, and can commit to a 2-year term on the committee, please contact Tina Wilson at twilson@ahdionline.org.

Did You Know?

All membership categories receive a discount for taking the credentialing exam. If you are not credentialed this is the best time to take the first step and register for an eligibility ID.

June Deal of the Month

Schedule Your Exam and Get Individual Professional Membership for only $99!

We want to reward you for taking the next step and scheduling your exam, with one of our best deals ever! That's right, schedule your exam through Kryterion in June and we will email you a coupon, good from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, permitting new Individual Professional membership or Individual Professional membership renewal for only $99.

Exam must be scheduled by June 30, 2012, to be eligible. Coupon is not good prior to July 1, 2012, and expires on July 31, 2013. Membership offer is not available prior to signing up for the exam. $99 membership offer void if exam is cancelled.

Let Us Help You Succeed!

Persist, persevere, and apply patience to your goals!

Summer is just around the bend, so it's time to reassess your credentialing goals and earn your credential! Visit www.ahdionline.org/succeed and learn how to identify the next steps on your journey and how to carry them out through the three P's—persistence, perseverance, and patience.

Did You Know?

All membership categories receive a discount for taking the credentialing exam. If you are not credentialed this is the best time to take the first step and register for an eligibility ID.

Renaming the Credential Survey

The AHDI Credentialing Development Team (CDT) is the governing body responsible for policy development and oversight of all AHDI credentialing programs. The CDT operates independently of the National Leadership Board.

In response to the recent rebranding of the medical transcription practitioner to Healthcare Documentation Specialist (HDS), the CDT is exploring new names for the credentials Certified Medical Transcriptionist and Registered Medical Transcriptionist. We are seeking your input on the renaming of the credential.

Jay Vance recently wrote, "One of the driving motivations behind AHDI's move to "rebrand" medical transcriptionists as Healthcare Documentation Specialists is the critical need to remind the broader medical field that our practitioners are indeed an important part of the overall healthcare documentation process." To this end, it is important that our credential names indicate the level of expertise reflected in the attainment of each credential, and in a broader sense, convey the specialized knowledge and expertise required for the accurate capture of each patient's Health Story. In addition, the credential names should encompass traditional and emerging roles, including transcriptionists, quality assurance specialists, speech recognition editors, team leaders, analysts, encoders, abstractors, trainers, and educators.

When evaluating your responses, please consider the following descriptions:

• The RMT exam is designed to assess competency in medical transcription by determining if a candidate has the core knowledge and skills needed to practice medical transcription effectively in today's healthcare environment.
• The CMT exam is designed to assess competency in medical transcription by determining if a candidate has the core knowledge and skills needed to practice medical transcription effectively in a multispecialty acute-care facility, where variable specialties, document types, and difficulty of dictation necessitate an advanced level of clinical knowledge and interpretive ability.

You may also want to refer to AHDI's Model Job Descriptions.

Take the survey now. Survey will be open April 17 through May 1.

AHDI Recredentialing Resource Guide Updated

CMTs, are you looking for new continuing education opportunities? Check out our recently updated Recredentialing Resource Guide, as many new preapproved sources have been added.

Credentialing Exam Practice Test Survey

AHDI's Credentialing Development Team would like to explore the possibility of developing CMT and RMT practice tests. These tests would be offered online and would be based on the CMT and RMT exam blue prints. Click here to take this short survey.

AHDI Publications CE Quizzes

CMTs, just a reminder that continuing education quizzes can be found on the AHDI website under Member Center / My Benefits / Online CECs.

Members must be logged in first to view the Online CECs tab and archives of Plexus and Matrix, found under Member Center / My Benefits / Publications.

Unique RMT & CMT Logo Items!

Check out the wide array of unique and personal RMT and CMT-themed logo items in the AHDI Marketplace! The Marketplace is AHDI's one-stop shop for fun ways to recognize and celebrate being credentialed. You'll find everything from porcelain mugs and shopping bags to pajamas and T-shirts! These also make excellent gifts for your credentialed coworkers, employees, and friends. Visit the Marketplace today!

Credentialing Practice Test Now Available!

For those seeking to become credentialed as a Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) or Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT), AHDI has launched a credentialing practice test to help candidates become familiar with the testing process. This 15-question practice test is designed to give you an opportunity to acclimate to the Kryterion Websentinel testing platform and the user interface you will be using when you take your full exam. We encourage you to take your time, become familiar with the audio player and the functions for increasing http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifvolume and rewinding the audio file, and filling in the blanks on transcription and SRT editing questions. This practice test provides a mix of level 1 and level 2 content questions and is not designed to be diagnostic of potential exam performance nor should it be used to evaluate exam readiness with content or exam objectives. This test will not be scored, but you will receive feedback at the end as to your correct and incorrect answers. You will have 45 minutes to complete this 15-question practice test. There is a $12 fee to take the practice test.

For more information about credentialing, click here.

NOTE: Prior to taking the practice test, candidates must first apply for exam eligibility and pay the eligibility fee.

Over 30 CECs for Less Than $9 Each!

How is this possible, you wonder? By purchasing the ACE 2011 DVD, available soon. Watch any of the ACE 2011 credit-worthy educational sessions featured on the DVD and write a 300-word summary on each session you wish to earn credit for. Add those CECs to your Summary Form and you're set. If you get audited, attach the corresponding summaries you'd written as proof of credit earned. It's that easy.

Session Highlights:

Shed or You're Dead: How to Stay Alive and Thrive in the Midst of Healthcare Change – Kathy Dempsy, RN, MED, CSP (1.5 PD)

Ethical Considerations in Health Information and Transcription – April Martin, CMT, AHDI-F (1 ML)

New Research Milestones and Treatments of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – David Saperstein, MD (1 CM)

Speech Recognition and Medical Transcription Throw Away Everything You Thought You Knew – Lynn Kosegi, PMP (1 TW)

What Every MT Should Know About Privacy and Security Rules and Regulations – Barbara Perrett, RHIA, CCS, CHP, CHC (1 ML)

Post-production editing is in progress, and we anticipate the availability of this DVD by the end of September. Stay tuned to AHDI communications for further information!

Survey for RMTs

For those who currently hold the RMT credential, are you thinking about taking the CMT exam? Please answer this two-question survey to let us know where you stand.

Two-question survey