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.

Upcoming Online Webinars

In today's world of rapid change, it's necessary to be proactive to keep your skills and knowledge current. AHDI can help! Offering online continuing education presentations from the comfort of your home or onsite office, it couldn't be easier or more convenient. See all available webinars here. View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

November 6
Healthcare Documentation Today: Challenges and Opportunities for AHDI and Its Professionals (or, What Would Buddy Do?)
Presenter: Susan Dooley, MHA, CMT, AHDI-F
Time: 3 PM PDT/6 PM EDT
CE Credit: 1 ML

November 14
How MS-Word-Savvy Are You? Advanced Tools and Techniques of Microsoft Word
Presenters: Jacky Tsui and Carolyn McEwen, with Amber Jess
Time: 11 AM PDT/2 PM EDT
CE Credit: 1 MTT or 1 TW

July/August Plexus Available Online

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 professionals theme, The Paradigm Shift of Healthcare Documentation. 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).

AHDI District Directors and Community Connections

The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and sometimes it's hard to know where to turn for information or answers to questions. AHDI's District Directors are available to help! Listed below are links to each District's blog and Facebook pages. Not sure what district you’re in? Click the District Map to find out.

District 1: AHDI Lounge • Facebook
District 2: AHDI Lounge • Facebook
District 3: AHDI Lounge • Facebook
District 4: AHDI Lounge • Facebook
District 5: AHDI Lounge • Facebook
District 6: AHDI Lounge • Facebook

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

AHDI Model Job Descriptions for Emerging Roles in Healthcare Documentation (live webinar)

June 11, 2014, 11:00 a.m. Pacific (2:00 p.m. Eastern)
Speakers: Melissa Harper; Sheila Guston, CHDS, AHDI-F; Lisa Woodley, RHIT, CHDS, AHDI-F
CEC: 1 PD

This webinar will provide an in-depth look at some of the emerging roles for healthcare documentation specialists today. We'll review the AHDI Model Job Descriptions for positions such as EHR documentation trainer, health record integrity auditor, and EHR technician/HIM analyst. Learn what skill set is required for each and what, if any, additional training or education is required to be successful in these roles.

Click for information and to register online. If you cannot attend the live webinar, you may register to receive the recording following the event.

Coming Soon:

• QA for Clinician-Created Healthcare Documentation (1 MTT) – September 24

Upcoming Events

See all available webinars on the AHDI website at www.ahdionline.org. View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

AHDI Events Calendar

May 7
Shorthand Advanced for Windows (Version 10)
Presenter: Amy Potter
Time: 2 PM PT/5 PM ET
CE Credit: 1 MTT or 1 TW

May 29
Offshoring Transcription: The Pros & Cons to Utilizing Global Labor Resources
Presenter: Shaw A. Rietkerk
Time: 12 PM PT/3 PM ET
CE Credit: 1 PD

June 11
AHDI Model Job Descriptions for Emerging Roles in Healthcare Documentation
Presenters: Melissa Harper; Sheila Guston, CHDS, AHDI-F; Lisa Woodley, RHIT, CHDS, AHDI-F
Time: 11 AM PT/2 PM ET
CE Credit: 1 PD

From the Library: Keyboarding Techniques for Fast and Efficient SRT Editing

This presentation will cover keyboard shortcuts in MS Word and Word-based speech recognition editing platforms. Learn little-known keystrokes and techniques that will make editing effortless and efficient, including tips on creating editing macros and remapping shortcut keys that will supercharge your keyboard. Increase productivity, efficiency, and your income with these fun, clever approaches to editing.

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

10 Roles for Healthcare Documentation Specialists

AHDI has published a flyer featuring 10 roles that healthcare documentation specialists are qualified to perform in the EHR. The flyer includes a section presenting the value proposition of the workforce and briefly summarizes the Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS) body of knowledge to give employers a quick snapshot of the breadth of knowledge a CHDS brings to the table.

AHDI began circulating this material at HIMSS14 and we will continue to reach out to employers to share it. We encourage you to download the flyer to use as a tool to position yourself and your talent in the ever-changing healthcare marketplace and circulate it to your professional network.

Related Resources:

• Mastering the EHR (hands-on practice on an ONC-certified EHR)
• Why Get Certified?
• 5 Instant Benefits of Credentialing

"Bring It On—MTs Welcome Documentation Roles"

The latest issue of For The Record features an article written by AHDI President Jill Devrick called "Bring It On--MTs Welcome New Documentation Roles." The article features medical transcriptionists who share their experience in transitioning to new documentation roles. Provider organizations are realizing that MTs are a natural fit for EHR documentation roles and that MTs play a significant role in finding and addressing documentation issues that can impact patient safety and compliance.

Devrick notes, "HDSs who have confronted the uncertainty of moving outside of their comfort zones overwhelmingly are positive about their experiences." Read the full article here.

Conference Early Bird Registration Deadline is April 30

At AHDI’s Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference, July 23-26, you will find engaging, credit-worthy continuing education that is content-rich and focused on current issues facing the profession today. Register by April 30 to save $50!

Think of attending AHDI's Conference as your own mini sabbatical—carving out me time to nurture your mind, explore what's changed, and learn what lies ahead. A place where great minds think alike, uniting you with fellow healthcare documentation specialists who share your commitment to excellence in documenting patient care.

Be inspired with excellent keynote presentations by:

Opening Keynote
Ronald M. Wyatt, MD, MHA
Director, Division of Healthcare Improvement
The Joint Commission

Closing Keynote
Zubin Damania, MD (AKA ZDoggMD)
Director of Healthcare Development
Downtown Project Las Vegas

Choose from more than 30 sessions developed with you in mind, including:

• Conan the Grammarian (1 PD)
• Your "Hitchhiker's Guide" to Medicine's "Tower of Babel" (1 TW)
• Standing and Active Workstations: Novelty or Disruptive Technology? (1 CoM)
• How HDSs' Role Can Stay Relevant in the EMR (1 PD)
• Robotic Surgery in Gynecology (1 CM)
• Strengths Finders Workshop (1 PD)
• HDS to Scribe: Using Your Skills to Keep Doing What You Love! (1 PD)
• Shoring Up the Printer/Copier HIPAA Hazard (1 ML)
• Updates and Audits in Maternal Fetal Medicine (1 CM)

Download the full Conference brochure

Don't delay in registering for AHDI's 2014 Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference. Complete information is posted online, www.ahdionline.org/ACE. Early bird registration ends April 30!

ICD-10—A True Future Roles Opportunity (live webinar)

April 9, 2014, 2:00 p.m. Pacific (5:00 p.m. Eastern)
Speaker: Ava Marie George, MBA, CHDS, AHDI-F
CEC: 1 PD

This presentation will give a historical view of the ICD evolution, the unexpected career lattice opportunity, and the need to be ready for our collective futures in HIM. Solutions to the question of where our profession fits into the process will be discussed; as well, pathways through experience and education will be outlined. An example using Loyola University Health System will be highlighted.

Ava Marie George has worked in the health information management, documentation, and medical transcription sectors since 1993. Ava owned and operated a small MTSO and consulting firm before working as an MT in an acute care level 1 trauma center and teaching hospital in Lansing, Michigan. She subsequently worked as a transcription supervisor for two years before leaving to serve primarily as a professor at Davenport University in Lansing, Michigan, from 2005 to 2013. Ava has served as a medical documentation consultant, working with physicians who need assistance with documentation that will withstand ICD 10 challenges. Ava currently works for Loyola University Health System as ICD-10 Coordinator/Project Manager.

Click for information and to register online. If you cannot attend the live webinar, you may register to receive the recording following the event.

More Upcoming Live Webinars:

• Offshoring Transcription: The Pros & Cons to Utilizing Global Labor Resources – April 22
• Shorthand Advanced for Windows (Version 10) - May 7 or
• AHDI Model Job Descriptions for Emerging Roles in Healthcare Documentation - June 11

10 Roles for Healthcare Documentation Specialists

AHDI has published a flyer featuring 10 roles that healthcare documentation specialists are qualified to perform in the EHR. The flyer includes a section presenting the value proposition of the workforce and briefly summarizes the Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS) body of knowledge to give employers a quick snapshot of the breadth of knowledge a CHDS brings to the table.

AHDI began circulating this material at HIMSS14, and we will continue to reach out to employers to share it. We encourage you to download the flyer to use as a tool to position yourself and your talent in the ever-changing healthcare marketplace and circulate it to your professional network.

Related Article: Don't miss "Bring It On - MTs Welcome New Documentation Roles," by AHDI President Jill Devrick in the latest issue of For The Record. The article features medical transcriptionists who share their experience in transitioning to new documentation roles.

"Social Documentation" for Healthcare

In a recent blog post by John Halamka, MD, Chief Information Officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, he suggests a new concept to better gather and use data within an EHR while reducing the redundancy and repetition of patient information and clinicians’ burden of inputting such data. Dr. Halamka calls this concept “social documentation,” which he defines as “team authored care plans, annotated event descriptions, and process documentation sufficient to support care coordination, compliance/regulatory requirements, and billing.” Read the core principles of this concept at the Life as a Healthcare CIO blog.

Event Calendar

In the coming months, there are numerous educational courses, online webinars, and onsite events scheduled. Check out these exciting activities and sign up today!

Mar. 1

Mastering the EHR Course (1 ML and 9 TW)

Mar. 1

RHDS Study Group Course

Mar. 1

CHDS Study Group Course

Mar. 1

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

Mar. 1

RHDS Recredentialing Course

Mar. 5

Get a "Clue"—You are Dr. Watson (1 MTT)

Mar. 18

QA for Provider-Created Documentation in the EHR (1 MTT)

Apr. 9

ICD-10—A True Future Roles Opportunity (1 PD)

Jul. 23-26, 2014

Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference, Las Vegas

View the AHDI Events Calendar to learn about AHDI component events and other industry-related events.

Upcoming Live Webinars

AHDI offers a variety of continuing education opportunities. See upcoming webinars highlighted below or visit the AHDI website for a complete list of scheduled webinars.

• Get a "Clue"—You are Dr. Watson – March 5
• QA for Provider-Created Documentation in the EHR – March 18
• ICD-10—A True Future Roles Opportunity – April 9

View all upcoming webinars.

Occupational Outlook Handbook Updated

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has announced the release of the 2014-2015 Occupational Outlook Handbook, providing career information and employment projections. The listing for medical transcription has been updated, and much of the feedback contributed by AHDI has been incorporated.

Read the full news release.
Read the updated MT summary.

2014 Conference: January Super Early-Bird Special

Healthcare Documentation Integrity Conference
July 23-26, 2014
The M Resort ♦ Las Vegas, NV

Unleash your passion for capturing America's healthcare stories.
Feed your desire to learn.
Ignite your confidence. Chase your dreams.

Think of attending AHDI’s Conference as your own mini sabbatical—carving out "me" time to nurture your mind, explore what’s changed, and learn what lies ahead. A place where great minds think alike, uniting you with fellow healthcare documentation specialists who share your commitment to excellence in documenting patient care.

7 Reasons to Attend

1. Learn about trends in healthcare documentation to augment your career planning.
2. Meet with recruiters about employment opportunities and gain insight into the changing dynamics of the job market.

3. Boost your job performance by strengthening your knowledge across the clinical medicine specialties.
4. Engage in discussions on important issues affecting MTs and formulate solutions by brainstorming with fellow attendees.
5. Visit with exhibitors to see the latest tools, technology, and services to improve your efficiency, grow your business, and spark your creativity.
6. Celebrate the profession and make new friends at social events during the conference.
7. Continue your commitment to lifelong learning and earn continuing education credits to support your certification.

Visit the website to see the schedule at a glance, current list of sponsors and exhibitors, and to download the justification kit.

Register by January 31 to save more than 20% off the regular registration rate.

E-book on Compliance and Business Best Practices in Healthcare Documentation

The Compliance & Operations Best Practices in Healthcare Documentation Organizations: The EBP Manual is now available as an e-book at a new, affordable price of $400 for AHDI eligible members. For a limited time, when you purchase this e-book with online access, you’ll receive a free organizer (binder & tabs) to print a copy for your library!

Compliance and best practices in business operations are priorities for business owners, independent contractors, HIM directors, and all of those who seek services from medical transcription organizations. This comprehensive e-manual will guide you through many of these complex issues and give you downloadable policies and procedures that you can customize for your own business needs (they are Word documents). AHDI and CDIA have worked with expert legal counsel to develop this skillfully written material to save your valuable time and money.

After purchasing the e-manual, the electronic files will be accessible through the "Member Center" and clicking to "My Account" in approximately one hour. Past purchasers of the printed EBP Manual received a complimentary copy of the ebook. Log onto the AHDI website to access it through your account.

Read more about the e-manual and buy your copy today!

AHDI and MTIA Commit to High-Integrity Best Practices for the Transcription Industry: Release Compliance and Transparency Manual

WASHINGTON, DC, January 7, 2010 — Heightened privacy and security concerns, increased calls for transparency of operations, and a growing home-based workforce have prompted The Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and The Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) to create their Manual of Ethical Best Practices for the Healthcare Documentation Sector. The manual will help healthcare documentation/medical transcription businesses and professionals to adopt policies and procedures for complying with HIPAA privacy and security laws and operating in a manner consistent with ethical best practices related to transcription billing, compensation, and outsourcing. The manual is part of the associations’ ongoing commitment to safeguarding protected health information and upholding the integrity of the profession and industry. Click here to read full release.