Keystoner February 2010
Inside This Issue: President's Message
Board Meeting Update
Legislative/eHealth Committee Update
CDI Committee Update
Spotlight on the Treasurer
CPHIMA Regional Report
LVHIMA Regional Report
SePHIMA Regional Report
WPHIMA Regional Report
President's Message
Submitted by Fran Guiles, RHIA, CTR
PHIMA President
“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart”. Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885). Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope your Holiday Season was filled with joy and merriment.
Winter is settling in with a nice brisk arctic blast. I’m growing tired of my coat, scarf and boots very quickly, how about you? Be that as it may, the business of PHIMA pushes on through snow, cold, sleet, cold, arctic winds and more cold. “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome”. Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672).
2010 is gearing up to be quite the year with many critical issues facing our organizations such as RAC’s, potential changes to copy fee allowances on the state legislative front, EMR implementations, and healthcare reform. On December 30, 2009, CMS and ONC issued proposed regulations on the definition of Meaningful Use and the initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology. Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health IT said "we believe the EHR incentive program...will accelerate and facilitate health IT adoption by more individual providers and organizations throughout the health care system”. There is nothing mundane for us on the horizon.
With the harsh weather comes the cold reality that the association year is half over. The “Sweet New Adventures Ride” seems to be going so fast. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first six months as your president, but am now feeling the anxiety of time running short.
Our main focus right now is the PHIMA Annual Meeting, which will be held on May 10-12, 2010 in Hershey, PA – (Chocolate town)!!!! Our Education and Program Committee, led by our Executive Director Lorri Luciano and Committee Chair Sharon Widenhofer are planning a wonderful and exciting state meeting. Our THEME is “SWEET NEW ADVENTURES.” Cost for the annual meeting will be lowered to $175 for all three days. Please read the Education and Program Committee article for more details. All of the 2010 PHIMA Annual Meeting details, plus online registration, can be found on the PHIMA website. Now is the time to comfortably plan ahead, block your calendars, and ask for the time off at work. You don’t want to miss out on this exciting opportunity to earn CE credits, enjoy the vendor auction, president reception, and network with your peers, and a few other “new adventures”. I look forward to seeing you there.
Your Board is also busy approving the next ballot, reviewing nominations for Distinguished Member and recommending students for scholarships.
Our Nominating committee did a great job preparing an awesome ballot. The folks who are on the ballot have been dedicated members of PHIMA and would be a great addition to the Board. Let’s all do our part as an association and VOTE for the candidates of your choice.
I hope 2010 finds you well. Stay Warm!!!
Fran
Board Meeting Update
November 2009
The second quarter board meeting was held on 11/20/09 in Harrisburg, PA. President Fran Guiles acknowledged that we are half way through the year and thanked everyone for their commitment to PHIMA.
Much of the meeting was devoted to the review and approval of the 2010 annual conference. The agenda is action packed with several tracks of education, pre workshops, extended vendor time and many networking opportunities.
In the interim, Education opportunities will be held on January 21 and January 22. PHR training will be held on January 21 at the Wyndham in Harrisburg. PHIMA is looking to have 20 people trained who will have to provide three sessions per year. Each local association will be asked for two volunteers. Fran and Lorri have already been trained. An EHR Workshop will be held on January 22. Fran announced that Christine Staropoli has agreed to chair the Community Education/PHR Committee.
Concern was raised and discussed regarding the challenges that educators have in finding acute care sites who will accept students. PHIMA will continue to promote this in Suggest that we email members as well as advertise on website and in e-Alert the need and the credits available from CAHIIM.
The 2010-2011 ballot was reviewed and approved. Also discussed was the need to update qualifications for positions and what constitutes a term in order to qualify for ballot. Lorri Luciano indicated that we need to review all of these as well as committee charters on a routine basis to accommodate changes.
The meeting was adjourned mid afternoon. The next meeting is scheduled for March 12, 2010.
Legislative/eHealth Committee Update
Co-Chairpersons: Stephen Young and Andrea Thomas-Lloyd
The legislative/e-health committee has posted the new 2010 Release of Information charges to the CoP. They are also available on the PA code.
With the new federal grants and acts in place, Meaningful Use has become an imperative term. CMS and ONC issued proposed regulations for Meaningful Use. These regulations will govern the electronic medical record incentive program. Participants will have to prove they are meaningful users of the health technology in order to receive the incentive. The goal is to accelerate and facilitate the incentive program. Additional information on Meaningful Use can be found at this website.
Read more.
Clinical Documentation Improvement Committee Update
The ending of 2009 gives us an opportunity to reflect upon some of the changes that occurred last year within our association and the newly developed PHIMA Clinical Documentation Improvement Program track. Since CDIP alignment with PHIMA in the fall of 2009 we have been able to provide two Clinical Documentation Improvement symposiums. One was held on August 6th at Abington Memorial Hospital and our 2nd symposium was held on November 2nd at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center. Both symposiums were well attended. The speakers were knowledgeable and presented material highly relevant to Clinical Documentation Improvement programs. Topics ranged from the following: The Role of the Physician Champion, Performance Outcomes and the CDI Program, Final Rule for ICD9CM October 2010 Updates, Identifying Infections in the Medical Record: POA vs. HAC, Identification of Nutritional Issues in the Medical Record, Pneumonia/COPD documentation and Core Measures, Dementia and Delirium diagnoses and specificity for coding and documentation, Renal Disease principal diagnosis/documentation/coding and BMI documentation for CC capture of Obesity and Malnutrition codes.
Read more.
Spotlight on the Treasurer: Laura Rizzo
Having a father who was a physician (retired in 1999), I knew that when I “grew up” that I wanted to pursue a healthcare career. As many new college students, I changed my major during my freshman year. I had initially planned to be a physical therapist, but the results of a career test at the University of Pittsburgh showed that my strengths were in analytical and organizational skills. This test helped me to select Health Information Management (HIM) as a career—healthcare without direct patient care.
I have worked at Lancaster General Hospital since my college graduation in 1982. I can honestly say that I have never regretted my career or employer choice. There have been many changes over the past 28 years, both in the profession and in my work place. This has certainly made for a very interesting work life!
Read more.
CPHIMA Regional Report
Submitted by Jennifer Zimmerman, RHIA
Public Relations Chairperson
CPHIMA held its annual holiday education session at the beautiful Hotel Hershey on Friday, December 18, 2009. We kicked the morning off with Frank Eichorn, DM, PMP, CCP of Eichorn Consulting. He presented Project Management Fundamentals; Team and Stakeholder Management and Business and IT Relationships. Frank did a great job of engaging the group in his project management presentation. Paula Lawlor, RHIA, Chief Operation Officer, HIM, Coding and Audit Services, Pyramid Healthcare Solutions, Inc. followed Frank and spoke on Strength Finders, “Understanding What You Do Best and How to Lead”. Paula grabbed our attention and kept it with her upbeat presentation and humor. Following the presentations we gathered in the Circular Dining Room for a delicious lunch (which included the fantastic dessert table) and the session concluded with our CPHIMA business meeting.
Upcoming Events: - Education session on Friday March 19, 2010
- Education session on Friday June 4, 2010
Additional information about CPHIMA, our newsletter and registration information for upcoming educational sessions and Coding Roundtable information can be found on our website!
LVHIMA Regional Report
Greetings from LVHIMA!
LVHIMA Holiday Dinner/Meeting took place on December 15th at the Revivals Restaurant in Perkasie. The key note speaker was Rita Miller with an entertaining educational discussion about humor in the workplace. The benefits of Professional Practice Experience were discussed and the attendees were encouraged to accept students at their places of employment.
LVHIMA website has been upgraded to include online meeting registration which was utilized successfully for the organization’s most recent meeting.
Submitted by Yeva Madden, RHIA
President, LVHIMA
SePHIMA Regional Report
Submitted by Denise Dunyak, MS, RHIA
Public Relations Chair, SePHIMA
Greetings from SePHIMA. Happy New Year. Hope you and yours had a happy holiday season? 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
Our holiday education was held on December 3, at Knowlton Mansion, which was decorated very nicely for the holiday season. The agenda had something to peek everyone’s interest. Approximately 80 members were in attendance to enjoy the education, luncheon and vendor time. Scot Nemchik from mainline Health presented Managing Interventional Radiology. Kelly McLendon, President of Health Information Xperts simplified ARRA and Meaningful use for us and Jennifer Ritter of University of Pennsylvania Health System reviewed Best Practices for RAC Preparation. A business meeting was held just before lunch with all committee chairs providing updates. Cathy Flite, President, gave a review of various items from our local as well as an update from PHIMA. PHIMA is looking for volunteers from each local to serve as PHR trainers. Fran Guiles our nominating chair is seeking candidates for SePHIMA ballot for 2010-2011 and Dina Nedorost, our advocacy chair, is seeking participants in Hill Day. We had several members show interest in all three volunteer opportunities. We would like to thank RRS Services, IOD, Medquist, MECA, HSI, and Precyse for spending the day with us.
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.
WPHIMA Regional Report
Submitted by Christel Chuderewicz, RHIT/CCS
Publication Chair, WPHIMA
Happy New Year to all of our colleagues across the state. It is hard to believe it is already 2010!
Education Update:
The Education Committee held an education session on CPT updates in December at St Clair Hospital. We had a great turnout and the committee is busy working on additional sessions for the Spring, including the Annual Meeting, which will be held in June.
Please check the WPHIMA website for more complete information on the upcoming sessions.
Membership Drive:
We are currently in the process of sending out our 2010 Membership Drive letters and Renewal Applications. If desired, you can go to the WPHIMA website to complete your renewal on line.
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Committee Spotlight - Legislative/eHealth Committee Co-Chairpersons: Stephen Young and Andrea Thomas-Lloyd This year, Stephen Young with the support of PHIMA, would like to recognize Andrea Thomas-Lloyd. Andi came into the position and immediately demonstrated her knowledge in the field and commitment to the committee. The committee had a crucial year as Pa eHI transformed and federal regulations took the spotlight. Andi kept in stride the whole way and helped assure the PHIMA community was as aware crucial matters. Andi has helped the Legislative/eHealth Committee members serve their community all year long. As all of us have many obligations and commitments, this committee is only a small portion of Andi’s influence and we are lucky to have her. PHIMA RHIA/RHIT Exam Reimbursement Recipients Congratulations and welcome the following HIM professionals have recently graduated, successfully passed their RHIA or RHIT certification exam and were reimbursed their exam expense. Michelle Creveling, RHIT Maurice Frazier, RHIT Kyle Guth, RHIA Lauren Houseal, RHIT Nadirah Jefferies, RHIT Donna Lougher, RHIT Christine Martin, RHIA Christina McCleer, RHIA Dawn Miklich, RHIT Heather Mills, RHIT Michelle Moyer, RHIT Kelly Pasquinelli, RHIT Martin Schryver, RHIA Joshue Share, RHIA Marissa Stains (Sokol), RHIT Kathy Summers, RHIT Erh Hsuan Wang, RHIA Elizabeth West, RHIT Carol Wise, RHIT If you, or know of someone, that qualifies for exam reimbursement, please visit the PHIMA webpage for more details! Upcoming Meetings LVHIMA Educational Session February 20, 2010 CPHIMA Educational Session March 19, 2010
Clinical Documentation Improvement
Program Symposium March 25, 2010 PHIMA Annual Meeting May 10-12, 2010 Upcoming Audio Conferences
Making Dollars and "Sense' of Your Revenue Cycle February 25, 2010 Sponsors
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