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Stacie L. Buck, RHIA, CCS-P, LHRM, RCC, CIC
FHIMA President
Email: stacie@southeastrad.com
 As I sit here writing this message it is
hard to believe that my time as FHIMA President has almost come to an end.
Serving in this role over the past year has been an extremely rewarding
experience and I am going to miss serving the members of FHIMA in this
capacity.
Over the past year, the FHIMA Board and
Committees have been working diligently to better meet the needs of FHIMA
members and our profession. One of our key priorities was to improve
communications with members and we have met all of our goals in this area.
To review our strategic objectives please visit:
http://fhima.org/2007-2009 Strategic Plan.pdf . During the membership
luncheon at convention I will be providing a summary of all activities
accomplished the past year.
Call for Volunteers!
FHIMA is currently soliciting volunteers for 2008-2009.
Please visit the website for a summary of positions and duties -
http://fhima.org/AboutFHIMA_Volunteer.htm
If you are interested in any of the
volunteer opportunities simply complete the online form and your information
will be passed along to Dwan Thomas-Flowers, President-Elect to assist in
making her committee appointments for next year.
Registration for the 2008 Annual
Convention Is Now Open!
This year the Program and
Arrangements Committees have been working very hard to bring you a jam
packed program filled with the most educational sessions that we have ever
had. Both Tuesday, July 15th and Wednesday, July 16th
will each kick off with a Keynote Address followed by three separate tracks
each day. On Thursday, July 17th there will be two tracks for coders and we
have added an all day legal track titled “Complying with Florida Medical
Records Laws and HIPAA – Avoiding Trap Doors for the Unwary” presented by
attorney Michael Lowe. Attendees will receive approximately eight (8) hours
of classroom like instruction in a fun, interactive and question and answer
type of setting designed to answer questions for all attendees, as well as a
lengthy handout/set or presentation materials including copies of the
applicable Florida Statutes and regulations.
I am also pleased to announce
that on Tuesday evening I will be hosting a President’s Reception made
possible by a generous sponsorship from DML Consulting. All attendees who
purchase a full meeting registration or a Tuesday registration are welcome
to attend. We will have a DJ, so bring your dancing shoes and there will be
plenty of food, so you won’t need to make any dinner plans. Your first
drink will be “on us” and after that it will be a cash bar. Please be sure
to indicate that you plan to attend when your register for convention.
Advocacy Update
March and April were very busy months for
our advocacy efforts. On March 13th FHIMA held its third Hill
Day in Tallahassee to advocate for House Bill 637 and Senate Bill 1998 which
create the Florida e-Health Initiative Act establishing a low interest loan
program to assist physicians on the adoption of electronic Medical Records
Systems to facilitate the electronic exchange of health information. During
our visits we were told that the bills probably wouldn’t move this year
because of the appropriations attached to the bills, but since our visit we
have seen the House Bill move along through several committees and is ready
to hit the full House floor. On the Senate side, the bill is on its way to
its second committee stop as of this writing. It is through our Hill Day
efforts and the tireless work of Linda Renn, our FHIMA Advocacy Liaison that
the legislation has made it so far. Stay tuned for more details as we move
toward the end of this legislative session.
On April 8th approximately 170
AHIMA members descended on our nation’s capitol for AHIMA Hill Day. Myself,
Barbara Flynn (Chief Delegate), Dwan Thomas-Flowers (President-Elect) and
Lori Langley (AHIMA Delegate) had the privilege of attending and
representing the state of Florida. During our appointments we were
advocating for many different pieces of legislation including a one year
moratorium on the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program, calling for
the adoption of ICD-10-CM, funding for the Office of the National
Coordinator on Health Information Technology (ONC) and establishment of ONC
as a permanent entity, and support for HIM and informatics education. It
was a long and exhausting day running around the capitol, but it was also a
very rewarding experience knowing that we are playing a role in advancing
our profession at the national level.
See you all in July!
FHIMA
2008 Annual Convention Information – July 14-17, 2008
Agenda Highlights:
For a complete Agenda, visit the FHIMA website at
www.fhima.org under the Calendar of Events tab.
Tuesday, July 15th and Wednesday, July 16th
– Every Day will be breakout day! Each day there are informative sessions on
coding, E-HIM, general HIM topics, compliance and career development. In the
past we’ve had a few breakout sessions in the afternoon on Wednesday but this
year the entire agenda is track driven so you can customize your convention
learning experience to fit your needs!
Tuesday, July 15th - Keynote Speaker, Judy Carter
“When Things Get Dire – Inspire”
A lot of speakers talk about “Leadership” but nobody does it as funny as Judy.
Using multimedia movie clips, audience participation, and magic, Judy shows
leadership secretes that apply to managers, CEOs, and even parents that will
inspire you, as well as making you laugh-out-loud.
Thursday, July 17th - New for FHIMA 2008! FHIMA is
pleased to offer a Special Workshop – Michael R. Lowe, Attorney presents
“Complying with Florida Medical Records Laws and HIPAA – Avoiding Trap Doors for
the Unwary”
This presentation will be a day long seminar designed to educate
health information management (HIM) professionals in all health care settings on
applicable Florida medical records confidentiality laws and HIPAA privacy
regulations. The presentation will cover in-depth the Florida Statutes
governing patient medical records with topics addressing proper release of
patient medical records, what to charge for copies, proper use of release and
authorization forms, the release of substance abuse, mental health and HIV/AIDS
information, how to handle subpoenas and recent HIPAA enforcement trends.
Attendees will receive approximately eight (8) hours of classroom like
instruction in a fun, interactive and question and answer type of setting
designed, as well as a lengthy handout/set of presentation materials including
copies of the applicable Florida Statutes and regulations.
Thursday, July 17th – CODING Topics galore.
As usual, we have continued our tradition of offering coding related topics on
Thursday as well as adding in something for non-coders (see Michael Lowe’s
information above).
Registration:
This year, all attendees will register online! The agenda,
hotel information, registration information, etc. is all on our website at
www.fhima.org.
Need to give something to your employer before they will
write the check? No worries! You can register online and indicate you will
be paying by check. You can print out registration information to submit to
your facility for payment/reimbursement. You will mail your check in to
complete your registration.
Early registration deadline is June 15th.
Hotel Information:
Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate
1500 Masters Blvd, ChampionsGate, Florida 33896
Visit the resort website!
 Great Room Rates: FHIMA has secured fantastic room rates
at this beautiful hotel! Room Rates for FHIMA Convention Attendees:
Single/Double - $149 and Junior Suite - $338.00. These room rates do not
include tax. And there is NO resort fee! In-room high speed internet
access is included in the room rate. Other suite sizes are available.
Contact Hotel for FHIMA rate.
Online Hotel Reservations: FHIMA attendees can make
hotel reservations online! Click the link below to access the hotel’s
online reservation system.
http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/OrlandoChampionsGate/MeetingFacilities/FloridaHealthInfoManagement7.aspx
Reservations must be received no later than June 13,
2008. Reservations must be guaranteed by advanced payment of
one night room deposit. If you’d like to make reservations by phone, the
toll free number is 1-800-843-6664. You will need to mention FHIMA to
access the room block.
FHIMA
Announces Newly Elected Officers!
Thank you to those who voted during FHIMA’s recent online
elections. Congratulations to the following elected candidates! FHIMA’s
elected positions are volunteer positions and we truly appreciate all who
willingly stepped forward to have their name placed on the ballot!
President-Elect: Kimberly Eichner, MBA, RHIA
Delegate: Anita Doupnik, RHIA
Director: Barbara Bermudez, RHIT
Director: Lisa Libby, RHIA, CCS
Director: Dean Ritchey, RHIA
FHIMA Proposed Bylaw Amendments for FHIMA 2008 House of
Delegates Meeting
 The following proposed FHIMA Bylaw amendments will
be voted on at the FHIMA House of Delegates meeting at the July 2008
FHIMA convention. Strikethroughs are recommended deletions and
highlighted text is additional wording.
View the
Proposed Bylaw Amendments
AHCA Inpatient and Outpatient Reporting Rules -
Florida Hospital Association Submits Comments on Proposed Changes to AHCA
By: Kim Streit (kims@fha.org)
VP Health Care Research & Information Services, Florida Hospital Association
The Agency for
Health Care Administration (AHCA) held a second rule workshop on March 6 to
review changes to 59E-7 (hospital inpatient discharge data reporting) and
59B-9 (ambulatory care data reporting), and to get feedback from the
stakeholders and general public. The reporting rules are being re-opened to
align with the recent changes to data elements that are used on the UB-04,
to clarify some ambiguity, which is resulting in different interpretations
of what is supposed to be reported, and to require rehabilitation hospitals
to submit the same data that are currently being submitted for acute care
and psychiatric hospitals. FHA, which supported and encouraged AHCA to
re-open the rule, has several concerns about the proposed revisions to the
reporting rule. Among these concerns is how the data are reported for those
hospitals with multi-campuses; clarity of the instructions and the
definitions; identification of those outpatient procedures which are
required to be reported; requiring hospitals to sequence the external cause
of injury codes (E-codes); requiring hospitals to assign a type of service
code to each record; use of "charity" as a payer code; and requiring ED
admission date and time on the inpatient reporting rule along with inpatient
admission date and time. A copy of the FHA comments is available at
http://www.fha.org/acrobat/ComAHCArule032108.pdf. AHCA is reviewing the
comments it has received but has not indicated yet if and when it will
publish the rule or have another workshop. As it stands now, these changes
would be effective January 1, 2009.
AHCA Proposal to Repeal SIP Reporting Rule
By: Kim Streit (kims@fha.org)
VP Health Care Research & Information Services, Florida Hospital Association
The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA)
is proposing to repeal rules 59B-15.001-15.007, which require hospitals to
submit their data for the Surgical Infection Prevention (SIP) measures to
AHCA. As part of the 2004 transparency legislation that required infection
data reporting, Florida hospitals recommended that AHCA make available the
SIP measures to provide a perspective on infection prevention in hospitals.
However, not all hospitals were reporting the SIP data to the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at that time, so AHCA promulgated rules
to require all Florida hospitals to report this data to the state. A rule
challenge delayed the data submission, which resulted in AHCA using the SIP
data that hospitals reported directly to CMS. While hospitals submitted
several quarters of the SIP measure data to AHCA, none of these data were
ever posted to the consumer Web site. The Florida Hospital Association (FHA)
encouraged AHCA to repeal the rule since it created a duplicative reporting
requirement on hospitals and because AHCA was not using any of the data that
hospitals were submitting directly to them. A public hearing on the repeal
of the SIP rule will be held on April 28, if it is requested. AHCA has
issued a 30-day extension to all reporting facilities for any reports due
prior to the repeal of the rule. FHA commends AHCA for identifying
opportunities to eliminate duplicative reporting burdens on hospitals.
Please click
here for a copy of the letter.
Learn
more
FHIMA Hill Day is a Success in Tallahassee!
Contributed by Linda Renn, RHIT, CCS, CPC,
CPC-H
FHIMA Advocacy Liaison [advocacy@fhima.org]
FHIMA members traveled to Tallahassee on
March 13th and met 27 legislators and communicated our support of
House Bill 637 and Senate Bill 1998 to 43 legislators! It was a busy,
successful day! These bills provide for Electronic Health Records
legislation. These are not 2 separate bills but as you recall from US
Government classes way back when, a bill must have 2 different numbers – one
for the Senate side and one for the House of Representatives side. The
wording of the bill is exact for both sides, just a different number.
The Budget is a big concern this year for
our state. Many bills with appropriations (money) required to carry out the
legislations won’t be passed, however, it was important that we communicate
to our legislators that we support these bills. We accomplished that goal!
The latest on the Senate Bill 1998: This
bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations with a
favorable vote of 5 Yeas to 0 Nays. The next Senate committee stop
is before the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. However,
time during session is swiftly running out! Senator Peaden has indicated
verbally to Senator Ring that he would sign a withdrawal card allowing SB
1998 a free pass from being heard in his committee. What this means is that
If Senator Peaden signs the withdrawal card, then SB 1998 does not have to
go before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Appropriations.
Once on the Senate floor, plans are that SB 1998 will be laid on the table
and the House bill (HB 637) will be taken up in its place. The bill
will then go into messages between the House and the Senate so that any
language differences can be ironed out. If all of the above should occur,
then Florida's Electronic Health Record legislation (FHIN) goes to the
Governor's office for his veto or his signature.
On the House side, House Bill 637 has passed its third stop before the full
House with a vote of: YEAS 109, NAYS 0. So, the Electronic Health Record
legislation has made the trip on the House side.
Legislative Trivia: In order for any legislation to pass, it must pass
favorably through all of its assigned Committee/Council stops, on both on
the Senate and House side. If it completes this trip and makes it to the
full House and Senate floors, then the bill goes into messages between the
Senate and House Chambers to make sure that both the Senate and House
versions match. If they don't, it goes back and forth in messages until this
is accomplished. Once this is done, then moves towards passage by the full
state legislature and sent on the Governor's desk where he can either sign
it, or veto it. (And yes, he has been known to use his veto power).
As you can see, passage of any piece of legislation is not an easy thing to
accomplish when we only have a 60 day session! Please stay tuned to email
alerts as we will be sending out updates through alerts on the progress of
these bills.
Emerging Issues in Release of Information
By Barry S. Herrin, FACHE
Attorney, Smith Moore LLP
 We wanted to let
you know of two recent events that may continue to affect the business of
release of information services companies and health care providers. The
first occurred in Florida in the form of a class action lawsuit against a
hospital and its HIM vendors. The suit claims that the hospital and its
vendors inappropriately charged patients for copies of their medical records
in violation of state copy charge limits. If you want to see a copy of the
class action notice, which summarizes the lawsuit and the claims of the
class plaintiffs, go to
http://www.legalhimformation.com/pdfs/200804_classaction.pdf.
The second
occurred in Illinois, where the state legislature has changed the way
medical records custodians can charge for the production of electronic
versions of medical records. This is the first such statute in what could
become a series of changes to state laws governing how providers charge for
copies of records. You can see a version of the statute at
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=095-0478.
Because the
plaintiffs’ bar is the highest utilizer and requester of medical records
copies (according to surveys and statistics summarized in Advance magazine
on March 10, 2008), we are certain that challenges to record copy charges,
both in court and in the legislature, are going to continue and are likely
to increase.
Medical records custodians and
release of information companies should consider the following in an attempt
to resist these challenges:
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Become active in your AHIMA
component state association. Each has a legislative committee that can
coordinate member efforts to explain how the ROI function works and the
real costs of producing and maintaining these important records.
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Adopt precise policies and
procedures regarding when and how to charge for records, making sure
that they comply with any state law and with the HIPAA Privacy Rules.
Understand the difference between a patient who requests copies of her
records for her attorney and an attorney requesting copies of records or
her client.
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Make sure that you
differentiate between records that are stored electronically and
records that can be produced electronically. Providing a scanned
copy of a paper record should (in our humble opinion) be charged at the
paper copy rate, and not at the electronic copy rate (unless your state
law requires otherwise).
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Start keeping track of the
real time and expense for the production of electronic record copies.
You’ll need that data if you’re going to combat legislation in your
state that assumes one method is cheaper than the other.
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Understand what an
electronic copy of your record will generate if you produce it directly
from the system without review or without converting it to some image
format. Metadata, prior versions of records, and other data may “tag
along” if you simply copy your record onto a disk or some other media.
Considerations of ROI should not, in the real world, drive the
definition of your legal EHR, but developments like this should
certainly create more focus on these issues in the future.
Article reprinted with
permission from Smith Moore, LLP. Article first published by Legal
HIMinformation ® in the April 2008 issue, Volume IV, Number 4.
For more information,
visit their website at
http://www.legalhimformation.com/
eDiscovery and Florida State Courts Update
Kelly McLendon, RHIA, FHIMA Legislative
Co-Chairperson is continually researching topics of a legislative and EMR
nature. Recently, Kelly addressed the issue of eDiscovery adoption for Florida
state courts. Here is his update:
 I spoke with an attorney who is heading up a
Florida Bar Rules Committee investigating eDiscovery adoption for State
Courts in Florida. He advised me that there had been many disparate federal
decisions to date on eDiscovery and this was making it difficult to plot a
course for Florida to makes it’s rules in. They are concerned about causing
more litigation if they do not proceed with care. There probably won’t be
any new formalized rules for eDiscovery in the State courts for another year
or so. In Florida this Rules Committee of the bar has jurisdiction.
He said that in Central Florida magistrates
might handle discovery requests but that their budgets were getting cut, so
getting any kind of legislative or Court attention on this matter is tough
right now. For now they advise to proceed as if the data were in paper,
utilizing similar procedures for discovery.
He also said that if a provider of care has
defined Polices & Procedures and follows them, most times they will be fine.
He also said the Family Courts are leading the way in electronic data issues
with the courts because of text messages, video’s etc.
Can’t Work With Them, Can’t Work Without Them…
What to do when personalities clash at your
office
By Tina Allan, Sales Consultant, Omnia Group
A friend recently confided to me that she
can’t stand the coder her boss just hired. She says they can’t seem to agree
on anything. Ever the diplomat, I tried reminding her that sometimes it’s
good to work alongside people with opposing viewpoints, different
perspectives and alternative business practices.
In response she only rolled her eyes then
reminded me that other times this kind of feuding leads to untold
regrettable acts and surefire disaster for a department!
The reality is that each one of us has
various levels of various traits. Most times these traits allow us to blend
well with others, providing balance if they’re different and solidarity when
they’re the same. Occasionally, though, there will be people who find our
characteristics and resulting behaviors nothing short of intolerable. And,
unfortunately, whether working at a small company or a larger one, there are
bound to be at least a handful of employees who just can’t get along.
While some personality clashes are caused by
conflicts in the interpretation of roles, goals and responsibilities, many
others are triggered when people communicate on different levels or have
very unrealistic mutual expectations. It’s seldom that two colleagues just
arbitrarily hate each other.
Often, when co-workers say they can’t stand
one another it’s really that they can’t understand one another!
“Why is she so stubborn?”
Some people routinely defy others and
stubbornly dig in their heels, insist on doing or saying things their way.
This, of course, breeds resentment, especially if the independently minded
person does not have any real power or authority! The best way to work
peacefully with bull-headed people is to first understand that these are
typically individuals who dislike any form of change – it intimidates them!
So, if you spring a last minute surprise or try to introduce new methods,
expect some form of discontent – ranging from under-the-breath mutterings to
openly hostile rage. Regimented individuals feel safer maintaining the
status quo.
To avert conflicts, try to provide these
people with at least some warning of breaks from their routine, a different
approach. And try to be patient; they need time to adjust. It’s virtually
impossible to push these uncompromising personalities into any action they
are not already aware of and intent on taking.
If you find yourself managing a stubborn,
independently minded employee, consider rewarding his or her compliance with
some autonomy. Plan with, but avoid planning for the person --
as this will allow your free-spirited worker to at least think he or
she has some say in matters. These tactics can help provide the breathing
space and advance notice that unyielding, self-governing employees need, as
well as the peaceful environment everyone else around them wants.
“Doesn’t he ever stop talking?”
Good communication is always key. It pays to
know what to say (and sometimes more importantly what not to say!) in
order to trigger a positive response from a colleague. In order to do this,
though, you need to first have some insight into the innate traits of that
person. For example, outgoing people are usually openly enthusiastic, chatty
and animated; however, they too often expect everyone else to be as colorful
and excitable as they are and can become upset, seem personally insulted,
when their audience appears to be anything less than exuberant.
Misunderstandings occur. Emotions run high.
And mutual feelings of resentment between two people build.
It is behaviors -- not personalities -- that
can change. Once co-workers start to correctly “read” one another, they will
be better able to find common ground. Limit conversations around quiet
types. Don’t ask a barrage of non-critical questions, as introverts see this
as unnecessary and annoying. Get right to the point, stick to the main
subject, and maintain a serious, professional demeanor.
Conversely, if interacting with lively
talkers, show signs of interest in their conversation. Try engaging in some
bit of small talk or telling a quick anecdote, as this can establish
rapport, promote harmony, and make you seem more like them – which is what
makes them happy.
“Who does she think she is?”
Sometimes two people will inadvertently
inflame each other without even realizing they’re doing so. This often
happens during times of stress, since stress causes a person’s most dominant
traits to intensify. For example, a very assertive person might become more
aggressive and try to force a cautious person to make a quick decision. The
more the aggressor does this, the more hesitant the apprehensive individual
becomes. What might start out as a “push-pull” exchange between two
disparate co-workers can suddenly explode into a full-fledged war between
two mutually resentful opponents!
Knowing in advance how co-workers, superiors
or subordinates are apt to respond under pressure can make team-building
strategies easier to devise and implement. You’ll gain a clearer
understanding of how and why certain people react to situations the way they
do and then anticipate how best to respond.
It’s critical for managers to better assess
the probable personality interaction between new hires and existing staff.
By understanding how to cope with less-than-perfect staff members and
maintain harmony at your agency, you’re also bound to increase employee
loyalty and retention. And, as a result, the money and time too often wasted
on frequent employee turnover will be saved!
Why should you or anyone on your team have
to go to work each day knowing the chance of getting into an argument with a
colleague is high? Personality conflicts inside an office can -- and should
-- be tempered or eliminated.
Isn’t there already enough uncontrollable
stress in the outside world?
About the author: Tina Allan is a Sales
Consultant with The Omnia Group located in Tampa, Florida. She conducts
workshops, facilitates training sessions, and advises clients on how to
successfully hire, manage and motivate employees. Call Tina at 800-525-7117 ext
1227 or email her at
tallan@omniagroup.com.
AHIMA Releases Privacy Roundtable Report
A new privacy and security report from four
leading HIM experts is now available. In “Online, on Message, on Duty:
Privacy Experts Share Their Challenges” four experts in health information
privacy participated in a roundtable discussion on key issues related to the
privacy and security of health information—and ways in which the industry
may best address those issues. The report was released in conjunction with
AHIMA’s fifth annual Health Information Privacy and Security Week April
13-19 established to raise public and professional awareness of issues
related to the privacy and security of patient health information. The
complete report is available at
http://www.ahima.org/emerging_issues/2008PrivacyRoundtable.pdf. For more
information on Privacy and Security Week visit
http://www.ahima.org/hipsweek/.
Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule on Display
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) has issued the hospital inpatient PPS proposed rule for
fiscal year 2009 and it is expected to be published in the Federal
Register on April 30. Several additional hospital-acquired conditions (HACs)
that would be subject to the HAC payment provision on October 1 are being
proposed. Under the HAC payment provision, CMS is proposing to pay the CC/MCC
MS-DRGs only for those HACs coded as “Y” (yes, present on admission) and “W”
(clinically undetermined) present on admission (POA) indicators. The CC/MCC
MS-DRGs would not be paid for HACs coded as “N” (no, not present on
admission) and “U” (unknown) POA indicators. CMS is considering whether
payment should be made for HACs coded as a “U” POA indicator for certain
discharge status codes. Comments on the proposed rule are due to CMS
by June 13. Written comments from AHIMA will be forthcoming.
To
access the display copy of the proposed rule, visit
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AcuteInpatientPPS/downloads/CMS-1390-P.pdf.
(Please note that this is a large file which may take a few moments to
open.)
Join AHIMA in Support of the RAC Moratorium
Act
One of AHIMA’s primary advocacy goals for
its 2008 Hill Day was to increase support for HR 4105, the “Medicare
Recovery Audit Contractor Moratorium Act.” To continue our effort, we are
requesting that all AHIMA members visit the action center of the Advocacy
Assistant at https://secure.ahima.org/DC/Login.asp and send a letter to your
congressional representative in support of HR 4105. An action alert is
already active on the site; simply select it, review the alert, edit the
letter (if you wish), enter your contact information and hit send. HR 4105
was introduced by Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) in response to problems identified
in the Medicare RAC pilot programs in California, Florida, and New York
which have not been resolved in spite of complaints from these three states
and the industry. AHIMA fears that without evaluation and resolution of
these problems, healthcare providers will suffer significant costs due to
the administrative problems caused by the RAC program and the Medicare
program.
AHRQ Web Resource Now Available
A new Web resource that allows users to
learn, share, and adopt innovations in the delivery of health services was
launched today by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Health
Care Innovations Exchange is available at
www.innovations.ahrq.gov. Some of the tools of particular interest to
HIM professionals include a description of a physician-patient e-mail system
and a number of performance improvement project tools.
HIMSS Study Notes Gaps in Patient Security
A recent study commissioned by HIMSS
Analytics indicates there is a significant blind spot when it comes to
patient identity theft. Commissioned by Kroll Fraud Solutions, the report
notes that many data breaches go unreported and only 56 percent of breached
organizations notified the patient involved. The press release is available
here. To request a copy of the report, visit
http://www.krollfraudsolutions.com/about-kroll/HIMSS-Patient-Data-Security-Study.aspx.
AHIMA Rolls Out New Brand Campaign
AHIMA is launching an awareness campaign
featuring AHIMA members. The objective is to clarify the role of HIM
professionals for healthcare professionals and executives who may have
limited understanding of the HIM function. Watch for print advertisements in
upcoming issues of Modern Healthcare, Healthcare Executive,
Healthcare Financial Management, and the Journal of AHIMA.
Online advertisements, Web pages, direct mail and promotional merchandise
will also be part of the campaign. Click here
http://www.ahima.org/iwork1/ for an example of the campaign.
AHIMA’s 2008 Hill Day Draws Record Attendance
On April 8, AHIMA held its annual Hill Day
and members from across the country visited Washington, DC, to meet their
senators and congressmen. This year set a new attendance record with 170
Hill Day participants representing 36 states and the District of Columbia.
Hill Day attendees met with over 213 House and Senate offices to discuss
critical AHIMA advocacy issues such as:
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support for HR 4105, the “Medicare
Recovery Audit Contractor Moratorium Act”
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implementation of ICD-10-CM and
ICD-10-PCS by October 1, 2011
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work force and the need for the Senate
to pass HR 1467, the “10,000 Trained by 2010 Act”
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additional issues as health information
technology, standards, classifications and terminologies, and the need
to pass genetic information nondiscrimination legislation
AHIMA’s Hill Day events launched on April 7
with an in-depth policy briefing on the association’s key advocacy issues.
Hill Day officially began on April 8 with a breakfast briefing to address
any final questions. Look for additional follow up on 2008 Hill Day in the
June issue of AHIMA Advantage.
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