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In This Issue:  MHIMA Recognition UpLink: Your Monthly MHIMA e-Newsletter President's Message 2009 MHIMA Legal Resource Manual MHIMA Planning for 2009-2010 Link to MN CoP WI Changes re: ROI Achieving Coding Excellence Red Flags Rule Extended MN HIM/HIT/Coding Programs Credentialing Exam Writing Hints MHIMA Job Bank 2010 MHIMA Annual MeetingUplink: Coming to you monthly
Have something you'd like included in a coming issue? Send us your article! We're planning to have a regular newsletter feature for Student Members. We're also planning to feature our members in a "How I Got to Where I Am" column. Articles should be no longer than 500 words and you receive one (1) CEU credit for your work. Contact Myrna Wells-Ulland You can find the current and past issues on our website under the UPLINK E-NEWSLETTER button. President's Message July 25, 2009
A personal word of thanks to Diane Larson for her leadership and visionary year as President – I have some "big shoes" to step into. There are many things that MHIMA has to CELEBRATE this summer, and has brought national recognition to our CSA and HIM professionals. Look for these recognitions on the “sidebar.” I am so proud of all of you! I would be remiss if I neglected to add that MHIMA and AHIMA are co-sponsoring an Achieving Coding Excellence seminar on August 20-21 at the Marriott Bloomington hotel. Early-bird registration has been extended to August 13. Gina Sanvik, Brenda Wood, and Maxine Weiss are leading this project and have dedicated many hours to bring this exceptional program back to Minnesota. Thank you! Earlier this week, I went to the public library for the first time in years. Now, you are probably asking yourself, "Why would Steph talk about a library of all things when we have so many other things to talk about?" A library and MHIMA actually have several common connections – no great leap to understand why our profession was initially titled "Librarian". I quickly lost myself in the ambiance of the "new" library, noting that the microfilm machines now stood right next to the pc’s where internet surfers were busy. There was still a children’s reading corner and now some interesting looking pillars wrapped with chalkboard paint for kids to exercise creativity and excitement. And of course, the diversity of books and subject matter was immediately evident as I strolled down the aisles reading binders and trying to keep my selections to a reasonable number - Leadership, Diversity, Politics, Gardening, Organization, Education, Strategic Thinking, Cooking. The one that caught my eye as it is one of my favorite things to do is Cooking. Cooking allows me to experiment with my creative side, melding flavors and new ideas for presentation and ingredients that work together. It allows me to relax and bring friends together in a familiar environment for dialogue, laughter, consideration of events important in our lives. I thought to myself, "Not so very different than what MHIMA’s volunteers do each and every day." MHIMA is reliant upon volunteers to make this organization successful and forward thinking on every level. We come together with thoughts, ideas, humor, life experiences and professional experiences that comprise a "volunteer library." We have great dialogues and debates, make lifelong friendships, lend shoulders and ears of support and words of experience and wisdom along with questions and uncertainty. I would encourage each of you to take a step and volunteer on one of our committees to continue to move this organization forward. See our 2009-2010 Strategy Map on the CoP for our project teams that need your involvement. Come join the "MHIMA Volunteer Library" – your experiences will last a lifetime. Enjoy your summer! MHIMA Planning for 2009-2010 The MHIMA Board held our 2009-10 Strategic Planning meeting in July. The energy in the room was a palpable thing! The Strategic Plan and Map is available on the Minnesota CoP (see link in the "sidebar") for your review . I encourage you to take a look. Our strategic plan gets achieved through MHIMA volunteer efforts and commitment. This is the document that really puts the “how” and “what” behind the MHIMA mission. As a beginning point for our strategic planning, we utilized the Environmental Scan completed by our members (also available on the CoP). While we can’t do everything, the Board has identified key initiatives to focus for the upcoming year. We have a full agenda that ranges from RAC’s to advocacy to educational outreach in the form of webinars. The MHIMA delegates (Sue Jensen, Gina Sanvik, Colleen Malmgren, Cindy Glewwe and myself) along with Executive Director, Myrna Wells-Ulland, just returned from Chicago and AHIMA Summer Team Talks and Leadership Conference. The first morning, we learned that Linda Kloss, AHIMA Chief Executive Officer, would not be renewing her contract in March. We were collectively shocked into silence as we listened to Linda speak about her decision to leave AHIMA as CEO, and her commitment of continued involvement. Linda has exemplified leadership to AHIMA members and the greater health care industry. Under her leadership, the Association has grown both in numbers and strategic alliance, financial stability, heightened awareness of the value HIM professionals bring to an organization, encouraging diversity of knowledge and inclusive membership. Linda has been an extraordinary leader and voice for the HIM profession, and I am grateful for her commitment and vision. I’m certain everyone will join me in wishing Linda the very best of all things in her future. The AHIMA website will include more information about Linda’s departure and the search committee. Summer Team Talks and the subsequent Leadership Conference are an exceptional networking opportunity for CSA leaders to share strategies to move state associations forward to engage volunteers and students, provide guidance on succession planning for the Board, and provide needed and effective educational outreach. One of our key priorities in Minnesota this year will continue to be legislative advocacy. We were recognized by AHIMA for our work in the 2008 MN legislative session, and we also discussed the 2009 legislative session as we worked with MHA and state health care organizations to defeat a copy fee bill that would significantly restructure and reduce an organization’s ability to charge for records where appropriate. This issue is not resolved and will be introduced during the 2010 legislative session. Under Diane Larson’s very capable hands, a workgroup of HIM professionals and hospital policy advocates have been meeting to develop a white paper that describes the steps, costs, hybrid EMR environment, EMR challenges to reproduce copies, and e-delivery barriers, challenges and opportunities. This white paper can be utilized as an industry tool and teachable point for state legislative leaders to better understand what an EMR is and is not, and perhaps more importantly that there is more to release of information than “pushing a button”. Stay tuned as this topic will touch every health care organization in Minnesota during the coming year. In response to the MN Environmental Scan, the Board is unanimous in its support of offering webinars on a variety of subjects. On the schedule are webinars for critical access, long term care, advocacy, e-HIM/e-Health Initiatives/ARRA, ICD-10 preparation, ROI and Medical Record basics for physician practice. More are under consideration. We are very hopeful that these webinars will be successful in educational outreach to all parts of the state in a cost effective manner. My very sincere “thank you” to all of our volunteers who have offered to facilitate the webinars. I fully appreciate the extra time this takes in an already full schedule. Watch the calendar and your email from MHIMA for dates and topics. Please feel free to share webinar information with others who may have an interest in the topic. Changes to Medical Record Access in WI For those of you involved with facilities in the state of Wisconsin, you should know that WI Act 28 makes changes to Wisconsin's medical record access statute, 146.83, effective July 1, 2009. The Wisconsin Health Information Management Association has provided a helpful document outlining the changes in Fee Schedule, Exceptions to those fees, Copies in Electronic Format, and associated Time Limits. Click Here to download that information. Fees charged for medical records submissions to the Department of Health Services/WI Disability Determination Bureau have also been modified due to the passage of Wisconsin Act 28. Click Here to download that information. FTC Extends Red Flags Rule The Federal Trade Commission has extended the enforcement of the Red Flags Rule until November 1, a three-month extension from the original date of August 1. The Red Flags Rule is an anti-fraud regulation, requiring creditors and financial institutions with covered accounts to implement programs to identify, detect and respond to the warning signs, or "red flags," that could indicate identity theft. The rule requires physicians and hospitals to adopt written plans for tracking and responding to indicators of identity theft in their billing operations. You can find helpful resources on the FTC's Red Flags Website. You can also rent the AHIMA audioseminar "Understanding the Red Flag Rules" from March 10, 2009, from our Coding and Data Quality Audioseminar Library. Go to our MHIMA website and click on the MHIMA STORE button. Credentialing Exam Writing Hints Job hunting, cover letters, resumes, and oh, yes, the national exam all make for a real post-graduation whirl! While it is tempting to delay writing the AHIMA national credentialing exam since it is on on-line and can be scheduled at any time, it could be the most serious strategic mistake of your life! Since I have written both the RHIT and RHIA exams, I can attest that sooner is better. Being an HITM program director, I have heard all the legitimate excuses for postponing the exam writing event, such as lack of funds, arrival of babies, honeymoons, job hunting activities, etc. If you have graduated, now is the time!!! Before you do any thing else, join AHIMA as a student or a new graduate member if you have not done so. The membership fee will reduce the cost of exams. Log into the AHIMA website at www.ahima.org. Click on Professional Development, Credentials/Certification, Exam Prep area. Click on the credential that you are going for and locate the Certification Candidate Guide (CCG). Here is a wealth of information. Consider downloading the entire Guide. On page 9 of the CCG is the following AHIMA Exam Application Checklist: 1. Read the Candidate Guide 2. Submit all paperwork necessary (transcripts, resume, other documentation.) Upon receipt of authorization (ATT) letter, read it completely. 3. Schedule exam with Prometric. This can be done on-line at www.prometric.com/ahima or by calling (800) 813-6779. Prometric is a company that has contracted with AHIMA and other organizations to administer on-line examinations. Prometric employees have no knowledge about the content of the exams. Their only role is to administer the exams. A list of test centers locations can be found at www.prometric.com/ahima. 4. Check out the testing site location beforehand. The hour before the exam is no time to be lost! 5. You will be asked for an authorization number located in the ATT letter. 6. Verify what materials are needed at the testing center. 7. Verify time and date of the exam. Candidates who arrive late or fail to appear will forfeit their application fee. In either case, a new application fee and full application must be submitted. 8. On page 7, review Submitting an Application. Make sure that you are eligible before submitting an application. If so, your application can be on-line or paper. Both methods are located at www.ahima.org/certification. Since many students marry shortly after graduation, be sure that your name on the application matches the identification to be used for admission to the test center. The RHIT and RHIA applications require the education program code (EPC) identifying the program from which you graduated. Contact your program director if necessary. Be sure to sign and date the application and make a copy for your records. Get into the training mode. Use a similar strategy to preparing for a marathon. You can’t do things right in a short period of time. The body gets sore and the brain overloads if things come too fast and too intense. Remember your classroom assignments. The best work was not done the night before the assignment was due. Your brain needs some processing time. Strategies: A former student set a goal of writing the exam by Christmas. She passed and called with the good news. She said that new credential after her name was the best Christmas present she had ever received. Of course you are nervous. I would worry about you if you were not nervous. This is an important step in your career. The stress and anxiety of preparing for a comprehensive exam is not all bad. Rather look at this stress and anxiety as it is a powerful incentive to adequately prepare for the event. I try to keep my own anxiety and stress levels under control by remembering a counselor’s advice. He said, “ When _________ (fill in the blank) is over, will you still be alive or is there a wild animal in the room that will eat you? If not, you really have nothing to worry about, do you?” In other words, there are very few life and death issues in life and this is not one of them. Go into the exam with this attitude and you will score much higher! Trust me! |
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