Keystoner

April 2010

Inside This Issue:

President's Message
Board Meeting Update
AHIMA 2010 Winter Teams Talks / Capitol Hill Day
House of Delegates (HOD) Operations Team
Board Spotlight on Second Year Director
Board Spotlight on First Year Director
CPHIMA Regional Report
SePHIMA Regional Report
WPHIMA Regional Report
Article from Pitt

President's Message

Submitted by Fran Guiles, RHIA, CTR
PHIMA President

Esteemed Members of the Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association.   Spring has sprung and fever is as fever does.  Two-Four-Six inches of cold rain tend to temper one’s outlook, except if you are a daffodil.   Nothing but nothing can decry my anticipation, and hopefully yours, for the grand finale of our “Sweet New Adventures” ride….  

Our ride has been short but long, and plenty left.   You, the ladies and gentlemen of the general membership are the oomph guts and dynamics of this show.  

As promised, PHIMA conducted a PHR “Train the Trainer” session in January.   Lorri Luciano, Christine Staropoli and myself presented the training.  We have around 20 trained members located throughout our state available to present themselves and the program at any requested venue, indulging the course of the personal health record.   These volunteers will promote the validity and the vitality of the PHR and will accommodate any community organization that you have entertained with the idea, and are acceptable to a presentation.   This is one of our “Sweet New Adventure” team goals that we accomplished.  This is a predominant and pronounced issue for the future of HIM as well as the maintenance of our communities.  They are here, they are there, they are ready to answer your call and hopefully accommodate your needs.  

You will be happy to know that plans for our Annual Meeting at the Hershey Lodge, May 10th-12th are well ahead of schedule.    Our Agenda is confirmed and PAeHealth will be co-sponsoring and sharing a track with us on Tuesday. They will have sessions, bring in vendors and possibly add an additional 100 attendees.

On Monday AM there will be a PHR Train the Trainer session (free) of charge.   I am very excited to share the news with you that the CEO of AHIMA, Dr. Alan Dowling, accepted my invitation to attend our Annual Meeting.   I met Dr. Dowling at AHIMA Team Talks and Hill Day last week and I want to convey that he is dynamic and genuine at the same time.   Dr. Dowling will join us on Tuesday evening as we do some Networking with Peers 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. He will also join Val Watzlaf to give the AHIMA update on Wednesday 11:30 – 12:15pm. The national CEO is dynamic, genuine and approachable, a definite plus for our state meeting.  I can guarantee you he will be competition for the theme park open from 10am to 9pm and the casino within a 20 minute drive.  All kidding aside though, I don’t know if he could match up with the Chocolate Fare in the Circular Room.   Can you imagine 3 days of access to coca sheared jumbo scallops, dark chocolate pomegranate mousse, milk chocolate almond tarts or Belgian “Kiss “ waffles?  Or how about the CHOCOLATE SPA located just minutes from Hershey Lodge, let yourself be soothed and toned in total luxury.  The Spa is a sanctuary where chocolate is not just a treat to eat, but a necessary ingredient for innovative spa treatments such as the patented Whipped Cocoa Bath, Chocolate Bean Polish, and the Chocolate Fondue Wrap.

You can do all of this with no increase to your Registration fee from last year, all of this just minutes from the PA turnpike, all of this and a local airport too.   And the possibility of 22 Continuing Education Credits!!  

But seriously folks, our program to support the PHR is up and running and the National CEO will attend our annual meeting, not bad for almost 90 inches of snow…  We thank you for your continued support.  

Congratulations to Eve-Ellen Mandler who is running for the office of Director of AHIMA and Mervat Abdelhak who is running for CAHIM Master Degree Educator on the AHIMA Ballot. Voting begins in June so please continue to support PHIMA by voting in this important National election.

By the time you read this newsletter our voting for next year’s Officers will be complete.   Everyone will be notified of the results of this year’s election via an e-alert.   I would like to thank all those members who volunteered to have their name placed on the ballot.

The Yankies are listed as 5-2 to repeat.   The Fightin Phills come in at 5-1 to regain the title.   It is a lock for you to contact PHIMA and obtain a PHR presentation in the venue of your choosing.   
Our Pennsylvania Team was strong at Hill Day this year.  Would you believe there were EIGHT of us who attended, the best representation we’ve had!!!   And to be in Washington, DC, during the historic event of signing the Healthcare Reform into law was an added highpoint.   This can only mean we will grow and become even more important.   Please look for a full recap of Hill Day by Dina Nedorost.  

To love what you do and feel that it matters…How could anything be more fun?    Katherine Graham

Board Meeting Update - March 2010

Submitted by Denise Dunyak, MS, RHIA

The 3rd quarter board meeting was held in Harrisburg on Thursday March 4, 2010. The agenda for the Annual Conference was confirmed.  It looks to be a very good session and everything is progressing as planned.  PA eHealth will be co-sponsoring and sharing a track with us on Tuesday, bringing in an additional 100 attendees.   

All officer and committee descriptions and responsibilities are being revised and will be reviewed prior to the May board meeting.    There was much discussion on a variety of other topics including:  qualification of PHR trainers, how to handle incidents at education sessions, supplying all locals with conference lines to facilitate meetings, and the new AHIMA CoP. 

President-elect Chris Parfitt reviewed her strategic plan and budget for FY 2010-2011.

Two “special meetings” were held to review and discuss the Distinguished Member and Scholarship selections as well as the appointment of the new CEO.  

The last board meeting of the fiscal year will be held prior to the Annual Conference.

AHIMA 2010 Winter Teams Talks / Capitol Hill Day

Submitted by:
Dina Nedorost, RHIT, CCS
Chairperson, SePHIMA Advocacy Committee
Co-Chairperson, PHIMA Coding Roundtable

AHIMA’s Winter Team Talks and Capital Hill Day took place on Monday and Tuesday, March 22-23, 2010 in Washington, DC.  The team who made the two day trip representing PHIMA were:  Dina Nedorost, Renee Silverman, Fran Guiles, Joyce Garozzo, Wannetta Edwards and Karen Gibson of SePHIMA along with Valerie Watzlaf and Chris Parfitt of WPHIMA.

Team Talks were held on the first day and consisted of AHIMA Leadership presenting various program items such as 2010 Key Initiatives, House of Delegate reports and HIM Transformation topics such as Privacy, Security and ICD-10.  The team was then prepped for the next day’s activities. 

The second day was Hill Day.   At a 7am briefing, the team received their appointment times with their congressmen.   The appointments were scheduled throughout the day.  They mainly met with the staff of the congressmen such as Legislative Assistants, Legislative Directors and Senior Policy Advisors.  The team had eight appointments in all for the day.   They visited offices individually, sometimes two members at a time and at one point, all eight members, as a group,  met with Senator Arlen Specter’s Legislative Correspondent in his office.

The team visited with the following offices:  Representatives Tim Murphy, Chaka Fattah, Jim Gerlach, Patrick Murphy, Robert Brady and Todd Platts.  As previously mentioned, they visited the office of Senator Arlen Specter as well as Senator Robert Casey. 

During the appointments, they spoke about who we are as an organization (AHIMA) and more importantly about the ever changing HIM workforce.  They petitioned for support to direct the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics to better reflect the new roles of HIM professionals.  In order to meet the projected needs of the HIM industry, we are going to need educated and trained professionals.  Hill Day gave us the opportunity to deliver this important information to Congress.

Hill Day is growing bigger and bigger every year.   PHIMA is always looking for volunteers so start planning now to join us in 2011 for this great experience!
House of Delegates (HOD) Operations Team

Submitted by:  Eve-Ellen Mandler, RHIA, MS, CCS, FAHIMA,  Co-Chair

I have been fortunate enough this year to be Co-Chair of one of the five HOD Teams. The Operations Team has been charged with the following:
           
Team Charges
Lead delegate orientation sessions
Conduct end-of-term delegate survey to confirm performance measures*
  1. Make recommendations to the HOD agenda
  2. Increase delegate participation
  3. Develop resolution concepts
  4. Develop desirable HOD organizational performance measures
  5. Consider ways to advance decision making process in less time*
  6. Bring forward a recommendation for HOD apportionment to the HOD in 2009*
  7. Conduct a Webinar about Robert’s Rules of Order to educate delegates*
*New for 2009

Fortunately (or actually unfortunately) we have devoted many hours and much resources to recommending changes to Delegate apportionment for the entire House. It has been a nightmare. The intent is very appropriate- Due to the growth in AHIMA and CSA membership, the HOD has grown. Ten years ago, there were 185 delegates, now there are 227. We were asked to consider an overall reduction in the number of delegates and related costs. We are where we started in September- recommending a model based on the number of the AHIMA members in each state. It is up for debate and should go to vote before the end of the budget year in June 2010.

Read more.

Board Spotlight on the Second Year Director:  Cathy A. Flite, M.Ed., RHIA
 
Serving as the Second Year Director is one of the most rewarding positions at PHIMA in my opinion.  This past year I had the opportunity to present and recommend to the Board of Directors the nominees for the PHIMA Distinguish Member award.    The nominees for this award were so impressive that it was truly an honor to present the applications to the Board. The nominees offer so much in terms of loyal service and contributions to our profession that the future of health information management is bright because of them. 

I too want the future of HIM to be bright and that is why I volunteer. Most associations need active members that contribute to their viability. I firmly believe that individuals need to contribute to the membership, serve as active leaders and mentor future members.  I have been a HIM professional for over twenty years and I have served in many leadership and volunteer roles, both in the national, state, and local health information management associations. 

Along with my PHIMA 2nd Year Director position, I am currently serving as the President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association and at the national level I serve on the AHIMA Virtual Lab Strategic Advisory Committee.  I am a professor at Temple University and teach in the areas of health information management, health informatics, human resource management and financial reimbursement methodologies.
Board Spotlight on the First Year Director:  Dawn L. Criswell, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA

I am very proud and honored to serve as the 1st Year Director for PHIMA. It has been an exciting year working with colleagues, students and educators of the community. It is very rewarding interacting with the students and assisting them in their HIM goals and expectations. They keep me busy gathering data in order to reimburse them for their challenging efforts and achieving their RHIA or RHIT credential.

I have also had the privilege of processing several PHIMA student scholarship applications. The recipients will be honored at the Annual Meeting in May in Hershey.

The talent entering the HIM workforce is admirable. PHIMA reliably impresses me with their support of the HIM students throughout the state.

It is a very exciting time for HIM professionals. Whether you are a student, employed by a hospital or vendor, there is always a buzz in the air with something to learn, grow and become a trailblazer.

The government consistently keeps us diligent with the EHR regulations and implementations. Siemens is included with the assiduous efforts. Dawn has been with Siemens Medical Solutions for 10 years. She is currently a Software Product Analyst in the Soarian EDM/Soarian HIM product, but started her Siemens career as a Software Engineer in the Decision Support Systems department. Prior to Siemens, she was a Health Information Management (HIM) Director in various facilities, such as acute care and psychiatric, for over 11 years. Dawn is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University and Temple University. She holds offices and volunteers within AHIMA, PHIMA and several local HIM associations. She has presented in various arenas and is an AHIMA student mentor. Dawn continuously welcomes and mentors local HIM university students within Siemens and has in her past medical facilities as well.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and I look forward to seeing you in May!

Dawn L. Criswell, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA


 CPHIMA Regional Report

Submitted by Jennifer Zimmerman, RHIA
Public Relations Chairperson

On March 19, 2010 CPHIMA held its winter education session at Select Medical Corporation, Mechanicsburg, PA.  Chris Hopkins, COO, Trademark Transcription, Inc kicked the day off by presenting “ARRA/HITECH ACT Ready or Not Electronic Health Records are Coming”.  Transcription was the topic of discussion as Steve Gaus, President, Opti-script Transcription followed Chris and discussed the “Future of Transcription and the Effects of the E.H.R.”.  Following a very nice lunch Charlotte Walton-Sweeney, President of CPHIMA, conducted the CPHIMA business meeting.  The afternoon was turned over to Richard C. Seneca, Esquire who gave us a “Healthcare Law Update”.  We thank all three speakers for attending our session and sharing their knowledge and experience.

Upcoming Events:
  • Education session on Friday June 4, 2010 – Normandie Ridge, York
  • Education session on Friday September 17, 2010
Additional information about CPHIMA, our newsletter and registration information for upcoming educational sessions and Coding Roundtable information can be found on our website!  www.phima.org/CPHIMA.htm
SePHIMA Regional Report

Submitted by Denise Dunyak, MS, RHIA
Public Relations Chair, SePHIMA

Greetings from SePHIMA.   Happy Almost Spring.   My friends have dubbed me “The Snow Whisperer” as the weather has been following me from PA to Texas to Atlanta earlier this month at HIMSS.   I, more than anyone, am ready for warmer weather.    As a reminder,

The Executive Board for the 2009-2010 includes:

President:   Cathy Flite, M.Ed,  RHIA
President-Elect:  Wannetta Edwards, MS, RHIA
Past President:   Fran Guiles, RHIA, CTR
Secretary:  Renee Silverman, RHIT, CCS
Treasurer:  Dasantila Sherifi, MBA, RHIA

Committee Chairpersons:

Bylaws:  Joyce Garozzo, MS, RHIA, CCS
Education/Arrangements:  Kim Felix, RHIA, CCS
Finance:  Wannetta Edwards, MS, RHIA
Membership:  Geralynn Bryers, RHIA, CTR
Nominating:  Fran Guiles, RHIA, CTR
Public Relations:  Denise Dunyak, MS, RHIA
Advocacy:  Dina Nedorost, RHIT, CCS
 
If you are a SePHIMA member, interested in participating in or learning more about any of the committees, please contact Denise Dunyak at 610-219-9530 or Denise.Dunyak@siemens.com.    If you have any ideas for education topics for our regular meetings, please contact Kim Felix kfelix@turn2meca.com.

SePHIMA conducted an audio conference titled: "Making Dollars and 'Sense' of Your Revenue Cycle".  It is available on demand through www.sephima.org.     We are also conducting a day long education session at Abington Memorial Hospital on March 30, 2010.   Topics include:  The Essence of Leadership; RACs; SePHIMA and PHIMA updates, Unnatural Causes:  Is inequality making us sick; and Data Collection and Reporting

Nominations are being taken for the 2010-2011 board.   If you are interested in running visit www.sephima.org or contact any of the nominating committee:

Fran Guiles, RHIA, CTR     
fran.guiles@jeffesonhospital.org       
         
Lily Kao     
lily_kao@yahoo.com   
                                      
Gloria Davis 
davisgl@einstein.edu

Gerard Harter  
gerard.harter@jeffersonhospital.org
 
Congratulations to SePHIMA members Cathy Flite and Denise Dunyak on their nominations for secretary and president elect of PHIMA. 

SePHIMA has joined Facebook.   For those of you who are Facebook junkies, feel free to follow up on Facebook.    If you are NOT that technical, stay tuned to the next edition of the Keystoner for more exciting news from SEPHIMA or visit our website at www.SePHIMA.org.
WPHIMA Regional Report

Submitted by Christel Chuderewicz, RHIT/CCS
Publication Chair, WPHIMA

An education session on preparing for the implementation of ICD-10 was held on March 26, 2010 in Grove City.  The session was well attended.  A second session is scheduled for April 30th in Altoona. For additional information, please visit our website at www.wphima.org
Article from Pitt

It’s finally Spring in Pennsylvania! Residents everywhere are tentatively stepping out of their snow-shocked mindsets with the hope of sunshine, warmer weather and new opportunities. At the University of Pittsburgh, as in colleges and universities everywhere, Spring also represents transition, as we prepare to bid farewell to another graduating class, while the mantle of leadership and responsibility passes on to the remaining students. Our HIM graduates are finding that even in a bleak economic climate, their preparation as health information professionals has positioned them well for the next important step in their lives.

Graduation at Pitt arrives with the first weekend in May this year, with our students on track to successful futures. A number of our 2010 baccalaureate graduates have already secured jobs working for national electronic health record (EHR) companies as analysts and specialists while others have been admitted to graduate study in occupational therapy, public health and law, all of which offer exciting opportunities for the application of their HIM education to these endeavors.

Spring is a busy time for students, but the faculty members in the Health Information Management department at Pitt have been busy, too. Last year Pitt’s HIM department welcomed two new members to the faculty: Leming Zhou, PhD, DSc and Sajeesh Kumar, PhD.   Dr. Zhou's current research focus is in the areas of mathematical modeling on health related topics, information integration, and comparative genomics.  His research goal of providing computational methods and tools to personalize medicine is being tested right now as the HIM department received a grant from the National Science Foundation to infuse HIM undergraduate courses with learning modules that help students to begin to “think computationally”. Through the support of this important grant, faculty in the HIM department are introducing new concepts into the standard HIM curriculum, enhancing it for applicability in the increasingly digitized world. Dr Kumar’s research focuses on design and development of telemedicine technology, healthcare delivery and technology evaluation. Telemedicine, as a multi-disciplinary undertaking, requires expertise from telecommunications, health care and information technology sectors which is a consistent with the perspective of health information management professionals.

Other faculty news includes the receipt of the Distinguished Member Award by HIM department chair Mervat Abdelhak, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA from the American Health Information Management Association for her years of dedicated service and leadership to the organization and profession. Valerie Watzlaf, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA is currently serving on the AHIMA Board of Directors, and will be recognized at the May 2010 PHIMA meeting as a Distinguished Member. Patti Anania-Firouzan, MSIS, RHIA is busier than ever these days as she is working hard to stay on top of the changes coming in Coding and Reimbursement, which can be summed up in one “word”: ICD-10 while Bambang Parmanto, PhD has a full staff of graduate student researchers in house at this time, working on multiple projects related to health information and technology in health care, while Rebecca Harmon, MPM, RHIA (who is finally ABD) is working hard to finish her PhD in Education.

TheArticle from Pitt HIM department has added new graduate coursework reflective of increased demand for specialty knowledge in the HIM profession and health care in general: Privacy, Security and Legal Issues in Health Information Systems, Six Sigma, Genomics, Telemedicine and Telerehabilitation are just the beginning of a new push to prepare our graduates for their roles in the informatics age in health care. The HIM department is excited to see such growing interest in the HIM program at the graduate level, and with offerings that include a Master of Science degree with a focus in Health Information Systems, as well as an RHIA-option for graduate students interested in the HIM credential, students have an excellent portfolio of coursework to tap as they take that next step in their professional careers.

Alumni and others interested in Pitt’s HIM programming at any level are encouraged to visit the website at: www.shrs.pitt.edu/him . The HIM department at the University of Pittsburgh looks forward to the rest of this new decade as a time of growth and exciting new opportunities as the health information management profession continues to challenge old assumptions and expand into new frontiers.
Photos from
Hill Day


Fran and Renee


Group Photo


Karen with Luke Russert


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