Michelle Mock, MSM, RHIA
FHIMA President

Boy how time flies when you’re having fun!  I can’t believe that my term as President of FHIMA is coming to an end and I can’t believe it’s time for our annual convention again.  It seems like yesterday that we were all together learning, laughing and meeting new and old friends.  If you haven’t already done so; get those registrations in and join us at The Rosen Shingle Creek for the 2007 Annual FHIMA Convention.    

In March, Karla Philippou and I attended the annual AHIMA Winter Team Talks and Hill Day in Washington, D.C.  We had a great time sharing our profession with the leaders of our nation.  I encourage each of you to respond to the e-blasts that you receive about writing to your local representatives and becoming an advocate for HIM.  Look for more information in this issue of E-Coastlines from Karla.

What a great election turn out we had this year.  Our ballot was full of wonderful candidates.  Thank you all for voting and most of all thank you to those who agreed to run for office to keep our busy association on the move.  Congratulations to the newly elected board members below.

I would like to focus this President’s Message on the spirit of volunteering for our associations.  Whether it is at the regional level or at the state level or even national, we couldn’t be who we are without those individuals who take the time to share our vision,  our path and professionalism.  As I write this I have received some e-mails from various regional associations, sharing with me how hard it is to find someone to run for office.  It is really sad to hear one of these individuals say that they may have to disband their association as there is no one to assist in the leadership roles. Many of the regional presidents have been president numerous times many over and over again!

I ask each of you to think about how you can serve these associations.  I challenge you to find a way to help out and make this year one of giving of yourself and your spirit to grow our volunteer pools within our state and regions.  The personal reward that you receive far outweighs the time and effort put in.

What a joy it has been to serve as your President, I will never forget this opportunity and I appreciate your support that you have given me this year.  May your skies remain clear, your seas calm, and when change comes your way,  ride the wave like crazy!

Surfs Up!

Michelle  

1. Publication of Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule Expected Soon

The text of the hospital inpatient PPS proposed rule for fiscal year 2008 is expected to be published in the Federal Register this week. As noted in the April 18 e-alert, the proposed rule would create 745 new severity-adjusted DRGs (Medicare Severity DRGs or MS-DRGs) to replace the current 538 DRGs on October 1, 2007. The rule also identifies six conditions that, starting in fiscal year 2009, would not trigger a higher DRG unless they were present on admission. Five new quality measures are also being proposed. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will accept comments on the proposed rule until June 12. AHIMA will be preparing written comments. To read a preview of the proposed rule, go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AcuteInpatientPPS/IPPS/list.asp.

AHIMA will prepare members for these changes in several ways:

• A joint AHIMA/AHA audio seminar on May 24 will provide an overview of the changes in the proposed rule (find out more information about this audio seminar in story #15, below).

• An audio seminar on June 28 will help coding professionals understand the implications of the proposed MS-DRGs.

• An additional audio seminar discussing the final rule will take place in August or September.

• Coding Regional Meetings during this spring and summer will include a session on using ICD-9-CM to measure patient severity of illness. (Go to http://www.ahima.org/coding/coding_meetings.asp for more information including dates and locations of these meetings.)

• Continued coverage in e-alert and the Journal of AHIMA.

• A new book on severity-adjusted DRGs will be available fall 2007. We are also compiling existing articles and publications on case mix and severity-adjusted DRGs to help members learn more on these topics. Look for this Smartpack by June 1.

• Revised editions of our publications addressing the DRG system as well as additional opportunities for education and training will be available shortly after CMS releases a final rule.

2. Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill Easily Passes House

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (HR 493) easily passed the US House of Representatives on Friday by a vote of 420-3. The action now moves to the Senate where the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved its version of the legislation, S. 358, on January 31, 2007, by a vote of 19-2. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has placed a hold on the legislation in order to work out some concerns with Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), chair of the Senate HELP Committee. The president is expected to sign the legislation once it is forwarded from Congress. For further information on the legislation’s specifics, visit the Action Center of the Advocacy Assistant at https://secure.ahima.org/DC/Login.asp. AHIMA strongly supports this legislation, and it was one of our primary advocacy issues during our 2007 Hill Day.

3. Smith and McMorris-Rodgers Introduce Health IT Legislation

Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) have introduced the Medicaid Access Project through Information Technology Act (MAP-IT) (HR 2043). The legislation would specifically authorize $15 million for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct two-year pilot projects in selected states to demonstrate the beneficial impact of health IT on chronic disease management for the Medicaid population. The bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration. For further information on this legislation, visit the Action Center of the Advocacy Assistant at https://secure.ahima.org/DC/Login.asp.

4. HL7 Adopts ED Standard

Health Level Seven (HL7), a standards development organization, has adopted a subset of an existing standard to further the development of certification criteria for emergency department information systems, identified as the emergency care functional profile, according to Health Data Management. The profile is based on HL7’s EHR system functional model standard, which was recently approved as an ANSI standard in February. Other functional profiles under development as a subset of HL7’s EHR system functional model include:

• Behavioral health

• Child health

• Long-term care

• Regulated clinical research information systems

Read the article at http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/
news/NewsStory.cfm?articleId=15057 or go to http://www.hl7.org for more information.

5. AHIC Privatization Efforts Move Forward with Contract Awards

Robert Kolodner, MD, the national coordinator for health information technology, announced during the American Health Information Community (AHIC) meeting on April 23 that his office has issued contracts to three firms to help the Department of Health and Human Services plan for the transition of AHIC to the private sector, according to Modern Healthcare. The firms hired will be developing various business models to focus on succession and sustainability for transition into the private sector. Reports from the firms will be presented at the AHIC meeting in July.

For more information, go to http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20070426/FREE/70426004/1029/FREE.

6. HL7 Interoperability Report Published

A recent study by the HL7 EHR Technical Committee’s Interoperability Work Group found that there are three types of interoperability. The report, “Coming to Terms: Scoping Interoperability for Health Care,” outlines the types of interoperability as technical, semantic, and process. The document is part of the HL7 2007 EHR Interoperability Model Draft Standard for Trial Use. To read it, go to http://www.hl7.org/ehr/downloads/index_2007.asp and download the EHR/IM DSTU - 2007 file. After unzipping the file, click on the file EHR_IM_ComingToTerms_WhitePaper_2007FEB.pdf.

7. Report Finds Threat to Public Health Speeds Collaboration

A report from Government Futures, a Web 2.0 analysis and consulting firm, finds that protecting public health will be an early example of government that is mission-oriented, networked, collaborative, agile, and results-driven, what it terms “Government 2.0.” The report, titled “Public Health 2.0: Spreading like a Virus” predicts that state governments will lead investments in networks, tools, and technology to support the public health mission. Federal budgets are also highly likely to increase to support these investments, according to the report, and industry consolidation will accelerate in the public health marketplace. “Our research shows an overwhelming likelihood that 40 states, covering 80 percent of the US population, will be served by a public health information sharing network by 2012,” said Margaret Anderson, cofounder of Government Futures. Barriers remain, however, including interagency rivalries and privacy concerns, but funding and the threat of crisis will drive progress, according to Anderson. The report is part of Government Futures’ “See the Future” research reports. To read the report, go to http://www.governmentfutures.com.

8. Ownership of SNOMED CT Transferred to New International Organization

The newly formed International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO, also known as SNOMED SDO) has acquired the intellectual property rights of SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and its antecedents from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for $7.8 million. The new international organization is assuming responsibility for the ongoing maintenance, development, quality assurance, and distribution of SNOMED CT. CAP will continue to support SDO operations under an initial three-year contract and will continue to provide SNOMED-related products and services as a licensee of the terminology. When implemented in software, SNOMED CT can be used to represent clinically relevant information consistently worldwide as an integral part of producing standardized electronic health records. Use of SNOMED CT can support more effective and efficient healthcare and prevention within individual countries while also supporting enhanced international public health and research activities.

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