e-Coastlines
March/April 2010
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President's Message

FHIMA News

FHIMA Elections – Voting Began Monday, March 22!
FHIMA 2010 Convention Registration NOW Open!
FHIMA and Florida HIMSS Chapters begin relationship!
Health Information Privacy and Security Week—April 11–17, 2010

Articles

Can You Hear Me?  Can You Hear Me, Now?
Record Processing v/s Copying
Healthcare Awareness
FHIMA Hill Day

AHIMA News

AHIMA Meets with Obama Administration on HIT Leadership
AHIMA Comments on “Meaningful Use” Rule
ONC Announces Proposed HIT Certification Programs
What’s Become of the Red Flags Rule?
New CoP Platform Successfully Launched
New Survey Reveals Status of EHR Adoption

President's Message

Kimberly Eichner MBA, RHIA
FHIMA President

 Well, I don't know about you but I am ready for this cold weather to end and hit the beach! As the warm weather rolls in and you take some well deserved time relaxing on the beach...you should feel confident and at ease that your FHIMA leaders and Committees are working hard to bring you a dynamic and content rich program at the annual convention in July. The 2010 program will have not only exciting general sessions but for the very first time, we will have a day devoted to educational tracks with a focus on Information Technology.  As you can see your state leaders are busy at work to assure that you have information that is valuable to the continued success of our profession. Start planning now to join us at the July 12 -15th at the new Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando.

The year passes by quickly and it seems just like yesterday when I was installed as President of FHIMA.  It is almost time now to pass the gavel and look ahead to a new year.  With this said, It is an exciting time as members are busy voting for your new leaders of FHIMA.  We have many qualified candidates  this year on the ballot. To those of you who have agreed to run for a leadership position I would like to Thank you for your support and dedication to our Association.

Just last week a group of FHIMA leaders visited Tallahassee for Hill Day 2010. Please take time to read the articles in coastlines for a summary of the activities and success that was achieved. This was an excellent opportunity for us to share information about our profession and share our initiatives to advance the role of HIM in healthcare.
 

I also want to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful Health Information Privacy and Security Week April 9th through the 15th. Health information is vital to the delivery of care, and so is keeping it secure. Health information management and technology professionals work diligently throughout the year to ensure valuable information is only available to those who need it and no one else. It’s more than a commitment. It’s a mission, and it’s essential to maintaining the trust of the people and communities we serve. It’s a cause we celebrate and reconfirm each year during Health Information Privacy and Security Week.

Remember just like an expedition, we must continue to forge forward, overcome obstacles and stay focused, to consistently be our best and reach the top of the summit. Each member’s leadership, teamwork and motivation play critical roles in this success.


FHIMA News

FHIMA Elections – Voting began Monday, March 22!

FHIMA needs all active voting-eligible members to vote in the upcoming FHIMA elections.  We have 2,526 members eligible to vote yet only 400 take the time to cast their ballot.  Let’s shatter that record this year!  It only takes about 2 minutes to cast your vote!

Only active voting members of FHIMA are eligible to vote in this election.   You are eligible to vote if you have paid your AHIMA dues and have "Voting Member" listing on your AHIMA membership card.  You will need your AHIMA ID number to vote.
You will vote for 1 candidate for President-Elect, no more than 3 candidates for Director and 1 candidate for Chief Delegate.  All candidate bios will be viewable.   The online ballot  will close Friday, April 23rd at 5:00 pm.

No paper ballots will be mailed. If you have any problems accessing the on-line ballot, please send an email to info@fhima.org

FHIMA 2010 Convention Registration NOW Open!

Online registration is now open so register today for the FHIMA 2010 Annual Convention in July.  Our agenda is packed full of great speakers, sessions and networking opportunities.  All at a brand NEW hotel call Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando located next to Disney property. 

CLICK HERE for Registration Information

The Hilton Bonnet Creek is a destination unto itself, where the theme is meetings and success is a sure thing. Surrounded on three sides by Walt Disney World® Resort, Bonnet Creek combines the best of two spectacular and adjacent properties – Waldorf Astoria® Orlando, the first newly built Waldorf Astoria since the legendary original in New York City, and Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek.

The dates will be July 12-15, 2010 and the registration fees remain the same as last years!

In addition we have made some changes based on ATTENDEE feedback!  We have moved the traditional “coding day” to Wednesday so that those attendees can visit the Exhibit Hall.  On Wednesday, not only will we offer coding tracks, but hot HIM topics as well!  On Thursday, we’ll have HIM topics and (new this year!) IT tracks and the Exhibit Hall will be open in the morning! 

Hotel website:  http://www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com

FHIMA and Florida HIMSS Chapters begin relationship!

As a part of our strategy for our state association, FHIMA has reached out to the Florida HIMSS Chapters.  There are 2 HIMSS chapters here in Florida.  They are the North/Central Chapter and the South Florida Chapter.  The North/Central chapter covers the northern and central Florida counties and the South chapter covers the southern portion of Florida as well as Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

HIMSS is the acronym for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.  It is a professional association focusing on leading healthcare transformation through the use of health information technology.  FHIMA and HIMSS missions are different but they are closely aligned – improving healthcare through health information.  It is our goal to work with these HIMSS chapters to promote HIM education in Florida and perhaps unite our legislative focuses!

Visit the Florida HIMSS chapter websites at:

CLICK HERE for the North & Central Florida HIMSS Chapter website

CLICK HERE for the South Florida HIMSS Chapter website

Health Information Privacy and Security Week—April 11–17, 2010

Get ready for the week!  Visit AHIMA’s website for materials to promote and celebrate the week that focuses on keeping health information private and secure. http://www.ahima.org/hipsweek

Articles

Can You Hear Me?  Can You Hear Me, Now?

Tanya Kuehnast, MA, RHIA, CHPS
FHIMA, President-Elect

Do you want your voice to be heard?  Are you facing new challenges in your job and would like to network with peers to develop solutions?

Our profession is changing at a rapid pace.  With the requirements of new legislation and implementation of emerging technologies, HIM professionals are confronted with new challenges and opportunities.  We have to be innovative and discover new solutions.  We need you, our members, to volunteer and participate on teams to carry out our strategic plan.

We listened to you!

In the fall, we asked each of the regions to conduct an environmental scan with their membership.  We wanted to know, your challenges, new initiatives, and what is happening in the HIM world today.  The environmental scan results were utilized as a basis to develop the 2009-2010 FHIMA Strategic Plan.  The Board and Regional Leaders have met over the past few months to develop and refine the plan.

FHIMA Strategic Plan

The results from the environmental scans served as the basis to identify strategic initiatives, tasks for success, and measures of success. All of this information is captured under 4 key priorities: grow and strengthen FHIMA, membership value and professional growth, workforce readiness, and industry leadership.
A team is assigned to each key priority.  The Regional Leaders committed to lead and coordinate teams to work on developing the strategic initiatives.  The teams will participate on a monthly conference call.  Board members will participate on the calls and will assist in facilitating the meetings as well as be available as a resource.  Additionally, the Regional Leaders have been encouraged to communicate the status of their teams at the Regional meetings.  We encourage the membership to actively participate and share ideas in order to make progress on the strategic initiatives.  The complete 2009-2011 Strategic Plan is on the FHIMA website.

We Need Your Voice!

We want FHIMA to be recognized as the premier professional organization in health information management.  This can not be accomplished if we do not have the membership’s participation.  We need to hear you voice!  If you want to make a difference and have a voice in the direction of our organization and our profession, please join your Region’s Key Priority team!
 
Record Processing v/s Copying

This is the information age, a time when medical information is simply at the click of a button, or is it?

Historically, the process of sharing a patient’s health information required a release of information request before validating identification and copying a paper record.  Today, the process continues, only in a much different, more complex paper, hybrid, and electronic world governed by HIPAA and other state and regulatory guidelines.  As HIM professionals we maintain the patient confidentiality as our utmost priority.  As the paper record migrates to its electronic form, we are continually seeking ways to adapt and refine our processes.  There is much more to the release of information process than simply copying a record or clicking a mouse.

It is for this reason FHIMA is developing a white paper for the purpose of education regarding record processing for release of information.  This paper will serve as a resource for substantiating our work and dedication to ensure records are released in the most confidential, accurate, and complete manner.  It will provide a guideline for how we charge for records in the future ensuring that revenue is received according to the time taken to process and deliver the information, whatever the format.  It is easy to define a charge by the number of pages.  In the future, this will be defined in a much different way.  

Do you have thoughts or feedback to share?  Would you like to help in the development of this paper?  If so, please contact your Industry Leadership committee by dropping a note to info@fhima.org.

Together, we will shape the HIM profession through our journey into the electronic information age!

Healthcare Awareness
By: Dwan Thomas-Flowers, MBA, RHIA, CCS

In March, we recognize many causes for celebration, education and awareness. Nutrition Awareness, Mental Handicap Awareness and National Colorectal Cancer Awareness are just a few among many. The month of March is ripe with opportunities for recognition centered on many causes and events that have had and continue to have an impact in the healthcare arena. In this sense, Health Information Management is no exception. Without some of the contributions and the inventions made available to us today from the trailblazers of the past, our own profession would not be the same.  Understanding the impact that women have had in the healthcare field, or acknowledging the ever-increasing importance of professional ethics in healthcare serve as examples that bring some essential consciousnesses into spotlight.
 
Women's History Month

Did you know that it is Women's History month? Women have created a variety of innovations including the full spectrum of everyday use items from windshield wipers (Mary Anderson, 1903) to the game, Monopoly (Lizzie Magie, 1904).  However, there remain several little-known facts about female inventors and other women in history that are specific to healthcare.

While Dr. Virginia Apgar is well known for devising the Apgar scale for measuring the health status of newborns in 1953; I am sure that not quite as many are aware of Gertrude Belle Elion’s contributions. She was a biochemist that created several life-saving drugs. Among them are the compound 6-mercaptopurine (also known as 6MP and by the trade name Purinethol) to fight against leukemia and a variety of other chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressant agents that fight against diseases like Pneumocystis Carinii and gout. Dr. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow co-invented the radioimmunoassay in 1959, which uses a tiny drop of blood to for chemical analysis to diagnose diseases such as diabetes. Ida Henrietta Hyde invented the microelectrode, which stimulates a living cell in order to record the electrical activity, in the 1930s. This was unprecedented during that time. She was also the first women graduate from the University of Heidelberg, to perform research at the Harvard Medical School and to be elected to the American Physiological Society.

Additionally, most are even less aware that African American women were among these pioneers, credited with such inventions as follows:
  • Joanna Hardin invented the keyboard stand with a patent date of 02/23/1993.
  • Patricia Bath, MD is recognized for crafting the first apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses in 1988.
  • Joan Clark invented a medicine tray in1987.
  • Marie V. Brittan Brown invented the first home security system utilizing television surveillance in 1969 (not directly related to healthcare, but fascinating nonetheless).
Even more intriguing is that we may never truly know how many inventions are attributable to women.  Prior to the late 1800s in the United States, women were not allowed to hold patents because they are considered a form of "property."  Some women worked around the issue by applying for patents in their husbands' names; others simply never received credit for the exceptional work performed, which undoubtedly continues to enhance our quality of life today.

The list goes on and on...Women are making history everyday in Health Information Management (HIM) and in healthcare, generally. Since AHIMA is comprised predominantly of female members, I am sure that we can all think of other pioneers within our profession that are worthy of recognition. These women--such as Linda Kloss, MA, CAE, RHIA, FAHIMA, former CEO of AHIMA from 1995 through 2010, the late Lottie W. Cole, RHIA who served as president when AHIMA was still AMRA from 1975-1976 and as the Chief Medical Record Librarian at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for over 40 years and the late Esther Mayo Sherard who is the first African American medical record administrator and was courageous enough to start a Medical Record Administration program prior to desegregation--all shaped AHIMA’s foundation and leave a professional record for which we can all aspire but few will achieve. They are among the many shining examples of the very fabric of HIM and have created an extraordinary legacy.

National Ethics Awareness

March is also National Ethics Awareness month. There are several reasons for the resurfacing of Ethics in business and healthcare. The availability of sensitive information and any protected health information in electronic format is a strong impetus.  The HIM profession has always had ethics at its core, and AHIMA’s Code of Ethics and related tools serve as valuable resources for those areas that may cause a bit of professional anxiety. There is now an Ethics Self Assessment, available for personal use. For information about ethics in the business of healthcare, you may click here for an article that shares more about the history of Ethics Awareness month!

National Colorectal Awareness

As mentioned above, March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.  Interestingly enough, during AHIMA’s 2009 Hill Day in DC, there was group advocating for awareness, prevention programs and funding for this Colorectal Cancer Awareness. Their slogan (written boldly across their T-shirts) was "Cover Your Butt."  The catchy phrase had many wondering about their cause. Those in our FHIMA group thought for sure that they were lobbying for a federal law to outlaw wearing slouched pants too far below the waistline, exposing underwear…or worst yet--butts.  However, we were not correct in our assumptions. The American Gastroenterlogical Association (AGA) uses this month to educate patients about the importance of colorectal screening. Colorectal cancer is third on list of cancer-related deaths for both men and women, and many are not aware they screening is important in those over the age of 50.

The list of worthy causes is always expanding. However, it is paramount that we acknowledge how vastly different our profession would be without the contributions of those before us. Can you imagine the world without ever having had a keyboard stand? Can you imagine AHIMA without the contributions of Linda Kloss and Esther Mayo Sherard?There are so many more that share their efforts, ideas, time, talent and even their very spirits with HIM. This month is also for each of you—please know that although it may seem as if others take your work for granted, HIM would not be the same without you. It is up to us which type of legacy we wish to leave for the next generation of professionals.  Continue on the path of progression, and know that you are appreciated for advancing the science of Health Information Management.

As I wish you the luck of the Irish for St. Patrick’s Day, please also be aware of the many, other worthy awareness topics, during the month of March. Remember to celebrate the women around you that you know are making history. This is also an excellent time to consider Ethics Awareness as an agenda item for your department or team meetings. HIM is changing, and with electronic health records, the popularity of social media and the general ability to access all types of information with the stroke of a few keys, there is no better time than the present to focus on these topics.

www.lib.muohio.edu/epub/govlaw/FemInv/invent.php?iname=Magie

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/women.shtml

http://www.inventions.org/culture/african/africanwomen.html

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0906931.html

Lewis, D. (July 9, 2003). Esther Mayo Sherard Biography. Retrieve from http://cop.ahima.org/Portals/0/SynNet_CoP_Files/topic_resources/5919/EMS%20BIO.doc

http://www.ahima.org/about/ethics.asp

Frank, A. (March 8, 2010). Physicians come together on national colorectal cancer screening and Awareness day. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181413.php

FHIMA Hill Day

Seventeen FHIMA members and four FAMU HIM students swarmed the Tallahassee capitol on March 11th, braving rain and wind to educate our legislature on relevant HIM topics.  This was the 3rd Hill Day for FHIMA.  The day started bright (well, rainy actually) and early with a briefing morning meeting.  Many of the attendees were “first timers” to Hill Day and during this meeting we learned the ins and outs of meeting with legislators -complete with a role playing episode starring Diana Alberts (Senator), Martin Smith (aide) and Quenetta Dixon as a FHIMA member.  We also were treated to the video clip “School House Rocks – I’m Just a Bill” (remember that?!?)  Then we were off and running to various appointments with the legislators.  Each appointment is unique – some are short, with a brief few minutes and some are lengthy exchanges of information.  All in all, we spoke to, visited with or dropped off material to 83 legislators. 

Although we weren’t pushing a particular bill this year, we focused on several “talking points.”  Talking points is the term used to describe the particular set of topics that all members try to touch upon when meeting with legislators.  Here’s a few of the talking points we covered:

HIM’s Role in the Electronic Health Record World
  • The goal of FHIMA is to present and eliminate barriers. 
  • We are the keepers of the information - paper, electronic, or both and can provide knowledge to effectively transfer paper information into an electronic world.
  • Legislative requirements for paper medical records are the same as for electronic medical records, we are the experts to provide consistent compliance.
  • We must collaborate with an IT perspective by partnering with other professional associations such as HIMSS.
AHIMA’s Strategic Focus:
To improve the practice and quality of healthcare through the effective use of standards.
  • Promote the migration from paper to an electronic health information infrastructure;
  • Reinvent how institutional and personal health information and records are managed, including achieving recognition for the legal health record;
  • Deliver measurable cost and quality results from improved information management;
  • Promote the effective use of standard data terminologies and classifications as well as uniform and consistent use of data for secondary purposes including quality measurement, public health, research, reimbursement, and health policy making;
  • Achieve effective confidentiality and security of all health information through effectual and uniform laws and regulations and non-discrimination in the access use of health information.
Record Processing and Fees

The release of information process is quickly becoming electronic however our commitment to maintaining privacy through release of information remains the same.  Our members commit the same, if not more, time to ensuring patient privacy is protected, authorizations are HIPAA compliant, and information is released accurately and securely.  Reimbursement must be maintained at current rates to account for these additional safeguarding procedures.

Involvement with Health Information Exchange (HIE)

HIM professionals can provide guidance on how to effectively implement HIE programs while protecting patient information.

Meaningful Use

In the deciphering of this new rule, HIM can provide clarification and guidance to our healthcare providers to meet requirements and to legislators on how to implement this rule to provide the optimal care for patients.

Universal Patient Authentication

FHIMA has been at the table with the Legal Work Group during this rule development process.  We are willing to help and provide guidance on the development of this legislation and its implications to the process of release of information.

Follow up is a very important aspect of Hill Day. After each meeting with the legislators, FHIMA members jotted down notes about the encounter and we are planning appropriate follow up with each legislator.

Now it’s your turn!  Each legislator we visited is only in Tallahassee for 60 of 365 days per year.  That leaves 305 days of opportunity for each FHIMA member to visit their legislator in their district office.  During the 60 days, legislators are rushing from committee meetings to lobbyist appointments to appointments by professional associations such as ours.  We encourage every FHIMA member to make at least one appointment with their legislators in their district office this year.  If so, we have the potential to make over 3,000 visits – what an impact that would make on our profession here in Florida!  Our state legislators would definitely understand the importance of the HIM profession and have first-hand knowledge of topics such as HIE, EHR, privacy, etc.

Here are the websites for the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives:
www.flsenate.gov
www.myfloridahouse.gov

AHIMA News
Exerpts from AHIMA March 4, 2010 E-alert

AHIMA Meets with Obama Administration on HIT Leadership

Last Monday, AHIMA CEO Alan Dowling, PhD, and AHIMA’s Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Dan Rode, MBA, CHPS, FHFMA, met with members of the Obama administration’s HIT leadership. The representatives included Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer and associate director for technology; David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, national coordinator for HIT; and Bob Kocher, MD, special assistant to the President’s National Economic Council.

AHIMA was asked to discuss its academic programs and support for health information education from community colleges to the graduate level. Dowling and Rode also discussed how the association is working with academic centers to lead the implementation and management of electronic health records, health information exchanges, and other forms of advanced health information technology that can create and protect the flow of information. This promises to be the first of several meetings to not only promote and support the administration’s HITECH stimulus programs, but also to advance the delivery of healthcare in all sections and populations of the country.

AHIMA Comments on “Meaningful Use” Rule

AHIMA’s white paper series on “meaningful use” continues this week with AHIMA’s draft comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking. AHIMA’s official comments will be submitted next week, in advance of the March 15 deadline. The draft comments are offered as a resource to members who are preparing their own comments, but they are not intended to be copied in whole and submitted. The white paper series concludes next week with AHIMA’s comments on the interim final rule for EHR certification criteria and technical standards. Read the latest paper and all preceding papers on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.

 ONC Announces Proposed HIT Certification Programs

Earlier this week national coordinator for HIT David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, announced his office’s proposals for future HIT certification. Shortly the ONC is expected to propose two voluntary certification programs for the purposed of “testing and certifying health information technology via the Federal Register. Certified electronic health records (EHRs or EHR modules) are required to be eligible for the meaningful use incentive program under Medicare and Medicaid as established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The first proposal would establish a temporary certification program whereby the ONC would authorize organizations, testing, and certification bodies to test and certify complete EHRs and EHR modules. The second proposal would establish a permanent certification program to replace the temporary one. The permanent certification program would separate the responsibilities for performing testing and certification, introduce accreditation requirements, establish requirements for certification bodies authorized by the ONC and ONC-authorized certification bodies, and would include the potential for certification bodies authorized by the national coordinator to certify other types of health information technology besides complete EHRs and EHR modules.  Comments on the temporary program will be due 30 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. Comments on the permanent program will be due 60 days after publication.

What’s Become of the Red Flags Rule?

A series of lawsuits, legislation, and lobbying continues to hold up enforcement of the Red Flags Rule, now nearly a year-and-a-half past its original enforcement deadline. The rule requires businesses that it defines as “creditors”—which includes most healthcare organizations—to create and maintain programs that deter and mitigate identity theft. Enforcement of the rule is scheduled to begin June 1, but continued opposition from some healthcare and other associations may keep the rule in limbo.

New CoP Platform Successfully Launched

The new Communities of Practice platform made its debut on Tuesday. Have you logged in yet? The CoPwas designed to be all about you and your view. The heading “My view” on your personal page brings everything together such as: what’s new, what’s popular, announcements, your communities, and topics with relevant content. Already members are learning how best to use it to share, network, and collaborate.  We hope you have already visited the new site, but if not please log in now and see what the new CoP can do for you. Go to www.ahima.org and login via myAHIMA and click on the user guide.

 New Survey Reveals Status of EHR Adoption

Executives from 168 healthcare organizations in the US participated in a study from healthcare management consulting firm Beacon Partners, who recently revealed the survey of where hospitals are in the EHR adoption process. The survey revealed that while many healthcare organizations are well into the process of EHR adoption, there are many hurdles to being ready on time in order to achieve and qualify for meaningful use milestones. In fact, 25 percent of executives did not feel that their healthcare organization would likely fulfill the first meaningful use deadline, and consequently many executives feel that the government will extend meaningful use deadlines.