Upcoming AHDI Webinars

June 8
Ensuring Compliance in the Medical Documentation Industry
Presenter: Scott Edelstein
Time: 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT
Registration Close:June 7
CEC Given:1 ML

June 14
MT Intelligence: The Value of MTs in HIT Implementation
Presenter: Gary David, PhD
Time: 10 AM PDT/1 PM EDT
Registration Close: June 13
CEC Given: 1 TW

June 22
CMT and RMT: Steps to Credentialing
Presenter: Lea Sims
Time:1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT
Registration Close: June 21
CEC Given: n/a

July 6
Book of Style Boot Camp Series, Part 3: Specialty Standards & Technology
Presenter: Lea Sims
Time: 10 AM PDT/1 PM EDT
Registration Close: July 5
CEC Given: n/a

Attention, MTs! Why You Need to be at the CDIA MT Workshop

MT Workshop
CDIA 2011 Annual Conference
Saturday, April 16, 2011

AHDI presents a morning of educational sessions following the CDIA annual conference at the Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. This special event has been developed by the Carolinas Association with the aim of providing three credit-worthy, hard-hitting educational sessions at a reasonable price.

Registration Options MT Package #1 includes only the Saturday morning educational sessions featured below. MT Package #2 includes the Saturday morning educational sessions below and the closing reception of the CDIA conference scheduled for Friday evening, April 15, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. Whether you are only interested in the educational sessions or would like to maximize an ideal networking opportunity and attend the Friday evening reception as well, both opportunities are available at a superb price.
Don’t delay—registration prices go up after March 31, 2011. Download the MT Workshop Registration Form.

---

The Impact of Documentation Specificity for ICD-10-CM and PCS
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Lee Ford, MHA, RHIT, CHC

This presentation will provide an overview of the documentation changes and challenges all providers will experience as ICD-10-CM/PCS is implemented and put into use. In addition to explanation, direct examples will be provided for the increased requirements of providing specific clinical information to support the selection of the appropriate ICD-10 codes & the direct impact to clinical documentation, coding, reimbursement, quality, and compliance. Lee Ford, MHA, RHIT, CHC, has over 17 years of business consulting experience working with hospital, physician, ambulatory care, home health, long-term, and skilled nursing care organizations. *This session is approved for 1 Medicolegal or 1 Professional Development CEC

---

Understanding Revenue Cycle
10:15 – 11:15 a.m.
Lisa Walter, RHIA

"Meaningful Use" has become one of the hottest phrases in the healthcare industry over the last year, but the conversations using the term tend to speak in vague (and often negative) generalities. This presentation will provide an overview of the HITECH EHR Meaningful Use programs introduced under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). At the close of the session, participants will have a greater understanding of the terms, programs, and requirements of the Meaningful Use programs, as well as insight into proposed future plans for Meaningful Use program compliance. Questions/discussion will be welcome during and after the session. Elizabeth Stewart, RHIA, CCS, CRCA, CPMB, serves as the executive director of the South Carolina Health Information Management Association (SCHIMA), clinical coordinator and adjunct faculty for the HIM and medical coding programs at Midlands Technical College, and as an independent healthcare consultant. *This session is approved for 1 Medicolegal CEC

---

Making the Big Changes We Need: An Overview of Meaningful Use
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Elizabeth Stewart, RHIA, CCS, CRCA, CPMB

This session will provide an overview of the hospital revenue cycle and the importance of HIM in mid-revenue cycle services. You will learn revenue cycle terminology, understand the workflow, and learn the functions of each department impacting the overall success. We will discuss the impact of HIM on the revenue cycle, best practices for success, and key performance indicators for monitoring metrics. Lisa Walter has 30 years’ professional experience in the healthcare revenue cycle and health information management (HIM) field. She currently serves as the vice president of HIM services at Conifer Health Solutions. *This session is approved for 1 Professional Development CEC

---

For more information about hotel reservations or the CDIA 2011 conference, visit the CDIA 2011 conference page.

*CMTs and other credentialed professionals seeking credit for CDIA conference sessions should check in at the registration desk for a CE form.

Representatives from Verizon Medical Data Exchange Join the Direct Project Implementation Group

The Verizon Medical Data Exchange, formed initially with the Clinical Documentation Industry Association (formerly MTIA), has joined the Office of the National Coordinator’s Direct Project Implementation Group. The Direct Project brings together multiple stakeholder groups, including providers, technology vendors, and the standards community, to create a set of standards and services that enable simple, directed, routed scalable transport over the Internet to be used for meaningful exchange between participants in support of meaningful use. Learn more about this initiative by going to their website www.directproject.org. The Direct Project is another opportunity that will continue keeping the clinical documentation sector involved on the Federal roadmap for health information exchange. Click http://mtia.com/mdevideo.cfm for more information on the Medical Data Exchange or contact mdex@icsalabs.com to learn how your business can join the Exchange.

AHDI/MTIA File Response to HHS on Proposed Privacy Rules

As part of the process of rule making for the new HIPAA provisions under the HITECH Act of 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights published a draft and explanation of proposed rules in July 2010, soliciting public comment on these rules. In response, AHDI and MTIA filed formal comments, expressing support for some aspects of the rules and requesting clarification on others. These and all public comments can be found at www.regulations.gov (search HIPAA). AHIMA also submitted a formal response addressing the rule, which can be read here.

After noting their long-term commitment to the safety and reliability of healthcare documents, AHDI and MTIA commented specifically regarding the definition of "subcontractors," offering "our strong support for bringing clarity to the definition of ’subcontractor’…" and requesting "additional guidance with respect to the defined term subcontractor, as well as the scope of review a business associate must undertake in order to ensure that a subcontractor… continues to comply with HIPAA and the HITECH Act." The associations requested the Secretary of HHS offer a few more examples of the subcontractor relationship within the healthcare industry in order to further clarify the nature of those relationships. Finally, the associations pointed out that for our members, some issues of concern relate to "holding accountable offshore subcontractors and home-based independent contractors working for multiple business associates." Read the full statement at the AHDI and MTIA websites.

Thank you to the following content experts for their contributions:
Holly Woemmel, Outsourcing Solutions, Inc.
Susan Lucci, Webmedx
Kristin Hagen, TRSi
Helle Richards, MedQuist, Inc.
Russ Adkins, Spheris
Debbie Bright-Chunn, Bright Consulting

An Unprecedented Month of Standards

Developing standards and best practices is a critical objective for any professional association. Beyond advocacy and representation, an industry looks to associations for guidance on a wide array of professional issues. Within the last 30 days, AHDI and MTIA (in collaboration and/or coordination with AHIMA) have published an impressive compendium of professional standards and best practices guides to assist this sector in planning, executing, and managing critical programs around the delivery of healthcare documentation services. Medical transcriptionists, editors, quality assurance coordinators, managers/supervisors, and transcription service organizations should look to these resources when adopting best practices in these areas:

• EBP: Resource Guide for Healthcare Documentation Specialists: This companion guide to the Ethical Best Practices Manual was released this month to provide guidance in HIPAA/regulatory compliance, ethical practices in employment and compensation, and provision of services specifically for the working transcriptionist/editor. This resource manual was a quick sell out at the AHDI annual convention in Austin, so get your copy today!


• Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Practices: The culmination of over 3 years’ collaborative effort between AHDI, MTIA and AHIMA, this quality assurance best practices guide has finally been released to guide the healthcare documentation sector as well as healthcare facilities in the establishment and oversight of quality assurance programs that meet the evolving needs of health information management.


• Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit: Developed by AHDI and endorsed by AHIMA, this completely updated tool kit provides resources and training materials for healthcare organizations, transcription service providers, and SRT vendors to use in training healthcare providers toward quality dictation practices and SRT readiness.

Associations Promote Start-to-Finish Quality Standards

On the heels of the recently announced final rules for meaningful use of EHR systems, implementable standards for improving the quality of the healthcare documentation process have been released this week by AHDI in collaboration with AHIMA. The two associations are sending a message to the sector that accuracy in the capture process will be critical to making sure high-integrity information is consumed and repurposed in the EHR. Leaders from both associations, as well as contributors from MTIA, collaborated to produce Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Practices, a resource for establishing a comprehensive transcription QA program for healthcare organizations. In addition, the association will be releasing the newly revised Dictation Best Practices Tool Kit, designed to assist healthcare facilities in improving dictation practices, thereby addressing quality from the document creation point to ensure quality reporting outcomes. The tool kit has been reviewed and endorsed by AHIMA and is being distributed through both association websites. AHDI promoted these new standards this week at its 32nd Annual Convention and Expo, August 4-7, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Read the full press release here.

AHDI and MTIA Submit Comments for Ways and Means Committee Hearing

On Tuesday the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on provisions within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for implementation of health information technology. AHDI and MTIA submitted comments and questions (“Efforts to Promote the Adoption and Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology") that reflect the necessity for health IT adoption to preserve narrative documentation of patient encounters and the human intelligence factor while maintaining secure, accurate, and efficient measures for capturing health information.

Meaningful Use Rules Rolled Out by HHS

At a press conference on July 13, 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius introduced rules that define "meaningful use" of electronic health records. The rules lay the groundwork for a 5-year national initiative to promote the adoption of electronic health records in the United States, and are likely to have a major impact on how medical transcriptionists and MTSOs operate. For a summary of the rules and their implications for the healthcare documentation sector, visit the AHDI Lounge.

Just Released! Speech Recognition Adoption Guide

With a growing segment of the healthcare documentation sector moving toward a back-end SRT delivery method, purchasers and adopters of the technology have long needed a best practices resource for integration of SRT in a way that facilitates high-integrity documentation outcomes and measurable return on investment. In response to this need, MTIA has developed the Speech Recognition Adoption Guide to assist the sector in making purchasing and adoption decisions, to address the relevance of speech recognition technology as an evolving method of clinical documentation, and to present operational and fiscal implications for technology adoption. The guide is designed to help consumers understand adoption-related issues, impact, terminology, standards, and metrics. In addition, the guide presents unified perspectives of the varying stakeholder groups concerning issues such as documentation quality and risk management. To read the just-issued press release about the guide, click here.

MT Package—A Discount for MTs to Attend MTIA 2010 in Daytona Beach, FL

The MT Package is a special discount allowing transcription practitioners to attend a portion of the 21st annual MTIA conference at an outstanding price! MT Package Option 1 allows access to the Saturday morning compliance program featuring extremely critical, credit-worthy sessions on legal compliance and HIPAA laws. MT Package Option 2 grants access to all of the Friday afternoon and evening activities in addition to the aforementioned Saturday morning compliance program. For details on registration fees, specific sessions included, CEC values, and more, click the link below.

MT Package Details: MTIA 2010

Registration Ends Monday for Must-see Webinar: The Medical Data Exchange powered by Verizon – Laying the Groundwork for Digital Exchange

Date: April 15
Presenters: Robin Daigh, Blake Martin & Peter Tippett, MD, PhD
Time: 10 AM PST / 11 PM MST / 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: April 12, 2010
Cost: $20 Members / $30 Non-members
CE Given: 1 TW

This webinar will give an overview and update on the medical data exchange, private, secure, network-based platform for the distribution and sharing of medical transcription and related medical records in electronic form. Founding transcription members, MD-IT and Sten-Tel, and developers of the exchange, Verizon Business, will be presenting an overview/roadmap on where the exchange is going and how this can enhance your current business. We invite you to learn about the advancements in the medical transcription service organizations field and how you can become involved.

Robin Daigh currently serves as vice president of marketing and business development for MD-IT, a national company that specializes in providing medical documentation software and service for physicians and ambulatory care clinics. Her current job responsibilities include working with ambulatory practices to make an effective transition from paper-based to electronic medical records, as well as establishing collaborative relationships with EMRs and other HIT vendors. She currently serves as co-chair for the MTIA/AHDI task force on EMR integration.

Blake Martin has 16+ years' experience working in information technology in health care, manufacturing, and publishing. He has held positions including software and web applications developer, help desk manager, business analyst, operations manager, and currently is the CIO and business technology director for Sten-Tel.

Peter Tippett, MD, PhD, is the chief medical officer of Verizon and vice president of innovation & technology. His responsibility includes security and healthcare solutions. Tippett is world-renowned in the security arena as he is credited with creating one of the first anti-virus products that was later renamed to Norton AntiVirus. He has advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff on cyber warfare, has served on presidential advisory councils, and has testified in front of congressional panels and committees such as the HIT Standards Committee.

Click here to register!

Registration Ends Today for CEC Webinar--MTSO M&A: Buying or Selling an MTSO in Today’s Market

Date: April 13, 2010
Presenter: Tim Kruse, CEO Kruse Acquisitions, LLC
Time: 10 AM PST / 11 AM MST / 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: April 8, 2010
Cost: $20 – Members / $30 Non-members
CE Given: 1 PD

In this session we will explore current trends in mergers and acquisitions prevalent in the dynamic medical transcription marketplace. We’ll begin by looking at today’s buyers - Who are they? Where do they come from? In addition, we'll take a close look at asset evaluation, pricing, and terms of sale, with a focus on packaging your service organization for potential sale, marketing, finding prospective buyers, the letter of intent, due diligence, and closing the deal.

Tim Kruse is the owner of Kruse Acquisitions, LLC, a mergers and acquisitions firm out of Madison, WI, that focuses almost entirely on the MTSO marketplace. He advises large and small MTSOs, both acute and ambulatory, and those interested in buying or selling.

Register now!

Registration Ends Tomorrow: Benchmark KB Demonstration Webinar

Date: April 12
Presenter: Jerry Simmons
Time: 2 PM PST / 5 PM EST
Registration Close: April 7
CEC Given: N/A

How much do you invest each year in dictionaries, specialty word books, and resources that assist you with documentation research? How many hours do you spend chasing down new terms, trying to find the name and address of an unknown physician, or looking for the right expression for something you need to transcribe? The need to have accurate, up-to-date clinical information at your fingertips is more critical now than ever before. In response to this need in our professional marketplace, AHDI and InterFix, LLC, are proud to introduce you to Benchmark KB—a subscription-based, online resource that delivers a wide array of research tools via one user interface. If you want a reliable, one-stop resource for the things you look for every day, then join Jerry Simmons of InterFix for a walk through the KB and a peek at what you’re missing!

Register Now!

The 2010 AHDI-MTIA Advocacy Summit in Review

Last week AHDI and MTIA members took to Capitol Hill to educate legislators on the need for regulators to recognize the medical transcription sector’s valuable contribution to quality documentation and accelerated EHR adoption. Information about the outcome of this event can be found on the AHDI website. In addition, we are offering a free webinar in which Scott Shalett and Jason Eberstein of the Dewey Square Group and AHDI-MTIA staff member Greg Doggett will provide a recap, 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 share their stories, experiences, and thoughts from the event. Webinar participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and to offer comments. For full details or to register for this webinar, click here.

New Webinar Open for Registration: Taking the Anxiety out of On-Line Learning

Date: April 6, 2010
Presenter: Kathryn Martin, BS
Time: 10 AM PST / 11 AM MST / 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: April 1, 2010
Cost: FREE
CE Given: n/a

Take an inside look at the AHDI/OAK Horizons online course offerings. Don’t miss this opportunity to get an overview of course structure, objectives, and functionality as well as learn how you can increase your tacit knowledge, broaden your professional skills, and prepare for AHDI credentialing exams through simulated practice applications. These courses can be taken from the comfort of home with high-speed Internet access. If you’ve wondered about the logistics of “distance learning,” come check us out. It’s easier than you think!

Kathy Martin has a background in education and taught for several years. She moved to health care about 25 years ago and 1995 fell in love with the medical transcriptionists who are brilliant and continuous learners. She has presented at several symposiums and most recently was the chair of the Educator’s Alliance Steering Committee. She is a co-owner of OAK Horizons and continues to seek opportunities to assist MTs and coders in continuing education.

Register now!

Must-see Webinar Open for Registration: The Medical Data Exchange powered by Verizon – Laying the Groundwork for Digital Exchange

Date: April 15
Presenters: Robin Daigh, Blake Martin & Peter Tippett, MD, PhD
Time: 10 AM PST / 11 PM MST / 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST
Duration: 1 Hour
Registration Close: April 12, 2010
Cost: $20 Members / $30 Non-members
CE Given: 1 TW

This webinar will give an overview and update on the medical data exchange, private, secure, network-based platform for the distribution and sharing of medical transcription and related medical records in electronic form. Founding transcription members, MD-IT and Sten-Tel, and developers of the exchange, Verizon Business, will be presenting an overview/roadmap on where the exchange is going and how this can enhance your current business. We invite you to learn about the advancements in the medical transcription service organizations field and how you can become involved.

Robin Daigh currently serves as vice president of marketing and business development for MD-IT, a national company that specializes in providing medical documentation software and service for physicians and ambulatory care clinics. Her current job responsibilities include working with ambulatory practices to make an effective transition from paper-based to electronic medical records, as well as establishing collaborative relationships with EMRs and other HIT vendors. She currently serves as co-chair for the MTIA/AHDI task force on EMR integration.

Blake Martin has 16+ years' experience working in information technology in health care, manufacturing, and publishing. He has held positions including software and web applications developer, help desk manager, business analyst, operations manager, and currently is the CIO and business technology director for Sten-Tel.

Peter Tippett, MD, PhD, is the chief medical officer of Verizon and vice president of innovation & technology. His responsibility includes security and healthcare solutions. Tippett is world-renowned in the security arena as he is credited with creating one of the first anti-virus products that was later renamed to Norton AntiVirus. He has advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff on cyber warfare, has served on presidential advisory councils, and has testified in front of congressional panels and committees such as the HIT Standards Committee.

Click here to register!

Webinar Date Change: Writing for Business – 50 Technical Tips

NEW DATE: May 11, 2010
Presenter: Lea Sims, CMT, AHDI-F
Time: 3 PM PST / 4 PM MST / 5 PM CST / 6 PM EST
Duration: 1.5 Hours
Registration Close: May 6, 2010
Cost: $30 Members / $40 Nonmembers
CE Given: 1.5 PD

In today’s “wired” world of rapid texts and tweets, it can be easy to abandon those important technical writing skills that are still necessary in today’s marketplace. Whether responding to customer service emails, drafting a public communication, writing ad copy, submitting an article, or preparing a PowerPoint presentation, strong communication skills are still highly valued, particularly in a healthcare documentation sector where messaging is greatly scrutinized. Join us for this high-impact strategy workshop, where you will leave with 50 tangible tips for improving business communications.

Lea is the Director of Professional Programs for AHDI and has been working for the association since 2004. In that role, she oversees all association messaging and communications, including coordination of association print and electronic publications; drafting of key association position papers, press releases, and standards; creative and strategic direction of campaigns and advocacy programs; direction of AHDI credentialing/education programs; and coordination of best practices initiatives. She is the author and managing editor of The Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 3rd edition, and The Book of Style Workbook,3rd edition. She has been an MT for 22 years and holds a BA in Education (English) with a minor in linguistics from the University of North Florida.

Click here to register!

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).

Improving Patient Care Through Data Availability in the ICU

For the physicians and nurses at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, a member of the 20-hospital University of Pittsburgh Medical Center health system, the logic behind going totally paperless as the clinicians and staff prepared to move into the hospital’s new replacement facility in 2009 was inescapable. Already live for several years with its EMR and CPOE, the hospital’s move to its brand-new facility was to be accompanied by the elimination of nearly all of its remaining paper-based processes.

And because the hospital's IT staff, led by vice president and CIO Jacqueline Dailey and CMIO James Levin, M.D., Ph.D., had long been collaborating closely with clinician leaders, the organization was well-positioned to reap all the benefits of automation in preparation for the move, which took place in June of 2009.

There was just one big wrinkle, insofar as clinicians in the hospital’s three intensive care units (its general ICU, cardiac ICU, and neonatal ICU) were concerned. While the organization’s core EMR/CPOE system (based on the Cerner Millennium suite, from the Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner Corporation) supported a host of innovations to patient care delivery, intensivists working in the ICUs found themselves struggling with one automation element. Read more at Healthcare Informatics.

Kaiser Completes EHR Implementation

Three Kaiser Permanente hospitals in northern California recently completed implementation of electronic health records, completing the organization's enterprise-wide inpatient and ambulatory adoption of EHRs that started with the first implementation in 2004.

As part of the initiative, Kaiser went live with personal health records software in 2007, and more than 3 million members logged in 27 million times in 2009 alone, according to the Oakland, Calif.-based organization. Outpatient EHR implementation in 431 facilities was complete in April 2008.

Twenty-four of Kaiser’s 36 hospitals have attained Stage 7, the highest level, on the HIMSS Analytics scale to measure IT adoption. Kaiser expects many, if not all, of the remaining hospitals to reach Stage 7 during 2010. Kaiser’s core EHR vendor is Epic Systems Corp., Verona, Wis. From Health Data Management.