October 3, 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

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.

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 .

The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) is a volunteer group of HIIM professionals responsible for establishing, implementing, and enforcing standards and procedures for certification and recertification of HIIM professionals and strategic oversight of AHIMA certification programs. They have approved an overhaul of: 

These policies go into effect November 1, 2018. Click here for more information .  

The ICD 10-CM In a SNAP - 2019 Version Available Now

($40 Member/Non Member Price)

This publication provides a simple way to assign diagnostic codes for common diagnosis. Code numbers are found quickly because the alphabetical listing is by diagnostic terms used by physicians and not obscure coding terminology. It becomes easy for staff to code correctly and consistently everytime. Finding codes in ICD-10-CM In a Snap is easy! 2019 Edition includes 279 additions, 51 deletions and 143 revisions.

Learn More & Order Today!

Registration is now open for the 2018 Office of the National Coordinator’s Annual Meeting, Highlighting Progress, Driving Success!

This year’s event will be held November 29-30, 2018 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. The 2-day meeting will gather approximately 1,200 health IT partners and will include a combination of plenaries and breakout sessions each day. The plenary sessions will include keynote addresses and panel discussions by federal and congressional leaders. Topics covered will include the 21st Century Cures Act, combating the nation’s opioid epidemic, promoting standards adoption, reducing clinician burden, and much more. The agenda is still being finalized and will be released in the coming weeks. Space is limited, so please register as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, October 28, 2018.

Register and Learn More.

CMS Accelerates Innovation and Promotes Patient Access to Medical Technology

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Oct 3, 2018

Today, as part of broader efforts to modernize the Medicare program and bring the latest technologies and innovations to Medicare beneficiaries, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced changes to the way contractors decide which technologies are covered by publishing a revision to Medicare’s Program Integrity Manual.

Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) determine which healthcare items and services meet requirements for Medicare coverage — taking into account local variations in the practice of medicine — through “local coverage determinations” or LCDs. LCDs are issued when national determinations do not exist, or when MACs need to further define a national determination. The updated manual responds to Congress’ requirement in the 21st Century Cures Act for more transparency in the LCD process and aims to ensure an open LCD process that meets patients’ needs. The changes will clarify and simplify the process, helping to ensure that companies can get therapies and devices to patients more efficiently.

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Heat Wave: The U.S. is Poised to Catch FHIR in 2019

Steven Posnack and Wes Barker for HealthIT.gov; Oct 1, 2018

Recent blog posts from the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology highlight the importance of application programming interfaces (APIs) and how they fit into the 21st Century Cures Act’s (Cures Act) implementation. Today, new analysis shows that the United States (US) might be at a turning point when it comes to the adoption and implementation of the Health Level Seven (HL7®) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard in health information technology (health IT). To understand how we got to this point, let’s recap a few of the public and private efforts leading up to now.

Using CMS and ONC data, we analyzed how health IT developers used FHIR to meet 2015 Edition certification requirements. Additionally, we assessed how hospitals and clinicians’ access to 2015 Edition certified-APIs vary across the US. Based on this analysis, we found:

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HHS Awards $50 million to Assist American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Efforts Combating the Opioid Overdose Epidemic

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Sep 26, 2018

The Department of Health & Human Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded grants of about $50 million to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes Tuesday to strengthen their efforts to combat the opioid overdose epidemic.

The Tribal Opioid Response grant program aims to address the opioid overdose epidemic in tribal communities by increasing access to culturally appropriate and evidence-based treatment, including medication-assisted treatment using one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). 

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