January 10, 2018

Provided are excerpts from the Jan/Feb CHIA Journal. CHIA members receive a mailed hard copy, and all CHIA and AHIMA members can access the digital version online to view, read, and enjoy now! 

Six Duties of a HIM Professional

by Brian Faust, MLS, RHIA; CHIA President, 2017-2018

What does it mean to be a professional? This is a question I have asked myself throughout my professional career. It is an easier question to ask than to answer. Beyond the definition of a professional as a “person formally certified by a professional body of belonging to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of studies and/or practice” (Business Dictionary, n.d.), I have come to believe that being a professional brings with it certain inherit obligations. Inventoried here are six “duties” I consider obligations of a health information management (HIM) professional....

6. The Duty to Vote

We have the great privilege in this country of being self-governing. AHIMA and CHIA sustain themselves through the free and open election of their respective leaders. The credentials possessed by every HIM professional today are directly dependent on the successful perpetuation of our professional association with its basic mission to ensure the current and future relevance of the health information management profession and the credentials it grants. It should be readily apparent to each of us that we have a paramount self-interest in ensuring, through the thoughtful selection of our leaders, that competent, well-qualified colleagues are chosen to lead us.

The 2018 CHIA election is currently underway. Please set aside time to review the biographical information and position statements of the 2018 CHIA candidates in this issue of the CHIA Journal, look for the online ballot forwarded to all active CHIA members this month and then vote. It is your professional duty! 

CHIA Active, Emeritus, Graduate, and Honorary members are eligible to vote, and as a voting member, you elect the CHIA leaders who will lead the association over the next few years. When you participate and vote, you take part in influencing the strategic direction and leadership of CHIA.

The CHIA Nominating Committee asked each candidate to respond to an important association-related question. Their position statement responses are included in the January/February CHIA Journal . Each candidate’s response and health information backgrounds are also available online at CaliforniaHIA.org/ballot18

Do not throw this important privilege and HIM professional duty away. Cast your vote today!

Notice provided by Debi Primeau, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA

Member, CHIA Legislation and Advocacy Committee 

While the HITECH Act stimulated significant electronic health record adoption and exchange of health information, interoperability remains a challenge. The 21st Century Cures Act’s focus on trusted exchange is an important next step toward advancing the establishment of an interoperable health system that:

In collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), federal agencies, and industry stakeholders, the ONC is working to further advance the interoperability progress made to date and address the complex yet core tenet of interoperability—building and maintaining trust. On January 5, 2018, ONC has published the Draft Trusted Exchange Framework Common Agreement (TEFCA). The draft TEFCA contains two parts: Park A—Principles for Trusted Exchange and Part B—Minimum Required Terms and Conditions for Trusted Exchange. The comment period is now open for 45 days and ONC will review, analyze, and post on its website all public comments that are received by 11:50pm ET on February 18, 2018. 

AHIMA will be submitting comments to ONC prior to the due date and the comments. If you have comments, please either email Lauren Riplinger or email comments to Debi Primeau.

Register by January 16 and Save! Learn more here .

Calling all coding professionals to join us in Garden Grove for CHIA's second annual Advanced Coding Workshop. Learn about the challenges coding professionals are facing. Tackle coding areas that may be an audit trigger. Work through the challenging areas in the general coding guidelines. 

Two days of advanced PCS and CM coding is what is needed to advance ICD-10 knowledge to the next level. Day one will cover advanced PCS coding. Day two will cover advanced CM coding. 

Space is limited. Discounts available when registering for both days. For best pricing register by January 16.

Omni San Diego Hotel | 8.5 CE credits available

CHIA is partnering with the San Diego Health IT Summit to offer complimentary passes to CHIA members. Use code CHIACOMP when registering.

Join top executives, physicians, practice management and IT decision makers from North America’s leading provider organizations and physician practices in San Diego, CA for a two-day executive Health IT Summit. We've developed a concise program where leading healthcare thought leaders interact with their fellow executives and solution providers to discuss the latest strategies and tactics to address a wide range of issues and topics, including: data security, population health, data analytics, accountable care, telemedicine, and more. This exclusive, high-level program is a great opportunity to stay ahead of the challenges we all face and to network with other healthcare leaders and colleagues. Learn more and see the full agenda.

AHIMA Names Wylecia Wiggs Harris as New CEO

Chris Dimick for Journal of AHIMA; Jan 5, 2018

The AHIMA Board of Directors has announced that Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, has been named the new chief executive officer of AHIMA. Harris is scheduled to start as CEO on February 5.

Harris comes to AHIMA after serving as CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) and the League of Women Voters Education Fund. Prior to her work at LWVUS, Harris held senior executive positions at the American Nurses Association, including as chief operating officer, was executive director of the Center for American Nurses, and executive director of the Maryland-based Sister to Sister Foundation—a national organization supporting women’s health issues and heart disease education. Harris has also previously served as senior vice president and executive director at the American Heart Association.

Read Full Article.

HHS Releases Final Rule on the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Records 

AHIMA E-Alert; Jan, 4, 2018

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its final rule concerning 42 CFR Part 2, which governs the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records. In January 2017 SAMHSA issued a final rule along with a supplementary notice of proposed rulemaking requesting feedback on additional proposals. 

The final rule addresses the prohibition on re-disclosure notice by including an option for an abbreviated notice as well as circumstances under which lawful holders and their legal representatives, contractors, and subcontractors may use and disclose patient identifying information for purposes of payment, health care operations, and audits and evaluations. 

View Final Rule.

CMS Announces New Payment Model to Improve Quality, Coordination, and Cost-Effectiveness for Both Inpatient and Outpatient Care

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Jan 9, 2018

CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) announced the launch of a new voluntary bundled payment model called Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced). Under traditional fee-for-service payment, Medicare pays providers for each individual service they perform. Under this bundled payment model, participants can earn additional payment if all expenditures for a beneficiary’s episode of care are under a spending target that factors in quality.

Bundled payments create incentives for providers and practitioners to work together to coordinate care and engage in continuous improvement to keep spending under a target amount. BPCI Advanced Participants may receive payments for performance on 32 different clinical episodes, such as major joint replacement of the lower extremity (inpatient) and percutaneous coronary intervention (inpatient or outpatient). An episode model such as BPCI Advanced supports healthcare providers who invest in practice innovation and care redesign to improve quality and reduce expenditures.

Full Press Release