EVENTS »
Upcoming Audio Seminars,
Webinars
February 4
Injection and Infusion Coding
February 11
Image Is Everything: The Basics of
Document Imaging
February 18
Modifier Usage in Professional Services
February 23
Request for Restrictions and Electronic
Access: Are You Paying Attention?
March 4
Coding for Excisional Debridement
versus Non-Excisional Debridement
March 11
Making Corrections in the EHR
March 16
Integrating SNOMED CT and the EHR
March 18
Developing Effective Queries
March 25
Procedural Coding for
Dialysis Services
April 8
Coding for Congestive Heart Failure
For information on all upcoming audio
seminars and webinars, visit here.
Upcoming Meetings
March 3
Quality Measure Reporting: A Guide to
Greater Efficiency (virtual meeting)
March 11
Winter Team Talks
Las Vegas, NV
March 22
Winter Team Talks
Washington, DC
March 23
Hill Day
Washington, DC
March 24–25
Coding Quality and RAC: Partnering
for Long Term Success, Washington, DC
FOR YOUR BENEFIT »
Welcome to Your First Digital
Edition of AHIMA Advantage
AHIMA Advantage is now publishing three
digital issues in the months of February,
June, and October and three print issues
in April, August, and December. Look for
your next print issue in early April. Please
let us know what you think! E-mail us at
advantage@ahima.org.
CMS Publishes Meaningful
Use Draft
On January 13 the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services published a long-awaited notice of proposed rulemaking on
the “meaningful use” of EHRs. The NPRM
describes the provisions governing the
EHR adoption and use incentive programs
created under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
A public comment period on the NPRM
ends in mid-March, after which CMS will
evaluate feedback and consider modifications. It does not expect to issue a final
rule before April, and 60 days will elapse
before the rule takes effect. That will not
leave much time for providers to start
earning their first-year payments. Incentive
payments begin October 2010 for eligible
hospitals and January 2011 for providers.
However, eligibility can be met by meeting
stage 1 criteria for just 90 days. Learn more
in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of
AHIMA at http://journal.ahima.org/. Visit
www.ahima.org/arra/ to access a series of
short white papers analyzing the NPRM on
meaningful use.
Winter 2010 Issue of Perspectives
Available Online
The 2010 Winter issue of Perspectives in
Health Information Management is now
available at http://perspectives.ahima.org.
This issue focuses on the innovative use of
technology in the workplace and personal
health records. Articles highlight Smart-phone and voice recognition technology in
the workplace, audience response systems
in distance education, as well as policy and
physician perceptions of electronic health
records and personal health records. For
more information and submission guidelines, please visit http://perspectives.ahima.
org or e-mail perspectives@ahima.org for
more information.
International HIM: “Better
Information for Better Health”
The 2010 International Federation of Health
Records Organizations (IFHRO) congress
will be held in Milan, Italy, November
15–19, together with the National Convention of AIDOS (Italian Health Documentation Organization). Looking at “better
information for better health,” the congress
is a great opportunity to gather HIM professionals from around the world in a dynamic
international forum. Educational sessions,
networking, information exchange, and social activities aim to strengthen participants’
commitment to the HIM profession and
set the way forward to a safe, responsive,
and integrated healthcare. Please note that
abstracts will be accepted from February
15 until May 31. Visit www.ifhro2010.it for
more information.
Timeline for the 2010 Nomination
and Election Process
The important AHIMA election process
has begun. Nominations for various positions have been submitted to the Nominating Committee. During the next two
months, the slate will be developed. The
slate of candidates will be announced via
the e-alert by the end of March. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to interact
with candidates before the election through
the Communities of Practice. Voting is a
right of every member, so be sure to vote.
The timeline is as follows:
May 24–June 4—Candidate CoP opens
to the public at 9 a.m. CST on May 24 and
closes at 5 p.m. on June 4
June 7–25—AHIMA polls open at 9 a.m.
CST on June 7 and close at 5 p.m. CST
on June 25.
Mid–July—Announcement of the 2010
AHIMA election results in the e-alert
Remember to Renew Your
AHIMA Membership
It’s that time of year again—time to renew
your AHIMA membership. The easiest
way to renew your membership is online
at https://secure.ahima.org/profile/Login.
aspx. To renew by phone, call our customer
relations representatives during normal
business hours at (800) 335-5535.
AHIMA is committed to your success and
