AHDI Lounge

Dear Colleagues:

This message brings spring greetings to you from your National Leadership Board, which last met April 12. This publication is one of the NLB’s opportunities to share with you, the individual member, what work and decisions are made by this board.

ACE Updates: Highlights from this meeting were exciting updates to the plans for both the 2012 and 2013 Annual Conventions and Exhibitions (ACE). This year’s event will be in Indianapolis August 8-11, and specific new details and deals will be broadcast to members within the next few days. As well, hotel and precise date negotiations are almost completed for ACE 2013, which will be held in Orlando, Florida (exact dates to be announced soon). Stay tuned to www.ACE365.org for more details and future updates.

New Practices/Projects: A discussion was held about the relatively new workflow solution that involves partial dictation/narrative in the EHR. Doggett reported great success at her facility with their healthcare system, with healthcare providers being allowed to dictate and have transcribed certain portions of the records, satisfying both their desire for narrative information capture and the need for using time-saving technologies. The board will look for ways to capture stories around this topic that display the continuing important role healthcare documentation specialists play. The Future Roles Survey is pending board review, and more discussion will be held around future articles on the topic of dictation practices.

Finances: In financial matters, Treasurer Bonnie Monico, CMT, AHDI-F, reviewed the year-end 2011 compilation report and presented the NLB with a revised financial budget. The Board approved the revised budget that accommodates the loss of revenue from CDIA for administrative support (that organization recently ceased operations) but further included new revenue streams and adjustments. A full accounting will be provided to members in a future issue of Plexus, as well as on the website and at the annual business meeting at ACE.

Interim CEO Linda Brady emphasized that while the organization still has financial challenges, as does almost every organization in this time of financial upheaval, there are many positives to report and AHDI does not anticipate any type of closure either in the short-term or long-term.

Doggett commented on the commitment needed by members to continue their participation in AHDI for the success of the profession, practitioners, and students.

Board Positions and Officers: President Sherry Doggett has accepted the resignation of Lisa Tunzi, CMT, AHDI-F, as a director-at-large on the board and the board will move as per bylaws direct to fill her term. The board thanks Lisa for her years of service to the association and will look forward to her participation on another level. Since Lisa also served as secretary to the NLB, an election was held and Susan Lucci, RHIT, CHPS, CMT, AHDI-F, was elected to the position for the remainder of the officer term, which extends to September 1, 2012.

To Be Continued: Work continues in subgroups of the NLB to

• Examine our strategic priorities and align them with financial resources.
• Examine the appropriateness of our involvement in Meaningful Use, Stage 2, comments.
• Review and update where needed governance policies for the NLB; the Bylaws committee will also be performing a review.

Each director is assigned as board liaison to at least one committee, special interest group, alliance, or taskforce. Reports will be expected for inclusion on the May agenda.

Next: The NLB meets the second Thursday of each month via webinar. The next meeting will be held May 10. Gallery members are welcome. Contact Miranda Chalabi (mchalabi@ahdionline.org) to request the webinar link.