In This Issue:
 WHIMA President's Message
WIRED for Health
From Capitol Hill
Your Invitation to Come to the Chula Vista Resort
Did You Know?!?
Say "Yes!" to Volunteering
The Future of the HIM Professional
The Results Are In
HIM Challenge Winners Announced
Is Your Membership Profile Up-To-Date?
In the News
2011 Annual Conference
Congratulations Policy & Legislative Team!
President's Message
The End is Always a Beginning
Sandy Stevens-Berens, RHIT
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| | Sandy Stevens-Berens
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The past year as President of WHIMA has been extremely rewarding as it has been filled with many exciting challenges. Health Information professionals have longed to be called to the table for our expertise and knowledge....and we are being called. ARRA, ICD-10, WHITEC, WHA HIE/HIT, EHR, MyPHR, RACs...are all acronyms that have health information written all over them! It has been thrilling to be at the helm of an organization of professionals that are seizing the day!
As WHIMA prepares for the new year, it is important to remember that the Board of Directors is here to serve you. This is your board and your organization. If you have thoughts and suggestions...make them known.
Get involved to the extent you are able. Attend a board meeting to learn what it takes to keep the organization running. Volunteer for a team or participate as a speaker at one of the conferences or workshops. Don’t wait to be asked to become more active....ask how you can become involved.
All good things do come to an end and my time as president has ended.
With all endings, there are new beginnings. For 2010-2011, Vicky Wolf will be your new President. She has been actively preparing for this role over the past year as President-Elect. Dawn Paulson will be assuming the role of President-Elect. The new WHIMA Board is ready and willing to work together to ensure this is another great year for WHIMA members and associates. I will be continuing on the board for another year in the role of Past President. I am looking forward to putting my efforts towards ambassadorship for WHIMA.
Having been actively involved for many years in WHIMA, I can honestly tell you that what I have gained from the experience, far out weighs what I have given. It has been a sincere honor to have served as your President and I look forward to many more years of involvement with the organization and the profession.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve!!
Sandy
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) 2010 Long Term Care (LTC) Spring Meeting
by Kim Pittsley, RN, RHIT
Minnesota welcomed the AHIMA Long Term Care Practice Council and the AHIMA members and non-members who work in Long Term Care to the 2010 LTC Spring Meeting at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota on April 28-29, 2010.
This meeting was held in conjunction with the 2010 Minnesota Health Information Management Association (MHIMA) Annual Meeting and Educational Conference, and was coordinated by the AHIMA LTC Planning Team of Denice Stelly from Louisiana, and Michelle Dougherty and Megan O'Neill from Minnesota.
This highly anticipated meeting was attended by 108 individuals from across the United States who all work in some aspect of health information, in long term care. The speaker line-up as usual, provided us with experts in the areas that affect us now, and will have an impact on us in the future.
Kelli Marsh, RHIA, RAC-CT, provided us with information regarding the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 and strategies to promote a successful rollout with the looming October 1, 2010 implementation date. Having a better understanding of what we can do to assist the clinicians in capturing the needed data was helpful.
Char Lefert, RHIA (from Wisconsin), discussed sequencing of diagnosis codes on the health record and claim form, reviewed current ICD-9-CM coding guidance, and gave us an overview of Section I. (Disease Diagnosis) in MDS 3.0, as well as strategies for transitioning to ICD-10-CM on October 1, 2013.
Michelle Dougherty, MA, RHIA, CHP, highlighted important issues for managing hybrid records, as well as the hot topic in managing electronic health records (EHRs). The majority of long term care facilities are just beginning to implement EHRs for more than MDS 2.0 transmitting.
Donna Maassen, CHC, reviewed HIPAA and the impact on long term care as it relates to: ARRA/HITECH, Red Flag Rules, and Identity Theft. It provided us with some tools to assist facilities with compliance.
Paula Saunders, JD, gave us an overview of recent changes in Medicare, Medicaid, and other payer reimbursement and audit recovery programs. She gave us some suggestions on how to prepare for the impact of these new payment policies in our facilities.
Sue Mitchell, RHIA, reviewed the ever changing legislative and regulatory environment of the latest Federal laws, rules, and initiative that effect LTC.
Frank McKinney, explained E-prescribing and E-mars as they relate to LTC. He provided advice on best practices and lessons learned from those that have already transitioned to this practice.
Lisa Kampa MA, RHIA, CHP and Heidi Onsted RHIA, shared with us their organization’s approach to electronic document management (EDM). They have already progressed to scanning all loose papers into their EHR.
Why do I attend? Besides the outstanding vendor display and good food, I find, it is the value of meeting with those people across the country who are dealing with the same issues you do on a daily basis. Often after a conversation, I come back with that last piece of the puzzle that I was missing to successfully implement that new process in a facility.
This meeting is always a MUST for me, as it has some of the best information I find for LTC in the country. I can’t wait to see where next years’ meeting will take me.
If you would like more in depth information from the conference, the presentations/handouts are available for a cost of $50.00 from the Minnesota Health Information Management Association. Send an email request for the documents to executivedirector@mnhima.org.
Kim Pittsley, RN, RHIT, is an Independent Consultant in Long Term Care and HIM from Wausau, WI
Wisconsin Legislative News Update: WIRED for Health
by Cathy Hansen, RHIA
| | Cathy Hansen
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The Legal and Policy WIRED for Health Board Committee, continues to meet, along with all the work groups, to finalize their proposals to the WIRED Board.
The WIRED for Health final work plan is due to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology by August 31st. The state HIE planning board recently shared their blueprint for developing and operating a network for electronic health information sharing with the public for a brief comment period, which ended August 1st.
The WIRED for health vision set forth in the plan is to promote and improve the health of individuals and communities in Wisconsin through the development of health information exchange that facilitates electronic sharing of the right health information at the right place and right time and their mission is to develop and sustain a trusted, secure statewide health information network and HIE services that provide value to participants.
The WIRED Boards Strategic and Operational Plan blueprint includes recommendations on how a statewide electronic health information exchange would be governed and financed, suggested technical architecture and services, and a framework for addressing legal and policy considerations.
The State Designated Entity (SDE) selection process is also underway. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the WIRED for Health Board announced that they have received five letters of intent. Letters were received from the following organizations: Metasteward, LLC; InterMeds; National Institute of Medical Informatics; Wisconsin Consortium of Wisconsin Hospital Association, Wisconsin Medical Society, Wisconsin collaborative for Health Care Quality, and Wisconsin Health Information Organization; and UW-Madison Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis would like to play a role in this undertaking.
To view the above letters and for more details on WIRED activities along with various reference materials and other resources for the WIRED for Health project visit the following site: WIRED for Health
It is expected that the Legal and Policy work group will continue to meet after the final work plan is submitted to the ONC, as we expect work will need to be done in the legislative arena as the WIRED work plan moves forward. Of course, this is hinging on approval by ONC.
Cathy Hansen, RHIA, is the Director of Health Information services for St. Croix Regional Medical Center in St. Croix Falls, WI
HITECH Act and Meaningful Use
by Sally Hensel, RHIT
The Health Information Technology and Economic and Clinical Health Act, HITECH Act, released Stage 1 definitions of “meaningful use” objectives for incentive payments for Medicare and Medicaid services. The federal government is providing up to 27 billion dollars over the next ten years to promote health care process and outcome improvements through EHR implementations. At this time, mental health services are not eligible for incentive payments.
Attainment of the ten core objectives and five objectives from the menu set are required for incentive payments which are expected to commence May 2011. These are attached as a PDF file which includes the measurable results: HITECH Act Core and Menu Sets.
An overview of the changes in HealthCare IT is provided courtesy of eScription, a division of Nuance Corporation.
Over the past year, the country has been buzzing about healthcare. There is an overwhelming amount of information to keep track of and it is easy to get lost in the noise. We find ourselves asking, "What does it all mean?" and "How does this affect me?"
Earlier this month the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology released the final rules that will guide electronic health record (EHR) rollouts for the next five years and their final "meaningful use" requirements. Below we have laid out the main facts and decoded various acronyms to help you better understand these changes.
ARRA: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in February 2009 by Congress and President Obama as a critical measure to stimulate the economy. The $787 billion plan funds stimulus programs varying from public works projects to healthcare and technology initiatives.
HITECH Act: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act seeks to improve American healthcare delivery and patient care through investment in health information technology. The $25.8 billion act under ARRA supports programs to educate, equip, and incentivize healthcare providers and organizations to become "meaningful users" of EHRs. Eligible professionals (EPs), physicians, and hospitals who are "meaningful EHR users" can receive Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments.
ONC: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology coordinates a variety of programs to implement HITECH and supports several related initiatives to facilitate nationwide adoption of health IT. The group currently establishes the standards for certified EHR technology and was involved with finalizing the definition of "meaningful use."
Temporary Certification Program:
On June 18, 2010, the ONC announced a Temporary Certification Program for health information technology (health IT). This permits organizations to become authorized by the National Coordinator to test and certify EHR technology-- a core requirement for health care providers to become "meaningful users." The final rule for the permanent certification program is expected to be published this fall.
Read the Press Release
Meaningful Use:
The definition of Meaningful Use was outlined this month in an 864 page document of rules and standards healthcare providers must meet in order to realize improved health care quality, efficiency and patient safety with certified EHR systems. The criteria for meaningful use will come in three stages over the next five years.
RECs: Regional Extension Centers are regional centers funded by a program under the HITECH Act that offer technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices to become meaningful users of EHRs and other health information technology (HIT).
So, what does this all mean for healthcare providers and hospitals? Most are jumping on the HIT bandwagon with the prospect of receiving Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for EHR meaningful use. At the same time, they are looking for ways to continue to benefit from dictation-based clinical documentation systems that provide the unique physician narrative so critical to patient care. We look forward to working with you to help your organization achieve its goals in this exciting time for healthcare IT.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Recovery.gov
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Sally Hensel, RHIT, is a member of the Link newsletter team and lives in Waterford, WI
Environmental Scan Results
by Vicky Wolf
| | Your Voice Was Heard
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The WHIMA Board of Directors wishes to say “Thank you” to everyone that completed the 2010 Environmental Scan Survey. We are proud to report that we had a wonderful response to the survey this year. 32% of our members voiced their opinion. That is a 21% increase in response from the 2008 Environmental Scan in which only 11% of members responded. We tip our hat to you! Thank you for taking time to respond!
There were no real surprises in the survey results. The top priorities chosen by the respondents are what were expected.
The single most highly cited priority and second priority in each category are as follows:
CUSTOMER ENVIRONMENT
Access to affordable continuing education and skills development;
Emphasis on skill development so the HIM professionals are recognized as experts in e-HIM
ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
Demonstrating value of professional credentials to employers;
Expand HIM professional awareness to other health care professions
TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
Recognize, embrace & encourage the challenge of different roles for HIM professional
preparation & education for new roles in technology, electronic health records and nformatics;
Establish a baseline for e-HIM knowledge/skill levels in order to implement & utilize e-HIM
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Incorporate other professions to collectively advance the goals and objectives of HIM professionals;
Education of the public and other health care professionals about the Personal Health
Record
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Implementation of ICD-10 & ICD-10-PCS;
Reimbursement changes negatively impacting health care operations
GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT
Enhanced communication to & from members through informative & timely media;
Recruitment & retention of volunteer leadership
The end result is that the WHIMA Board of Directors and Scenario/Strategic Planning team utilized your input and voice from the Environmental Scan to put together the strategic plan for WHIMA and will use it to move forward your WHIMA vision and mission. Your voice was also forwarded to the AHIMA Board for use in national strategy development.
To view the full report of responses in its entirety click here...Environmental Scan. To view the WHIMA strategic plan click here...Strategic Plan For volunteer opportunities to help move the initiative forward click here.
Again, thank you for participating and letting your voice be heard.
WHIMA Board of Directors
Vicky Wolf, RHIT, is the 2010 President of WHIMA and an Independent Consultant from Rubicon, WI
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It’s time to start planning for the 2010 Annual Fall Conference in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, on September 16 and 17, 2010. The Chula Vista Resort is the backdrop for this year’s theme, “Change is Everywhere…Opportunity is Here.”
Claire Dixon-Lee from AHIMA will kick-off the information-packed conference with her opening remarks on changes coming for the HIM profession, “Exploring the Future of Health Information Careers.” Have you ever wondered how to setup your own HIM Dashboard? Come to the conference and learn how. Learn how accredited organizations are applying the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals. And, learn about the new Joint Commission accreditation requirements for sentinel events and the implications for each.
Other topics include “Clinical Documentation Management Programs,” “Denial Management,” “WHITEC: Achieving Meaningful Use Through Electronic Health Record Adoption,” “Realities and Strategies of HIM Leadership,” and “Strategies for Managing Accounts Receivable.” A demonstration on how to use the new Communities of Practice will be provided. Coding Roundtables, RAC updates, and ICD-10-CM/PCS updates will also be offered..
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We’ll end on a humorous note with our closing session, “Lighten Up” presented by Dr. Robertshaw.
Don’t miss your opportunity. Join us in Wisconsin Dells for fun and networking with peers. Return to work refreshed and full of new ideas to handle any changes that come your way!
For a preview of the upcoming conference, go to… Fall Conference Program
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed when it comes to new legislative changes occurring within the health information profession?
AHIMA's Advocacy and Public Policy team actively monitors, responds and participates in national policy and industry initiatives to assist health information professionals to further interpret these sometimes complex laws that are enacted. On the AHIMA website, there is a tab titled, "Advocacy and Public Policy". This is a great resource to go to when trying to find out new legislative changes that will affect health information professionals in a range of settings. To give you an idea of what this section offers, the 2010 Agenda that is posted includes: EHR Adoption, Health Information Exchange, Confidentiality, Privacy and Security of Health Information, ICD-10, Clinical Data and Documentation Integrity, HIM Workforce, and Recognition of the HIM Profession. Under the Public Policy section, there are also resourceful tools outlining regulations such as, the ARRA, HITECH and 2011 IPPS/OPPS rules. To learn more visit AHIMA Advocacy
Brandi Rogers, RHIA, is the RAC Coding Leader for Aurora Health Care
Why volunteer? I could send you to a web-site that would tell you that it is good for your health, but instead I will let you in on the secret as to why I volunteer. My secret is…to meet people. Volunteering has genuinely built my HIM network of colleagues and I feel blessed to be able to call them my friends.
Yes, volunteering has brought me together with friends that I would not have met if it was not for volunteering. Therefore, I can truly say that volunteering has brought great happiness and joy to my life.
Start building your network of friends today! Click here for WHIMA volunteer opportunities, visit our volunteer page online. Members with questions regarding serving on a team should contact Vicky Wolf or Sandy Bissen. Submit your name now.
Here is a little fact to think about. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the HIM field as having one of the 20 fastest growth (s) in its industry. From a HIM student’s perspective, each class introduced throughout my program offered numerous possibilities for a future career. Once in the HIM field, those possibilities became challenged as new technology integrates with the patient record; laws, rules and regulations continually update that and alter how our jobs are to performed. These new challenges are simply new opportunities for a new career in the HIM field. In researching job opportunities, I found a particular article that not only offered ideas, but presented information that left you looking for a new opportunity in a field you already enjoy. Please click on the following link to read more. HIM Opportunities
Cindy Birkholz, Amy Dickmann, Beth Harrison and Eileen TenPas each took the HIM Challenge from the Winter Issue of the Link Newsletter. They correctly answered all the HIM key milestone questions and walked away with some great WHIMA logo wear items from the WHIMA booth in the exhibit hall.
For those of you that were unable to attend the conference, but tested your knowledge, click here for the answers to the challenge...HIM Challenge. Thank you for participating.
We value your commitment and dedication to WHIMA and the HIM profession. To ensure the continuation of your WHIMA member benefits, login to the Member Center on the home page of the WHIMA web site at WHIMA and select the navigation button to update your membership profile or renew your membership today.
WHIMA periodically downloads a membership listing from AHIMA to update our Membership Directory which then provides us with your demographics so that we can continue to send you the Link newsletter and notices of conferences and late breaking news in Wisconsin that impacts you, your career or work.
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| | Nancy Davis
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| | Peg Schmidt
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Nancy Davis, RHIA, director of privacy/security officer at Ministry Health Care, and Peg Schmidt, RHIA, the chief privacy officer with Autora Health Care based in Milwaukee were featured contributors to the article "No Harm Done?" in the August 2010 issue of the Journal of AHIMA.
Kudos to Peg and Nancy.
The 2011 Annual Conference will be held at the Sierra Hotel and KCI Conference Center in Green Bay, WI on May 18-20, 2011. Mark your calendars with these dates so you won't miss it.
WHIMA received the 2nd Place CSA Core Achievement Award for Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy at Summer Team Talks in Chicago. The award recognized the team's outstanding achievement and the countless hours spent on copy fees over the past number of years.
Here's some quick links to WHIMA resources online:
| Don't miss the Fall Conference at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells
September 16-17, 2010.
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