August 22, 2018
Revisions of Title 22 Regulations Highlighted on
CHIA Town Hall Tomorrow at 4pm
The CDPH issued two "All Facilities Letters" on July 27 seeking "stakeholder input" on amending medical record regulations for General Acute Care Hospitals and a second letter seeking input on a proposed revision of hospital administration regulations.  

The CHIA Board is currently gathering input from members to forward to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) regarding Title 22 medical record regulations. Please plan to join the Town Hall and share your thoughts on revisions to CA Title 22. 

For members who would prefer to provide their feedback directly, the CDPH All Facility Letters can be found here . Each letter includes instructions on how to submit written comments online via a SurveyMonkey tool. 

Tell Your US Senator to Support Part 2 Reform
Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 2 (often referred to as 42 CFR Part 2, or simply "Part 2") regulates the sharing of substance use disorder (SUD) records. Protecting patients' confidentiality is of the utmost importance but the outdated nature of Part 2 has created barriers for providing the best care possible to individuals with SUD, often leaving clinicians unaware of risks from multiple drug interactions and co-existing medical problems.

In June, the House of Representatives passed HR 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act by a vote of 357 to 57. The OPPS Act enables appropriate sharing of substance use disorder records by aligning Part 2 with HIPAA for purposes of treatment, payment, and operations. The bill also includes criminal, civil, and administrative protections for patients during legal proceedings and applies HIPAA penalties to the Part 2 program to ensure that patients can seek treatment without fear their information will be inappropriately shared.

As the US Senate is putting the finishing touches on its opioid legislation, it is critical that Part 2 reform is included in the package. Call your US Senator to ask him or her to support Part 2 reform as part of the opioid package. AHIMA's Advocacy Action Center has everything you need to take action.

Your assistance is critical to getting Part 2 reform passed out of the US Senate.
Submit an Article for Publication in the CHIA Journal 
The CHIA Journal serves as a resource and professional development tool for HIM professionals, keeps readers current on issues that affect the HIM practice and contributes to the field by publishing best practices and new knowledge. 

CHIA encourages members and other individuals to submit original, unpublished articles for publication regarding current issues and best practices in HIM. CHIA is looking for articles on a variety of timely educational topics that represent the depth and breadth of HIM roles and interests, and can include tips, strategies, techniques, case-studies, opinions and commentary. Articles should contain information of use to HIM professionals, HIM students, or vendors who provide HIM products and services.

Publishing original material relevant to HIM in the CHIA Journal is a qualifying activity and authors may earn 2 continuing education credits.

CHIA Town Hall: AHIMA House of Delegate Topics on September 13 - Save the Date
The CHIA Board of Directors will host a Town Hall webinar on Thursday, September 13, 2018 at 4:00 - 5:00 pm (PT) to discuss the topics that will be addressed at the 2018 AHIMA House of Delegates in Miami on September 23. 

This event is open to the public. Please save the date and look for the upcoming event email for further information.   
Call for Presentations - 2019 CHIA Convention & Exhibit
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.
AHIMA Draft 2018 HIM Curricula Competencies
Released for Public Comment
In response to AHIMA’s HIM Reimagined (HIMR) initiative and its call to update the skills of health information management professionals, the Council for Excellence in Education (CEE) Curricula Workgroup and two HIMR workgroups have developed the draft 2018 HIM Curricula Competencies, AHIMA-revised Bloom’s Taxonomy levels, and related resources. AHIMA is asking HIM practitioners to review the draft curricula competencies and comment through an official survey.

All HIM professionals have a vested interest in the draft competencies. To learn more and comment on the draft competencies, view the AHIMA Draft 2018 HIM Curricula Competencies webpage .

The public comment period will be open until September 14. After further refinement following the public comment period, the final competencies are planned to be handed-off to CAHIIM in December.
Latest HIM News Updates
Interoperability, Patient Matching Could Be Fixed by Smartphone Apps, RAND Says
Mike Miliard for Healthcare IT News, Aug 22, 2018

Patient-mediated exchange has been championed more and more recently as one potential answer to the long-vexing problem of interoperability. A recent report from RAND supports that idea, and shows how the smartphones in our pockets could also be a boon for more accurate patient matching across providers.

Patient matching is a huge challenge. Earlier this year, a who's-who of healthcare industry groups told Congress it was far past time to solve the problem, which they said has hindered innovation, cost providers revenue and put patient safety at risk.

Recent years have seen renewed efforts from both federal agencies such as the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and private-sector developers to seek new approaches, from AI algorithms to cloud computing and, recently, experts have said that blockchain can help with patient matching but not solve the problem entirely.
CMS Streamlines Medicaid Review Process, Achieves Significant Reduction in Approval Times
U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Aug 16, 2018 

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced significant improvements in managing the Medicaid program in partnership with states. Identified early as a priority for both the Trump Administration and the National Association of Medicaid Director’s (NAMD), CMS has implemented changes resulting in faster processing of state requests to make program or benefit changes to their Medicaid program through the state plan amendment (SPA) and section 1915 waiver review process.  

“With faster processing times and earlier communication, states now have much greater ability to manage their programs in an effective and predictable manner,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “We want to ease bureaucratic requirements for both states and our own staff so that we can focus those resources on improving health outcomes rather than pushing paperwork.”
ONC Moving Too Slowly on Information Blocking, say Health IT Stakeholders
Mary Butler for Journal of AHIMA; Aug 10, 2018

Health IT stakeholder groups are frustrated with what they see as lack of progress from the government in combating the practice of information blocking, according to a letter sent to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

One of the promises of the 21st Century Cures Act, which was passed by Congress at the end of 2016, was that it mandated the creation of regulations that prohibit providers and health IT developers from engaging in information blocking. Information blocking is one of the biggest hurdles to the free flow of health data from one organization to another—known as interoperability. According to Health IT Now, which is made up of 14 health IT stakeholder groups, the Cures Act required ONC to issue regulations halting information blocking, as well as create a standardized process where members of the public could report instances where health IT products are not interoperable or where other activities actively hamper information exchange.
CHIA Events Calendar
Basics and Fundamentals of ICD-10-CM Coding
Thursday, August 23 - Dublin

CHIA Town Hall: Revision of CA Title 22 Medical Record Regulations
Thursday, August 23 - Live Webinar

IG Web Series Part 5: Return on Investment
Friday, August 24 - Live Webinar

Outpatient CDI: It's All About Communicating Patient Care
Thursday, September 13 - Live Webinar

CHIA Town Hall: AHIMA House of Delegate Topics
Thursday, September 13 - Live Webinar

FY2019 ICD-10-CM/PCS Update
Tuesday, September 18 - Ontario
Thursday, September 20 - Fairfield

IG Web Series Part 6: Driving IG - Data Governance within the IG Framework
Friday, September 28 - Live Webinar

The New Horizon: Physician Querying for the Outpatient Setting
Wednesday, October 10 - Live Webinar

CHIA Student Chat
Wednesday, October 17 - Live Webinar

IG Web Series Part 7: Compliance, Security, and Privacy as a Path to IG
Friday, October 26 - Live Webinar

CHIA Convention & Exhibit
June 8 - 12, 2019 - Indian Wells