Comprehensive Emergency Management:
HIM Professionals in Action
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Provided are excerpts from the
November/December 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!
Comprehensive Emergency Management:
How HIM Professionals Contribute
Article compiled by: Paradigm Education Solutions
The role of health information professionals during an emergency or disaster may not be obvious to an outside observer. When one thinks of emergency responders one may think of firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical service (EMS) personnel. Doctors and nurses may also come to mind when one considers the activities within a hospital or clinic during a disaster, but many other health professionals take part in comprehensive emergency management and are essential for its effective implementation and success.
Health care professionals and facilities must be sufficiently trained to collaborate, cooperate, and act effectively in times of crisis. All health care services rely heavily on digital information systems and these systems may not be accessible during an emergency event. Emergency management teams within health care facilities must work with health information personnel in its overall emergency planning.
Health information professionals must work with the medical staff and facility planners to prioritize data; they determine which information and files are most important for patient care and maintaining core business operations. Health information professionals also assess data risks that might affect that data, such as natural disasters, power-outages, or cyberattacks.
Read full article
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AHIMA Health Information Relief Operation (HIRO) Fund:
Helping HIM Professionals Affected by CA Fires
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CHIA, AHIMA and the AHIMA Foundation express support for the victims of the recent wave of wildfires across California.
HIM professionals in areas affected by disasters face a unique challenge as they struggle to piece back together their own lives while working to recover as much of their community’s patient information as possible.
That is why AHIMA, through the AHIMA Foundation, has established the Health Information Relief Operation (HIRO) Fund to assist communities of health information professionals whose personal or professional lives have been severely disrupted by a natural or man-made disaster.
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Become a CHIA Volunteer Today
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CHIA is currently seeking volunteers to join these CHIA committees. Whether you are a new or seasoned volunteer, we need you! Your knowledge and support can help guide this important association functions.
Consider becoming a CHIA Volunteer today
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Editorial Advisory Board
Term: Present - June 2019
Serve as an advisory and peer-review body concerned with the content of the
CHIA Journal
, inform CHIA membership of activities of the Association and educate its readers in matters pertaining to health information administration and technology.
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Legislation and Advocacy Committee
Term: January 2019 - December 2021
Monitor proposed legislation and regulations with potential impacts on the HIM profession. Make recommendations to the CHIA Board to watch, support, support with amendment, or oppose proposed legislation and regulatory changes. Inform CHIA members about relevant legislative and regulatory actions and involve the members in advocating for or against proposals as appropriate. Advocate for HIM issues identified by CHIA/AHIMA as priorities.
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CHIA Awards and Scholarship Program Opportunities
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The CHIA Awards and Scholarship Fund offers CHIA Student and Active members, and California’s CAHIIM-accredited programs a variety of scholarships, awards, and grants. The purpose of these programs is to promote the importance of HIM professional credentials, strengthen the HIM profession, promote the value of AHIMA and CHIA membership, identify and engage future leaders, and support HIM-related research.
- Student Scholarships
- Certification Exam Fee Reimbursement Program - New Exams Offered
- Foundation for Active Member Education (FAME) Scholarship
- HIIM Program Grants
- Research Support Awards - New Opportunity
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RN Link's CDI Specialist Training Course in December
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December 8-9, 2018 | Glendale, CA
Are you a coding professional interested in learning about clinical documentation improvement (CDI)? Are you a retired nurse or a nurse who wants to explore other career options? There are enormous needs in the health care industry to become a CDI Specialist where you will assist physicians to accurately document how truly ill patients are with severity ratings. The trend nowadays is quality documentation and this course will teach you how to achieve this.
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Latest AHIMA News Updates
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Securing Our Future: Announcing AHIMA's Vision for Transformation & 2019 Strategic Plan
Nov 9, 2018
A strong healthcare ecosystem requires the skills of the HIM professional. With rapid changes due to trends in technology, proliferation of data, consumer access, and more, healthcare organizations are assessing the impact upon operations.
Recognizing the challenges and potential opportunities before us, the AHIMA Board of Directors has been working to develop a plan to increase our long-term viability and relevance. In doing so, we’ve asked for input from members, staff, and the industry. Our goal? To envision a multiyear transformation process so that AHIMA, our members, and other stakeholders can solve the big problems that we are uniquely positioned to address.
Read Alert.
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Revised Implementation Dates for Recertification Cycle and CEU Reporting Domains
Nov 1, 2018
Changes to the recertification timeline and the new CEU domains that were previously announced would be effective on November 1, 2018, have been delayed by the Commission on Certification of Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) to ensure strategic alignment and an effective, error-free implementation.
The previously published information was approved by the CCHIIM and allowed for an individual to report in the CEU Center (starting on November 1) using either the new domains or the existing domains until December 31, 2019. The revised plan will be to use only the new domains starting on January 1, 2020.
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HHS Secretary Azar Declares Public Health Emergency in California due to Wildfires
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Nov 13, 2018
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar today declared a public health emergency in California due to wildfires. The declaration follows President Trump’s emergency declaration for the state and gives the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services beneficiaries and their healthcare providers and suppliers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs created by the wildfires.
“We are working closely with state health authorities and monitoring the needs of healthcare facilities to provide whatever they may need to save lives and protect health,” Secretary Azar said. “This declaration will help ensure that Americans who are threatened by these dangerous wildfires and who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program have continuous access to the care they need.”
Read Release
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Big Changes in 2019 for Medicare Telehealth Policy
Center for Connected Health Policy; Nov 6, 2018
Last week CMS released its finalized Calendar Year (CY) 2019 Physician Fee Schedule containing momentous changes for Medicare, aiming to modernize the healthcare system and help “restore the doctor-patient relationship” by reducing administrative burden. Among the changes, the proposed rule not only expands telehealth reimbursement, but communicates a new interpretation by CMS of the applicability of their statutory requirements for reimbursement of telehealth. Telehealth-delivered services under Medicare is limited in statute by 1834(m) of the Social Security Act which limits the use of telehealth to certain services, providers, technology (mainly live video) and patient locations (needing to be in certain types of healthcare facilities in rural areas). CMS, in their rule, expresses concern that these requirements may be limiting the coding for new kinds of services that utilize communication technology.
The new rule expresses CMS’ belief that their obligation to impose those restrictions only apply to “the kinds of professional services explicitly enumerated in the statutory provisions, like professional consultations, office visits, and office psychiatry services.” These are services that are paid for as if they were furnished during an in-person encounter between a patient and health care professional. Certain other kinds of services that are furnished remotely using communications technology are not considered “Medicare telehealth services” and are not subject to the restrictions. This includes interactions between a medical professional with a patient via remote communication technology. Thus, CMS has finalized reimbursement for virtual check-ins, remote evaluation of pre-recorded patient information and interprofessional internet consultation, which CMS believes fall outside the scope of Medicare telehealth services.
Read Alert
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CMS Announces New Medicaid Demonstration Opportunity to Expand Mental Health
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Nov 13, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to State Medicaid Directors that outlines both existing and new opportunities for states to design innovative service delivery systems for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) and children with serious emotional disturbance (SED). The letter includes a new opportunity for states to receive authority to pay for short-term residential treatment services in an institution for mental disease (IMD) for these patients. CMS believes these opportunities offer states the flexibility to make significant improvements on access to quality behavioral health care.
Medicaid is the single largest payer of behavioral health services, including mental health and substance use services in the U.S. By one estimate, more than a quarter of adults with a serious mental illness rely on Medicaid. Approximately 10.4 million adults in the United States had an SMI in 2016, but only 65 percent received mental health services in that year. Serious mental health conditions can have detrimental impacts on the lives of individuals with SMI or SED and their families and caregivers. Since these conditions often arise in adolescence or early adulthood and often go untreated for many years, individuals with SMI or SED are less likely to finish high school and attain higher education, disrupting education and employment goals.
Read Release
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Confidentiality and the ROI in California
Wednesday, November 14 - Garden Grove
Thursday, November 15 - Dublin
The HIM Professional Role in Advancing HIE
Wednesday, November 28 - Live Webinar
CPT Update, Risk Adjustment, and Outpatient CDI: What's the Connection?
Tuesday, December 11 - Concord
Wednesday, December 12 - Glendale
Federal & State Telehealth Policy Updates
Wednesday, December 12 - Live Webinar
ICD-10-CM Basics & Fundamentals - Part 2
Tuesday, January 15 - Garden Grove
Thursday, January 17 - Dublin
Governance: The Key to Unlocking the Power of Information
Friday, January 18 - Live Webinar
Best Practices for Implementing the IG Adoption Model
Wednesday, January 23 - Live Webinar
EHR User Symposium
Tuesday, January 29 - San Diego
Thursday, January 31 - Sacramento
CHIA Convention & Exhibit
June 8 - 12, 2019 - Indian Wells
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