Health Story Project: Exchange Basic Records & Meet Early Meaningful Use Requirements

Please join the Health Story Project for a special webinar presentation Wednesday, December 1, 2010; 10:00-11:00 AM Eastern.

Over a billion clinical notes are created by physicians in the U.S. each year. With standards, the output can easily integrate with EMRs/HIEs and provide a glide path to interoperability. The Health Story Project is an industry collaboration working to accelerate the development and adoption of standards for electronic clinical documents using HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) and Continuity of Care Document (CCD) templates. Learn how use of these standards support ARRA requirements for meaningful use for exchanging basic records - even prior to EMR system adoption. And, discover the benefits of the Health Story approach, including minimal disruption to workflow, physician acceptance, leveraging current technology investments and offering easy access to the right information. Can your system support this strategy? Learn how to get started.

Presenters include Bob Dolin, MD, Chair, HL7 International and Principal, Semantically Yours, LLC and Liora Alschuler, Health Story Executive Committee Member and Principal, Alschuler Associates, LLC.

Register Now

Please let us know if you are interested in an update yet unable to make the webinar.

Brought to you by:
Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI)
Clinical Documentation Industry Association (CDIA)
The Health Story Project
HL7 International

On behalf of the Health Story Project
Integrating Narrative Notes and the EHR
www.healthstory.com

Credentialing Qualifying Exam - Eligibility Coming Soon!

As AHDI completes the final phases of beta testing for the Credentialing Qualifying Exam (CQE), consider a New Year’s resolution to finally earn a professional credential. AHDI hopes to open eligibilities by the end of this year. The new Credential Qualifying Exam will offer candidates the ability to test for both the RMT and CMT exam in a single exam session. As of January 2011, the RMT will become a required prerequisite for the CMT credential, and candidates seeking access to the CMT will be required to either pass the RMT and come back later for the CMT or sit for the combined Level 1/Level 2 CQE. The CQE is not designed for new MTs and industry graduates or anyone else who has not had a minimum of 2 years’ acute-care experience necessary to access the level 2 CMT content. RMTs can opt for the CMT exam alone. If you have your RMT credential already, you would take only the CMT exam. Stay connected to AHDI to receive the latest updates on exam launch and when candidates can seek eligibility for January exams—anticipated in mid-December.

Advocacy Summit 2011 Details Released

Registration for Advocacy Summit 2011, May 3-4, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, is now underway! Attendees will speak with key legislative officials and staff about the medical transcription industry’s critical role in healthcare delivery. With assistance from 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
• AHDI/MTIA staff assistance every step of the way

Additional events are scheduled at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center.

Download Registration Form
Register Online

Why We Advocate

• To further relationships with key/influential members of Congress and the Administration
• To create a stronger and more meaningful coalition of allies with allied health and IT organizations, patient and consumer advocacy groups
• To enhance career development and workforce support
• To be involved in possible future rules/regulations around safety, credentialing, and management of data about which workers should be qualified to have access in alignment with more stringent HIPAA requirements

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 between now and December 31, 2010. In early 2011, we’ll be presenting this letter to all the appropriate legislators. 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.

The Hotel
Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center
3800 Reservoir Rd NW
Washington, DC 20057
Phone: 202-687-3200

The Georgetown University Hotel and Conference center is nestled among the buildings of the university campus in one of the most historic Washington, DC, neighborhoods. Complimentary transportation to two nearby metros—Dupont Circle and Rosslyn—are available along with abundant shopping and restaurants right around the corner in the heart of Georgetown. Single- and double-occupancy rooms for AHDI/MTIA Advocacy Summit attendees are $189 per night.

Online reservations
Reserve by Phone: 1-888-324-2111 (mention you are with AHDI/MTIA)

Room-Sharing Program
Advocacy Summit attendees interested in sharing hotel room costs at Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center may contact Miranda Youkhaneh at myoukhaneh@ahdionline.org or 800.982.2182 for roommate pairing.

For more details and updated information, visit Advocacy Summit 2011 at www.ahdionline.org/advocacy2011.

Best Practices Guide for Quality Assessment

AHDI and AHIMA, along with contributions from CDIA (formerly MTIA), have collaborated to produce Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Practices, a resource for establishing a comprehensive transcription quality assessment program for healthcare organizations. Accuracy in the capture process will be critical to making sure high-integrity information is consumed and repurposed in the EHR.

In this For The Record exclusive, Dale Kivi states the guide "includes recommendations for assessment policies and procedures for concurrent review, retrospective review, flagged documents, feedback, and author assessments" and can be applied to both paper-based and EHR-based quality programs.