September 19, 2018

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On behalf of the CHIA Nominating Committee, we welcome your nominations for the 2019-2020 CHIA Board of Directors and AHIMA Delegates. Members of the CHIA Board and AHIMA delegates are elected for two-year terms. The President-elect serves a three-year term. The CHIA ballot will be ready for voting in January 2019 and elected individuals begin their term starting July 1, 2019. 

I believe that our HIM professional membership includes diverse, incredibly talented leaders just waiting to be discovered. New and different perspectives and experiences strengthen the association and ultimately the HIM profession. We want to discover or uncover your expertise or hidden talent. Be encouraged to nominate yourself or someone else you know!   

Volunteering for an elected CHIA leadership position requires commitment that also generates a rewarding experience. You really can make a difference representing the voice of our membership and HIM profession.   

Learn more about the CHIA nomination process and leadership roles , and submit a CHIA Leadership Application by Monday, October 8, 2018 . 

Best regards to all, 

Deborah Collier, MSQA, CHIA

Chair, CHIA Nominating Committee

The CHIA Board of Directors is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to guide and assist CHIA with developing a 2020-2022 Strategic Plan. Access the Request for Proposal: Strategic Planning Consultant and specifications here to learn more. Proposals must be submitted to CHIA CEO Sharon Lewis at Sharon@CaliforniaHIA.org by September 24, 2018 .

Background

CHIA is in the final year of its current 2017-2019 Strategic Plan, which was the association’s first ever three-year strategic plan. In 2015, CHIA worked with a consultant to develop a three-year strategic plan. The association’s first multi-year strategic plan has resulted in many positive outcomes. The plan has provided an ongoing framework for organizing, prioritizing, and coordinating the work of association committees, task forces, individual volunteers and executive office operations. 

With its 2020-2022 Strategic Planning initiative, CHIA is currently seeking to further refine its strategic plan and planning process, to improve its articulation and execution of strategy, and to identify realistic, high value and measurable desired outcomes for 2022.

Provided are excerpts from the September/October 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!

Electronic Health Record Analyst & Trainer:

Emerging Roles for HIM Professionals

by Cynthia Borcena, MA, RHIT

As the use of electronic health records (EHR) expands, managing medical records requires new types of resources to help develop, support, and maintain this intensive and highly expensive enterprise. As the adoption of the EHR becomes more widespread and paper charts become ever more obsolete, a new professional role of health information management (HIM) emerges, one that requires technology skills that impact HIM practice. Some HIM professionals have embraced technology and have become EHR analysts, sometimes called applications coordinators, or EHR trainers, sometimes called instructional designers, and many use the Epic system in their technology-focused role. 

Improving Health Care for Medi-Cal Patients: On the Entire Continuum of Care 

by: Melissa Anino, RHIT

Most health information management (HIM) professionals know about the increased demand for integrative health services that span the continuum of care. Patients with high utilization of services and the chronically ill have progressively been unable to navigate through the expansive fragmented services, programs, and health care options. Vulnerable patients with multiple chronic and/or social issues have experienced long Emergency Department (ED) wait times and inadequate, ineffective care. Their exclusive utilization of inpatient and ED services has caused them to suffer poor health outcomes at a disproportionate rate. The origin of these problems is their social, behavioral, and health care needs routinely not being met. With more coordination of services, increased collaboration with providers, and comprehensive care plans that rely on the sharing of health data over the entire continuum of care, these patients would receive a better health care outcome.

CHIA is partnering with the Beverly Hills HIT 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 Beverly Hills, 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.

CHIA is currently accepting presentation proposals for the upcoming 2019 CHIA Convention & Exhibit in Indian Wells, California on June 8 - June 12. This the most popular HIM event on the West Coast and includes more than 30 educational sessions and several pre-convention tutorials. With hundreds of HIM professionals in attendance, this is a presenting opportunity you don’t want to miss. The #CHIACON19 theme is Empowering Patients, Breaking Boundaries, and Bridging Gaps

Submit a CHIA Convention Program Proposal . Proposals due October 12 for consideration.

CMS Proposes to Lift Unnecessary Regulations and Ease Burden on Providers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Sep 17, 2018

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to relieve burden on healthcare providers by removing unnecessary, obsolete or excessively burdensome Medicare compliance requirements for healthcare facilities. Collectively, these updates would save healthcare providers an estimated $1.12 billion annually. Taking into account policies across rules finalized in 2017 and 2018 as well as this and other proposed rules, savings are estimated at $5.2 billion.

CMS developed the proposed rule in response to President Trump’s charge to federal agencies to “cut the red tape” and reduce burdensome regulations. In addition, feedback from Requests for Information (RFIs) the agency issued seeking stakeholder input on regulatory burdens helped inform this proposed rule, with particular attention to comments and anecdotal insights from clinicians serving Medicare beneficiaries.

Read Press Release

Patient Data Reporting (MIRCal): Quick Notes Issue #51

Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development; Sep 10, 2018

The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) Patient Data Section (PDS) has published the latest version of Quick Notes as part of our series of technical bulletins and updates on reporting requirements for patient level data to MIRCal.  

View latest edition, Issue #51

FY 2019 ICD-10 Code Changes Overview

AHIMA Staff; Sep 12, 2018

By now, everyone should be aware that the fiscal year (FY) 2019 ICD-10 code changes have been released. There are not as many changes this year as there have been in previous years. The total number of diagnosis code changes is 473, with 279 new codes and 194 revised and deactivated codes. There is also not a lot of change in the FY 2019 Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. Most of the guideline changes appear to be documentation that has been added for clarification purposes.

Although there are not many changes, a few of the changes are very interesting.

Chapter 21 of the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting states: BMI codes should only be assigned when the associated diagnosis (such as overweight or obesity) meets the definition of a reportable diagnosis (see Section III, Reporting Additional Diagnoses). Do not assign BMI codes during pregnancy. See Section I.B.14 for BMI documentation by clinicians other than the patient’s provider.

Read Article